Denver Runoff Election Results Are In

Voters cast ballots Tuesday in the City and County of Denver’s runoff election to determine who would be mayor, clerk and recorder, and who would fill five city council seats. Those races went to runoff elections following the May 7 first-round elections. While the mayor soundly succeeded in keeping his seat, three incumbent city councilmembers were defeated by their opponents.

In addition, voters overwhelmingly passed Initiative 302, a citizen-initiated ballot measure requiring the city to seek voter approval before spending taxpayer funds to incentivize bids on hosting the Olympic Games.

Vote percentages are taken from the city’s published final unofficial results (final results will be certified on June 13).

Mayor

• Michael Hancock – incumbent (56.29%)
• Jamie Giellis (43.71%)

Clerk and Recorder

• Paul López (50.09%)
• Peg Perl (49.91%)
  NOTE: This race is too close to call, and may trigger an automatic recount.

Councilmember District 1

• Amanda Sandoval (66.6%)
• Mike Somma (33.4%)

Councilmember District 3

• Jamie Torres (57.36%)
• Veronica Barela (42.64%)

Councilmember District 5

• Amanda Sawyer (58.19%)
• Mary Beth Susman – incumbent (41.81%)

Councilmember District 9

• Candi CdeBaca (52.35%)
• Albus Brooks – incumbent (47.65%)

Councilmember District 10

• Chris Hinds (53.4%)
• Wayne New – incumbent (46.6%)

Initiative 302 – Olympic Games Voter Approval Requirement

• Yes: 79.27%
• No: 20.73% margin

In the race for clerk and recorder, Paul López holds a slim 315-vote margin over Peg Perl. That number is 0.44% of the total votes cast for López and within the 0.50% legal threshold triggering an automatic recount. There are still ballots to be counted, however, before the city’s final certification on June 13. Should the final vote count remain within the 0.50% legal threshold, the recount must be completed no later than June 27.

Taking these results into account, the composition of the city council and citywide elected officials will be:

Citywide Offices

• Mayor: Michael Hancock
• Clerk and Recorder: Paul López or Peg Perl
• Auditor: Timothy O’Brien

City Council

• District 1: Amanda Sandoval
• District 2: Kevin Flynn
• District 3: Jamie Torres
• District 4: Kendra Black
• District 5: Amanda Sawyer
• District 6: Paul Kashmann
• District 7: Jolon Clark
• District 8: Chris Herndon
• District 9: Candi CdeBaca
• District 10: Chris Hinds
• District 11: Stacie Gilmore
• At-Large: Debbie Ortega
• At-Large: Robin Kniech

This document is intended to provide you with general information regarding City and County of Denver runoff election results. The contents of this document are not intended to provide specific legal advice. If you have any questions about the contents of this document or if you need legal advice as to an issue, please contact the attorneys listed or your regular Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP attorney. This communication may be considered advertising in some jurisdictions.