Denverites – weary of spiraling crime, rampant homelessness, proliferating squatters’ camps and related urban blues – appear to have stepped back from the brink in Tuesday’s municipal election. They by and large rejected radicals on the ballot in favor of mainstream moderates who favor practical solutions over confrontation and street theater.

As of press time, the city’s voters were turning their backs on candidates from a noisy political fringe that has added only heat and no light the past several years to the most pressing issues facing the public. A slate of candidates backed by the Denver Democratic Socialists were losing most of their races. Even the City Council’s incumbent radical, the shrill and gratuitously combative Candi CdeBaca, appeared headed for defeat in north Denver’s District 9.

Credible, competent and sensible candidates – who pose realistic solutions to the city’s very real challenges – were leading by decisive margins in key races.

In the race to replace term-limited longtime Mayor Michael Hancock, former Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce Chief Kelly Brough, whom The Gazette has endorsed, and former state Sen. Mike Johnston were neck and neck – and far ahead of the rest of a crowded field in the mayoral race. They will face each other in a runoff election in June.

Significantly, voters left scorched-earth extremists Lisa Calderon and Leslie Herod in the dust of the mayoral race. Herod, a state representative best known for her soft-on-crime “justice reform” advocacy, ran a high-profile, top-dollar campaign – yet was trailing in fifth place, with less than 9% of the vote at press time.

It was the same in some bellwether council races. CdeBaca – an apologist for lawbreakers and an antagonist of the police in a district battered by crime – was narrowly losing her seat to challenger Darrell Watson. Watson, endorsed by The Gazette, wisely wants to fully fund police and step up police recruitment.

In southwest Denver’s District 2, incumbent Kevin Flynn, a reliable supporter of law enforcement endorsed by The Gazette, was winning another term by a huge margin. In District 4, Gazette-endorsed Diana Romero Campbell had a commanding lead. District 5 incumbent Amanda Sawyer, also endorsed by The Gazette, was winning re-election by a 2-to-1 margin. District 8 political newcomer Brad Revare and District 10 incumbent Chris Hinds, both backed by The Gazette, both strong supporters of law enforcement, were winning. Two at-large council seats were up for grabs, and the four top voter-getters – including Travis Leiker, another strong supporter of the police endorsed by The Gazette – were too close to call at press time.

We might add that Denverites also appear to have re-elected City Hall’s steadfast watchdog – veteran Denver Auditor Timothy O’Brien – by a 20-point margin. O’Brien has more than earned another term in office along with The Gazette’s endorsement.

The turning of the tide against reckless and radical voices was probably inevitable. It signals Denverites’ fatigue not only with shrill tone of extreme politics but also with what it has yielded: out-of-control crime and the fear that goes with it; the urban squalor of illegal camps popping up in our cherished public spaces; spiraling drug addiction and overdoses – the list goes on.

Denverites seem to be saying, “enough.” They want to reclaim their streets and parks and trails and public buildings from crime and chaos. They want a steady hand on the tiller. They want their community back.

Denver Gazette Editorial Board