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May 02, 2007 08:46 PM UTC

Hick May Pick Sides in One City Council Race

  • 53 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols


There will be three runoff elections in Denver (see below for the list) after yesterday’s first round, and there are rumors that Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper could get involved in one of them.

Hickenlooper doesn’t normally make public endorsements of candidates for city office, but there was a lot of talk last night that he would soon endorse Shelly Watters over Chris Nevitt in City Council District 7 because he is uncomfortable with Nevitt’s close ties to organized labor. Nevitt very nearly received the required 50% of votes needed to avoid a runoff, but if Hick gets involved in the race, this one could get rough.



Denver Runoff Elections:

City Council District 3
Paul Lopez (45.7%)
JoAnn Phillips (15.3%)

City Council District 7
Chris Nevitt (46.9%)
Shelly Watters (27.4%)

City Council District 8
Sharon Bailey (36.3%)
Carla Madison (28.6%)

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53 thoughts on “Hick May Pick Sides in One City Council Race”

  1. Nevitt’s base will stay with him, and he only needs to pick another 3.1% to win in the runoff.

    Shelly has a much higher hill to climb.

    Nevitt wins this and Hick would be foolish to get involved publically (though everyone knows he was involved behind the scenes).

            1. and I am not one of his constituents — but I have gotten to know Chris over the past year and he is a fine individual.  Denver would be served well to have him on board.

              1. ..but someone who has being paid to run for political office by Labor has no business representing anyone.  I’m sure he’s a nice enough guy, but he’s proven over and over again that he will do exactly what the unions want him to regardless of the wishes of the people of his district.

                1. that is running for election?  If he is the only union voice on the council, then what’s your beef? – I doubt that his labor affilitation would bring a tipping point to political outcomes on the council.  All of us, regardless of affiliation, have a right to a voice in the political process.  A certain percentage of workers in this state belong to the unions and they, too, have a right to a voice.  Let’s focus on unity instead of uniformity. 

                2. that he isn’t hiding his labor affiliation in his campaign — and yet he still gets almost 50% of the vote…it appears someone thinks he does have a right to represent someone.  I have a hunch he’ll be the laughing boy when the votes are all counted.

                  1. Labor represents 8% of the workforce.  They should not represent a majority of the City Council.  If/when more people in district 7 find out about some of his shenanigans with Labor, they’re not going to vote for him.  That’s the point.

                    Hick endorses, it’s over.

                    Do you work for Labor?  I’m guessing you do.  If Chris is such a great mediator, why was he asked to resign from CDRAC?

                    1. So — I’m not up on the “demographics” of the Denver City Council…is it dominated by labor?  And to repeat my earlier comments — I don’t think it’s any secret in Denver that Chris is with labor — and he’s still getting almost half of the vote — it’s election day and “your people” have apparently not made an issue of your alleged “shenanigans”…would you care to share your knowledge with the rest of us?
                       

    2. …….he played favorites in Democratic primaries and got his ass burned when “his” candidates tanked and he was stuck for the next six years with Dems he campaigned against.

  2. He doesn’t even know where his people are and what they’re up to as evidenced by the Kim “Missing in Action” Bailey.  A competent capable leader would have known that his Parks Manager missing in action for over a quarter of the year instead of being told by the media. 

    Didn’t Hick have to approve her leave in the first place?

    Based on what the media has reported about Kim Bailey and BJ Brooks(former Denver Parks Manager who the media reported was hanging during the day at Coors Field and now Seattle Parks Manager) I think I’m in the wrong profession.

    If the citizens of Denver are OK with allowing city officials to attend sporting events and go to school on their dime where do I get in line?

    There is no possible way that Kim Bailey had accrued that amount of paid leave in only 4 years with the city. 

  3. If Hick is so “uncomfortable” with Nevitt, why didn’t he oppose him before now, i.e., in the election ending yesterday?  Could it be that Hick didn’t want to alienate Nevitt’s supporters while Hick was still on the ballot?

    1. Most big hitters won’t go all out and endorse until after a runoff has been necessitated. Especially when the stakes are so high as having a paid Union shill in elected office.

        1. In the 2003 auditor’s race between Councilman Gallagher and Councilman Thomas, several of their fellow council members emphatically endorsed Thomas.  None endorsed Gallagher.  Alas, Gallagher won.

            1. …or else the endorsements were trumped by Gallagher’s high name recognition, money, and the inexplicable loyalty of his supporters…SIGH

  4. Hickenlooper is not that dumb. He knows that a candidate can’t overcome a 20% deficit in one month. I don’t believe it’s ever been done in Denver. The only come-from-behind victories in the last decade were accomplished by Rick Garcia and Rosemary Rodriguez, who overcame margins of just 2% and 5% respectively.

