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'Gov. Hick' may be tough sell

Statewide, voters usually suspicious of Denver mayors

Stuart Steers, Rocky Mountain News

Published December 29, 2005 at midnight

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Even though Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper has repeatedly said that he won't run for governor, local political insiders can talk of little else.

The mayor is being pressured to run by bigwigs in the Democratic Party who fear that the current front-runner, former Denver District Attorney Bill Ritter, couldn't win. One confidant of the mayor says he is "struggling" to make a decision, and talking it over with friends and family.

The mayor, who has charmed voters both inside and outside the city limits with his celebrated geekiness, is widely regarded as one of the state's most popular politicians.

Hickenlooper had an unprecedented 91 percent approval rating in Denver one year ago in a poll conducted by Public Opinion Strategies.

But if Hickenlooper joins the governor's race, he might face a problem.

Historically, many voters outside of Denver are suspicious of the city and especially its mayor. For decades, no Denver mayor has gone on to be elected governor. There are several reasons for that, from longstanding anger on the Western Slope at the diversion of water to Denver, to a perception that Denver just isn't like the rest of Colorado.

"Denver is politically and culturally out of sync with the rest of the state," said political analyst Eric Sondermann. "It's very urbane. It's more heavily minority. It's a place that passed a liberal marijuana law and voted for John Kerry by 2 to 1."

What Hickenlooper has going for him, several observers agree, is a perception that he's above partisan politics. That has helped make him popular with unaffiliated voters and even many Republicans.

"Wellington Webb was more clearly associated with the Democratic Party than Hickenlooper," said John Straayer, professor of political science at Colorado State University. "Hickenlooper's image is different."

Straayer said the perception of Hickenlooper has been shaped by offbeat TV ads that show him carrying around a coin changer or jumping out of an airplane.

"People don't think of him as a Democratic mayor of a Democratic city," he said.

Straayer added that Ritter may have some of the same advantages, since district attorneys are also often seen as being above partisan politics.

But some politicians outside Denver, especially Republican ones, doubt that Hickenlooper's success would hold statewide.

"I think Mayor Hickenlooper will find his popularity wanes when he gets outside of Denver," said state Rep. Joe Stengel, R-Littleton. "Denver is very liberal. What works in Denver may not be the same as in Littleton or Jefferson County."

Two Denver politicians have been elected governor in the past 50 years: Steve McNichols in 1956 and Dick Lamm in 1974. Both men served in the state legislature, but neither was ever mayor.

Colorado College professor Bob Loevy says that Hickenlooper might strike a chord with voters outside the city who don't see him as fitting the stereotype of a big city mayor.

"He has the middle class characteristics that might have appeal outside of Denver," said Loevy. "He's not a member of a minority group. He has a background in business, and he's a fresh face."

Former Mayor Webb seriously considered making a run for the U.S. Senate in 2001. He thinks a Denver mayor could win statewide office. Webb notes that it's a truism of politics that the mayor of New York City couldn't be elected governor of New York or the mayor of Los Angeles governor of California, but he believes that isn't the case in Colorado.

"Of the 10 largest counties in Colorado, six are in the Denver area," said Webb, who notes there are many firsts in politics.

"I was the first African-American mayor of Denver," he said. "There's many who thought someone like (U.S. Sen.) Ken Salazar couldn't win against someone with 100 percent name identification like Pete Coors."

Sondermann said Hickenlooper has defied many of the laws of politics, proving more popular than anyone ever imagined a Denver mayor could be."History is made by those who do things for the first time," he said.