My regular reader (Hi Jeff!) will recall I’ve oft mentioned one of my other activities on these pages, wherein I perform a one-man show as Alexander Hamilton. I’ve done this show for 25 years or so (see: HamiltonLives.com) all around the country. I speak as Hamilton, and the majority of the show involves me taking, as Hamilton, questions and comments from the audience – which I answer in character, as I believe Hamilton would, were he with us today. It’s a wonderful mental exercise and I’ve enjoyed each of the many, many shows I’ve performed.

I bring this up, well, first to show off (Editor: I thought so) but also to note the audience responses over the years have been great, and I think that is at least in part because I bring a historical character to life. All too often, we think of our founders as perfect men sculpted from white marble (sadly, not too many women are remembered from that era, though they should be) and when the audience learns these were real people, with real loves and hatreds, real passions and flaws, they become more real and more relatable. Washington, for example, becomes more interesting, I think, when one hears Hamilton’s description of the man he adored as a father figure as being “capable of purple and volcanic rages.” That makes Washington more interesting and more human.

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I was reminded of this notion of leaders as real people when I read CoPo this week. The story reporting on Federico Peña’s endorsement of Mike Johnston for mayor immediately took me back to when, in 2008, I first met Secretary Peña during my congressional campaign. He heard my acceptance speech when I was formally nominated by the Dems for the 5th Congressional District seat held then (and now) by GOPer Doug Lamborn.

Peña approached me after I was done with my remarks to say he liked what I said and how I said it. As a candidate, I was enormously flattered, and as a former political science professor, I was delighted to meet one of the truly remarkable men in Colorado’s history. He even agreed to meet me in the coming weeks to advise me and my campaign and to offer some thought on how I might win. Sadly (for me, anyway) I lost, but I treasure the memories of my time chatting with such a remarkable man. Recently, I found myself on Peña Boulevard driving to DIA to catch a flight to a Hamilton gig and, as I always do, thought about how lucky we all have been to have that remarkable gentleman in our leadership at a critical time.

My point being (Ed: finally!) is it matters whom we elect, and not just because of the ideas or policy proposals they put forward, but also because of the type of person they are. Character matters, as does personality. Recall Peña defeated a three-term incumbent mayor, with the campaign motto of “Imagine a great city.” Under his leadership, Denver got the Colorado Rockies and a new international airport. And his service to our nation as secretary of both transportation and energy also improved our lives. I always hoped he’d run for president. Our state and our nation are better off because Peña was in office.

As reported in CoPo, Peña has endorsed Mike Johnston for mayor of Denver in the June runoff. I hope that endorsement would be meaningful for folks who are not quite sure for whom they should vote in the runoff.

Obviously, I’m watching that election from afar, as my own city of Colorado Springs is heading toward a very similar runoff for mayor. Here, as will be the pattern for a number of years in this GOP town, the dozen candidates in the general election divided up the conservative votes, while the one perceived “liberal” in the theoretically non-partisan race, Yemi Mobolade, finished first with about 30% of the votes. The two GOPers seen as the leading candidates, Wayne Williams and Sallie Clark, finished second and third respectively.

As happened eight years ago, the runoff between Yemi and Wayne will follow the same form: the liberals will vote for Yemi, and the now-united conservatives will vote en masse for Williams, and he will win the office. I’ll joist against the windmill of one-party rule and will vote for Yemi again, but realistically, it won’t matter. So, given that Colorado Springs is already basically locked up, let’s talk about Denver a bit more, shall we?

Several years ago, I found myself seated next to Johnston at a dinner. I was very impressed. In particular, I was impressed by his strong desire to learn more about the military’s role in Colorado. He asked a great number of questions and was clearly very interested in the answers. He didn’t offer me any soundbites or glib responses. Rather, he was eager to explore areas wherein he felt his knowledge might be lacking, and I greatly respect that. I haven’t spoken to him since, but I remain impressed.

There are two Peña boulevards in Colorado: the first is a physical road that takes us to DIA. But the second is a vision that leads toward a future that is better and richer for the people of Colorado. Mike Johnston appears to be looking down that second road, as is Yemi here in the Springs.

One of them might have a real shot at putting that dream into reality, and I truly hope that happens.

Hal Bidlack is a retired professor of political science and a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who taught more than 17 years at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.