    The financial disclosures show that Watters is indeed the darling of developers and big-ticket donors, but Council District 8 doesn’t play that way. It’s always been a liberal district, and for decades very union-friendly.

    Anyway, it’s not as if we need another tool of the real estate lobby on Council. Aren’t Charlie Brown and Jeanne Faatz enough?

    1. It’s district 7, historian.

      None of the other candidates in that race are in anybody’s pocket to the extent that Nevitt is owned and operated by Labor.

      If the Mayor endorses Watters, Nevitt is done. 

  5. Yeah, sorry for the slip.

    I’m going to take a wild guess here and suggest that you don’t live in Council District 7, because while what you’re saying is very impassioned, it’s also not terribly representative of the facts on the ground.

    I do live in the district and have a different perspective. Remember that this is a district split more or less evenly between poor Hispanic areas to the west and liberal white professionals to the east. The latter tends to predominate, as more of the east-side whiteys vote.

    In any event, neither part of that coalition is terribly concerned about unions. In fact, they tend to support them. That’s how both Kathleen MacKenzie and Bill Himmelman won the seat.  MacKenzie was a negotiator for the National Treasury Employees Union. Himmelmann was former president of the Denver Area Labor Federation and received more than a third of his contributions from unions.

    And you think we’re concerned about Chris Nevitt, an economist and college professor who hold the strong support of area unions?

    Fulminate all you want about the race and the dream of even bigger money stepping in, but folks in District 7 actually like those “champions of the working man” and support them without fail.

    1. Actually, I do.  And, actually, I do know the facts on the ground.

      The district has changed 180 degrees from the days of Bill Himmelman. Gates has been closed for years, and the district is increasingly gentrified.  Nevitt is mostly despised on the west side due to his submarining of a Wal-Mart that a huge majority of the residents wanted in Alameda Square, which still sits mostly empty and crime ridden.

      In an election with pathetically low turnout, he counted on votes from West Wash Park, which everyone knows simply must be the center of the universe.

      He opposed it without even going to negotiating meetings.  How is that leadership?  Who was he “championing” in that one?

      1. Out of 6319 votes cast in District 7, Nevitt was just 196 shy of 50%.

        Do you think his work against WalMart and advocacy of fair wages in the Gates redevelopment hurt him yesterday? It’s certainly not new information, so I’m guessing it actually helped him.

        As for your reading of history, I just abide the suggestion that “the district has changed 180 degrees since the days of Bill Himmelman.”

        Do you mean like 1999, when union negotiator MacKenzie won the open seat with 78% of the vote?

        Or 2003, when the fiercely liberal MacKenzie won reelection with 98.7% of the vote (the third highest percentage of any election in the past 20 years)?

        Please. You have every right to your own opinions, but not to your own facts. And the fact is, pro-unionism is good politics in District 7.

        You don’t like it, but that’s the truth.

        Oh, and if you disagree, why don’t you encourage Ms Watters to publicly denounce unions? Her campaign hasn’t even whispered of the critiques you trumpet on this page, but I’m sure the Nevitt forces would be happy to see her adopt them.

          1. Yes, District 7 was the only City Council race that didn’t feature an incumbent.

            That lack of open seats and dearth of serious challengers in 1999 were what led to the lowest turnout in Denver history.

            Kathleen MacKenzie beat Dave Martinez, Marlin Dorhout, and Dennis Smith. The challengers received 10.3%, 8.0%, and 6.7%, respectively.

              1. …was one of two seats, I believe, that were in place before Denver changed its charter.

                As a side note, FRESC, Chris Nevitt’s union funded ‘non-profit’ employer was founded by the DALF in order to influence the Denver City Council because of the charter change.  Ah, good! Full-time candidates! Just what we need.

                As Historian said, it appears that’s what the voters in District 7 want, though (at least the wealthy ones in Wash Park..).  It looks like they’ll get what they deserve, but I believe that actions (votes) on flawed economic and social principles have consequences.  We’ll see.

                  1. Denver Area Labor Federation

                    Front Range Economic Strategy Center

                    (You can substitute “shakedown” for “strategy” if you’d like)

                3. … that there were actually business groups lobbying City Council.

                  Have you heard of the Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce? My word!

                  I understand that there is also such a thing as the Colorado Association of Homebuilders. Oh no!

                  And a Denver Board of Realtors? Lobbyists for Xcel Energy and Qwest and CH2M Hill and First Data and TransMontaigne and JD Edwards…

                  When will the madness end?

                  1. What’s your point? That lobbying groups exist?  Look, for all I know, you probably are Nevitt.  I simply disagree with you on Labor’s role in the modern economy.

                    I’d love to debate it with you, but I would like to have a civil dialogue.  I’ll back off my snarkiness if you will too. 

                    1. on the snarkiness. Totally.

                      I do have to admit that I didn’t imagine we were having a discussion of “labor’s role in the modern economy.” That seems like too much to bit off.

