Nevitt wants to put his skills to work

Daniel J. Chacon, Rocky Mountain News

Published May 22, 2007 at midnight

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Chris Nevitt spent six years as a professor at Arizona State University teaching politics and how it interacts with the economy.

Nevitt said he took pleasure in passing along his knowledge and understanding with the students, but something was missing.

"I'm just more temperamentally suited to ducking under the ropes and taking a swing than taking notes from the sidelines," he said.

Nevitt will get his chance June 5 when he steps into the ring with Shelly Watters in the runoff election for the District 7 City Council seat in south-central Denver. If elected, the 45-year-old political economist said he wants to promote responsible development, partnerships with public schools, clean energy and sustainability, and public safety.

Nevitt, who nearly won election outright in May, said his background and experience have given him the skills to do the job well. Born in Thailand, Nevitt grew up traveling the world because his father worked in the U.S. Foreign Service.

"Maybe that's where the ethic of public service comes from," he said. "We were overseas representing America, and that wasn't just a 9-to-5 job. It was a job for the whole family, kids included."

Nevitt moved to Denver in 2001 with his wife, a Colorado native whose family has been here for generations. "Her grandfather went to East High," he said.

Nevitt came to the city wanting to get more involved in politics and policy and volunteered right away for several Democratic Party campaigns.

In January 2002, he founded the Front Range Economic Strategy Center, a nonprofit that "works to maximize the benefits of economic development for communities and working families."

Nevitt hooked up with the Denver Area Labor Federation, which he said wanted to recapture the alliance between unions and the larger progressive community.

One of the first projects they took on was the redevelopment of the former Gates Rubber Co. site, a $1 billion transit-oriented project that includes $126 million of tax subsidies for roads, parks and other infrastructure.

Nevitt played a key role in rallying a coalition of organizations that worked for three years to secure quality jobs and more affordable housing for the project.

"I'm a union progressive, so you could put me on the left-hand side of the left-right continuum," he said. "But I'm also a political economist, and I think the way we should be thinking about public expenditures isn't money that we spend, but money we invest."

Chris Nevitt

• Age: 45

• Background: Political economist; former executive director of the Front Range Economic Strategy Center

• Education: Ph.D., University of California, San Diego

• Family: Wife Lisa Reynolds

Denver runoff election

• In the mail: All voting is by mail. Voters will receive their ballots through the mail and can return them with 41 cents postage.

• Due date: June 5

• Dropoff locations: Beginning May 29, voters can drop off ballots at the following locations: Denver Election Commission, 303 W. Colfax Ave.; College View Recreation Center, 2525 S. Decatur St.; and Porter Place, 1001 E. Yale Ave.

This week in the Rocky

• Monday: Union organizer Paul Lopez and Denver City Hall veteran JoAnn Phillips vie for council in District 3.

• Today: Economist Chris Nevitt opposes former council aide Shelly Watters in District 7.

• Wednesday: Former school board member Sharon Bailey faces neighborhood association president Carla Madison in District 8.

chacond@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5099

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