Mayor hails passage of election measure

Rocky Mountain News

Published January 31, 2007 at midnight

Text size  

• 0 Comments
• Email
• Print

Mayor John Hickenlooper said he’s delighted voters replaced the Denver Election Commission with a clerk and recorder to carry out future elections in the city.

"This outcome concurs with the recommendations of our Election Commission Investigative Panel and will restore confidence in Denver's electoral system," the mayor said in a press release.

"We're grateful to Councilman Michael Hancock and others who served on the panel and we thank them for their leadership. We congratulate Councilwoman Rosemary Rodriguez, Auditor Dennis Gallagher and many others who worked so hard to develop and pass this initiative."

Yesterday, Denver voters passed a measure by 2-to-1 to replace the election commission in the wake of an election fiasco in November that saw lines several hours long to vote on statewide issues.

The new clerk and recorder will be elected in the municipal election May 1 when Hickenlooper and all 13 City Council members stand for re-election.

The existing election commission will run that vote and a June runoff, if one is necessary.

Karen Morrissey, who had been running for a spot on the commission, lamented the decision. "I’m very disappointed. The change, by itself, doesn’t fix any problems," she said.

Now the question becomes who will become the city’s first elected clerk and recorder, an official who will have 15 months to prepare for the August 2008 presidential primary.

Featured

• DNC in Denver

  

  Complete coverage of the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

• The Crevasse

  

  A five-part series that examines one tragic day on Mount Rainier.

• Deadly denial

  

  Sick nuclear workers applied for government compensation but most haven't seen a dime.

• Final Salute

  

  The Rocky followed Maj. Steve Beck as he took on the most difficult duty of his career.

• 'Colorado's burning'

  

  Coverage of the state's worst wildfires.

• Columbine shootings

  

  Coverage of the April 20, 1999, shootings at Littleton's Columbine High School.

• The Crossing

  

  Colorado's deadliest traffic accident killed 20 children on Dec. 14, 1961.

• Osveli's journey

  

  Osveli Sales left Guatemala for a better life. Two months later, he came home in a box.

• Wake for an Indian warrior

  

  Oglala Sioux bestow a tribute to the first tribal fatality in Iraq.