                      My focus was the idea of Nevitt (a labor guy) getting elected and having a seat in the political arena, which seems to me both reasonable and in keeping with the historical and recent traditions in Council District 7.

                    2. Unfortunately, I have to agree with you 100%.  Maybe I’ll make my first diary on labor in the modern market and you can convert me from the evil of my ways.

                      Cheers.

              2. As LaughingBoy indicated, the rules were not the same for all our representatives.

                In 2000, City Council asked the voters to approve a charter change extending the term limits from two to three four-year terms. In order to demonstrate that no one would “benefit” from the extension, this three-term rule was applied only to those whose elected service began after January 2001. 

                Since both Elbra and Kathleen had come in just months earlier, the two-term limit applied to them. Everyone elected later, including Charlie Brown, who was elected in a special election in Spring 2001, can serve three full terms.

        2. But I just don’t like what Labor has become.  All of the bullying for progress has morphed into simple bullying.

          I own a business, and it seems to be much more about redistribution of wealth (socialism) than protecting anyone.

          But, I’m a big free market guy.

          I’m sure the sun will rise no matter what ends up happening.

          1. I am a private businessman and believe fervently in free markets as well.

            Businesses should be free to do what is good for their bottom line, and workers should be free to organize if it is in their own self interest.

            That’s what I love about America: freedom and balance on all sides of the equation.

        3. Did you notice that Nevitt didn’t mention anything about his union employers in any of his literature?

          Do you think it’s kind of a hot potato for either of them?

            1. The pieces I received cast FRESC as a community organization.  It’s possible that different pieces were sent to different voters.

          2. Yes, it is suspicious that Chris is running so far away from his union allies.

            I mean, it isn’t until his first bullet point on the front page of his website that he’s willing to highlight his work for “”higher job quality, more workforce housing, focused local job opportunities, and the permanent exclusion of Wal-Mart” at the former Gates site.

            Yeesh, you’d think the guy was a business executive or something. But I know better, because I spent a long hard search, clicking on the highlighted page that says CHRIS’S SUPPORTERS.

            He tried to hide the unions among his long list of “Organizations and Businesses.” But I ferreted out the fact that roughly 90% of the names were some form of workers federation, including…

            Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 1001
            American Federation of State, County, & Municipal Employees, Council 76 & Local 158
            American Mechanical Services, LLC
            Carpenters, IBC Regional Council & Local 55
            Colorado Building & Construction Trades Council
            Colorado Conference of Electrical Workers
            Colorado Machinists Council
            Communication Workers of America, Local 7777
            Denver Area Labor Federation, AFL-CIO
            Denver Classroom Teachers Association
            Denver Sheriffs, FOP Lodge 27
            Denver Fire Fighters, IAFF
            International Alliance of Theatrical & Stage Employees, Local 7
            Laborers, LIUNA Local 720
            National Electrical Contractors Association – Colorado Chapter
            Pro axi – Professional Taxicab Operators of Colorado
            Refrigeration & Air Conditioning Contractors of Colorado
            Service Employees International Union, Local 105
            Sheet Metal Workers, Local 9
            Teamsters, IBT Colorado Council & Locals 435 & 2004
            United Association of Plumbers & Pipefitters, Locals 3 & 208

            Which makes me wonder: why is Nevitt hiding his union affiliation so poorly?

            1. I never said he was running away from them, I asked you an honest question about his not featuring them on the PR material he sent to my house.  That was in response to you probably correctly highlighting the fact that nobody in District 7 political races would dare oppose the Unions if they want to win.

              Do you work for his campaign or one of the Unions?  Just curious.

              1. I just don’t think that constitutes a serious charge, given that candidates generally generally tend to highlight what they want to do and discussing issues that resonate with voters rather than rehashing a bio.

                And no, I don’t work for Nevitt’s campaign. I didn’t even support him (I preferred Connor). But I do know Nevitt will be getting at least one new vote in the upcoming runoff…

      2. “West Wash Park, which everyone knows simply must be the center of the universe.”

        Absolutely!  Big bang central, right here!  This is where Columbus was heading when he took a wrong turn and ended up in the Caribbean instead.

        Go neighborhood!

        Seriously, I can’t speak to the whole district, and have not publicly taken a stand in the race.  The only candidate I really didn’t want to win was Carol E. Campbell, and she washed out yesterday.

  7. Maria Garcia Berry is supporting Nevitt in the runoff.  She is hosting a fundraiser for him and has already told Watters about it.

    This means her developer clients will likely support Chris as well, including Ferd Belz of Cherokee.

    So much for the rap that Nevitt is only a tool of labor.

    1. MGB is just hedging her bets.  She sees tha sad writing on the wall.  He is just a tool of labor, now he’s just going to be a big tool.

      Hehehehe.

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