From phone banks off Pecos Street to the doors of the Sunnyside and University neighborhoods, Denver mayoral candidates are making a final push to get Denverites out to vote – and choose them.

For voters, deciding who to back among 17 names appearing on the ballot – one, Kwame Spearman, has officially withdrawn – has been overwhelming, and hearing directly from a candidate, rather than on TV ads, makes a huge difference, several residents told The Denver Gazette. 

The last-minute appearances at doorstops and local cafes could spell the difference between making it to the runoff, which many experts expect. A poll commissioned by the Denver Gazette, Colorado Politics, 9News and Metropolitan State University showed the race is wide open, with a whopping 58% saying they’re undecided.  

And only 13% of voters had returned their ballots as of Friday. There are plenty of minds to reach – and persuade.  

But in a city with more than 456,000 registered voters, reaching them one by one to ask the perennial questions – “Have you voted?” and “Can I count on your support?” – takes stamina. 

The Denver Gazette this week spent time with the campaigns of Kelly Brough, Mike Johnston, Debbie Ortega, and Andy Rougeot as they tried to boost a turnout rate that has yet to cross 15% and earn votes.

The other mayoral aspirants are Renate Behrens, Lisa Calderon, Al Gardner, Chris Hansen, Rep. Leslie Herod, Aurelio Martinez, Terrance Roberts, Trinidad Rodriguez, Ean Tafoya, Robert Treta, James Walsh and Thomas Wolf. 

Chris and Asher are undecided 

It took a lot of coffee and a pair of Army boots in the case of Mike Johnston and Andy Rougeot.

Both Johnston and Rougeot made ambitious plans to walk through neighborhoods and knock on as many doors as possible. Johnston called his effort the “3D Tour,” short for donuts, doors and drafts. The idea is to stop at local cafes, breweries and donut shops. Rougeot was close to walking 400 miles in his Army boots as he attempted to do the same. 

For many Denver voters, picking Denver’s first new mayor in 12 years is tough.

Chris Juracek and Asher Augustinis, for example, two residents Rougeot spoke to in the University neighborhood, remain undecided. 

“We haven’t voted. I think my ballot is somewhere downstairs, but we haven’t met any candidates in person,” Juracek said. “There have been a lot of ads on TV, and some conversations on NextDoor.”

Juracek added, “We don’t have any front runners yet since there are just so many candidates.”

Both said they will vote. Neither has had a chance to sift through the 17 names appearing in the mayor’s tab, and they want to be as thorough as possible knowing this year’s election is consequential.

Denver adopted a strong mayor system, in which concrete power, such as veto authority, resides in the mayor. In this form of government, the mayor holds a big stick – the chief executive can appoint or dismiss department heads and is responsible for creating the city’s budget. The City Council plays a role, wielding the power of the purse and shaping policy. 

But with 17 names on the ballot and 16 active candidates, a runoff election seems likely. Should that happen, it will be held in June and will include the top two vote getters from the Tuesday election.

Frank and Jerry eye four candidates 

Former state senator Mike Johnston wants to be one of the two names in the runoff.

His strategy also revolves around an ambitious plan to visit the 78 neighborhoods in Denver. Johnston will knock on as many doors as possible before election night. 

Frank and Jerry Gold are husbands who live in the Regis neighborhood and met Johnston as he stopped in the Noshery across the street from Regis University. Both have some idea of who they’ll vote for on Tuesday – narrowing their field down to four – but they had no concrete choices as of Wednesday.

They were both impressed with what Johnston had to say, and how the candidate carried himself. 

“(He) didn’t come in and rush out the door. Mike was really curious and interested in talking and sharing, and in addressing issues with just a couple of people,” Frank Gold said. “He was just so clear and and so sincere about it, and he knows what he’s talking about.”

At one point, Frank Gold expected Johnston to flinch away from questions. He said Johnston did not and instead had answers ready to offer, which much impressed the Golds. 

In the poll commissioned by the Denver Gazette, 9News and Metropolitan State University, Johnston was one of three candidates who polled at about 5%, tying with Kelly Brough and Lisa Calderon, though none held a significant lead over a field of eight other candidates who polled above 2%. 

Margaret volunteers for a campaign

Longtime Councilwoman Debbie Ortega, who is term limited in her at-large position, has also been working to win hearts and minds of the undecided population for months.

Working with publicly available voter registration data, the Ortega Campaign set up shop in an old school building off of Pecos Street and began phone banking.

This is delicate work, according to Margaret Atencio, who was one of 15 or so volunteers working with Ortega’s campaign Wednesday afternoon. 

“People don’t want you to badger them. They want you to be respectful of their time and give them information that is interesting to them,” she said. “Usually, they don’t want to stay on the phone too long.”

Sometimes, phones would remain unanswered and volunteers would leave a message instead. While their main message is to get out and vote, they would always end it with “we hope for your support on election day.” Then the name would be crossed off or marked, and the volunteers would move on to the next person on the list.

Sometimes, they would get through to someone who has already voted. 

“They never say who they voted for. People are very close about when they vote,” Atencio said. “And I say, ‘Well, thank you for voting. It’s very important that you vote.'”

The volunteers had met every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday evening between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. to call as many of the 456,000 registered Denverites as they can before April 4. 

Aaron and Megan at the coffee shop

Kelly Brough’s strategies are simpler, suffused by the hustle and bustle of metro area coffee shops.

Her “Coffee with Kelly” is an informal event where her campaign stakes out a coffee house and Brough chats with anyone who’s interested, whether or not they’re a Denver voter. 

This week, Aaron Connell and Megan Williams joined around 15 people at the Logan House Coffee shop in Lowry to hear what Brough had to say. Connell found Brough’s openness “very healthy” after 12 years of Mayor Michael Hancock.  

“Accessibility is important, and I think that’s been lacking with the current mayor,” he said. “I think it’s a good thing for Denver to have a lot of people, a lot of different ideas, being accessible and getting out in local communities, and raising awareness of the issues.”

Neither has decided on a candidate yet. They said 16 candidates may be too many, especially when only two will make it to the runoff. Connell said a smaller number of candidates may have resulted in a higher quality field, but added there are “pros and cons” to such a large field. 

Ross Jacobsmeyer used to live in Denver, but moved to Westminster in 2019 after more than 20 years in the city. He cannot vote in the upcoming election, but, as a property owner in the Highlands neighborhood, he has a “vested interest” in the race’s winner.

Though 20 minutes away, he is aware of the “power projection” Denver’s mayor office exerts. In many ways, the Denver mayor represents the region.  

“It doesn’t really matter to Denver who the mayor of Westminster is, but it matters to Westminster who the mayor of Denver is,” he said. “As Denver rises or falls, the surrounding areas rise and fall with it.”

Denver’s municipal election is April 4. In addition to mayor, Denverites will vote for a clerk and recorder, the city auditor and multiple city councilmembers. Several councilmembers are term limited. Others, such as Jolon Clark of District 7 and Kendra Black of District 4, are not seeking re-election. 

Election day is Tuesday, April 4. Polls close at 7 p.m.

Denver Gazette reporter Kyla Pearce contributed to this story.

Editor’s note: The Denver Gazette published a voter guide, including where to find voting locations. Denverites who have yet to vote can can get more information here. They can also get to date information from the Denver Elections Division.