Progressives fight to win Denver City Council runoffs
Denver City Councilwoman Candi Cdebaca is facing an avalanche of opposition spending and a well-backed runoff challenger four years after the proud democratic socialist ousted a two-term incumbent.
This time, though, she has company — as part of a trio of liberal runoff candidates seeking to push the council leftward.
The runoff elections, with voting underway and ending June 6, could set the course for a more assertive legislative counterweight to the next mayor if Cdebaca retains her seat and voters in adjacent districts elect two progressive newcomers who also have the backing of the Denver Democratic Socialists of America and the Colorado Working Families Party.
The prospect has rallied much of Denver’s political and business establishment in support of their more moderate runoff opponents, including firstterm Councilman Chris Hinds in central District 10.
The high stakes have fueled significant outside spending and sometimeswild claims amid arguments about the direction of the city.
“I mean, it’s the same money that was in it back in 2019 — same power brokers, same people fighting to get their seat back,” said Cdebaca, who is running for re-election to represent a redrawn District 9 that encompasses neighborhoods north and east of downtown, including parts of Park Hill.
Her opponent is Darrell Watson, a small business owner and longtime community advocate who has chaired the Denver Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. He portrays himself as a more pragmatic progressive.
“We need to have leaders that will look across the room and collaborate with folks, especially those that don’t agree with them,” Watson said during a May 3 endorsement event in front of the City and County Building. He was flanked by several of the 16 current and former council members who have backed him. Five serve with Cdebaca now.
Taking part was former Councilman Albus Brooks, whom Cdebaca defeated in a hard-fought runoff in 2019. Brooks said the city was “at a crossroads” and called on voters to elect “pragmatic leaders that reach across all of our neighborhoods, all ethnicities, all socioeconomic backgrounds and bring folks together to make sure that we’re building unity within our community.”
Spending in the District 9 race since the start of the campaign has now eclipsed $1 million, making it the most expensive council race. That total includes direct contributions to candidates, Fair Elections Fund matches from the city and independent expenditures reported by outside groups and committees — some of which are fueled by “dark money,” or undisclosed donors.
All that spending has gone more than 2-to-1 toward defeating Cdebaca.
She shrugged off that spending and Watson’s endorsements in an interview, saying: “It’s actually not a good thing to have the stamp of approval of the status quo.”
No matter the outcome of the three runoffs, a majority on the 13-member council is out of reach for
Dsa-backed candidates. But that group and the state’s Working Families Party hope to add more voices to argue for alternatives to policing, more compassionate responses to homelessness — including direct opposition to the city’s camping ban — and more government involvement in the housing market, along with new renter protections.
In two other council districts, candidates backed by both groups lost outright in the April 4 election.
But progressives notched victories in the atlarge race, with state Rep. Serena Gonzales-gutierrez and Sarah Parady winning those two seats.
“Literally the soul of our city is at stake and its people are at stake,” District 8 candidate Shontel Lewis said of the June 6 runoffs, pointing to the progressive candidates’ bottom-up community approaches as better suited to solve Denver’s problems.