If you’re unlucky enough to be elected as the mayor of a large American city in this day and age, there’s only one thing that comes close to a guarantee: your first day in office will most likely mark the high point of your popularity. I’m honestly surprised Mike Rowe hasn’t thrown on a suit and played the role for an episode of “Dirty Jobs.”

I’m not sure what grand deceit was undertaken to convince 17 unlucky souls to vie to be Denver’s next punching bag, but I applaud their blissful ignorance nonetheless. Perhaps we need an ounce of hopeless romanticism to get the city back on track. I’ve gotten the opportunity to meet a few of the candidates over the years, and despite our differences on policy and principle, I find them to be of incredible character.

A few candidates seem to just “get it” when it comes to what this race means for Denver. Our state’s capital city has become a hellish, barren wasteland of lawlessness and degeneracy.

Also read: Unique leader needed to drive Denver into future | POINT

Alright, so maybe it’s not that bad, but I’m a fan of post-apocalyptic narratives, so leave me be.

The hard truth is Denver is no longer a desirable location for a business to open, especially if you plan on having a public storefront. One former 16th Street Mall tea shop owner stated he had “someone coming in and defecating all over the store.” I imagine it’s hard to enjoy a good Earl Grey when that’s occurring a few feet away. I wouldn’t know – I favor coffee.

We can ring the bell on the housing crisis as much as we want, but developers aren’t Pavlov’s dogs. They depend upon a consistent regulatory environment and a desire from their city government to have them build. Today, they’re getting an invitation to a cage match. It takes a developer nearly three years to wade through bureaucracy to obtain permits, break ground and complete construction on an apartment complex.

The Denver Police Department is struggling to recruit or retain officers. This is surprising as I heard that consistently telling police officers they are part of a racist institution spawned from the sin of slavery is great for morale.

Denver needs a mayor willing to cut through the balderdash of virtue signaling and rhetorical nonsense. No genie pops out of the bottle if you use the word “equity” more than three times in one speech. Denver may be a heavily Democratic city based on voter registration, but it’s also a city of people who want to walk down their street, get in their car and drive to work every morning. Today, there’s a higher-than-acceptable chance they’ll take the long way to avoid a homeless encampment to arrive at an empty parking space. That’s not lacking compassion; it’s stupid.

So, here is just a bit of advice from a man peddling words in a local paper: Denverites, find a candidate who isn’t worried about rhetorical gamesmanship and is focused on getting the job done. While the word police discusses whether it should be “homeless individuals” or “individuals experiencing homelessness,” our brothers and sisters fall deeper into despair, our streets remain unfriendly and unsafe and the Mile High City sinks to a new low. Oh, and can whoever wins please do something about the snow, or did somebody steal the plows too?

Sage Naumann is a conservative commentator and strategist. He works as vice president of communications at 76 Group, and was previously the spokesman for the Colorado Senate Republicans. He lives in Brighton with his wife and son. You can follow him on Twitter @SageNaumann.