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2023 Denver mayoral race: Meet all 17 candidates on the ballot

Denver7 sat down with all 17 candidates running for Denver mayor to learn more about each of their platforms. Get to know them all here.
Posted: 3:46 PM, Feb 20, 2023
Updated: 2023-02-22 14:46:43-05
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DENVER — Meet all 17 candidates on the ballot in the Denver mayoral election. Candidates are listed in the order in which they appear on the ballot.

The first ballots go out in the mail on March 13. The last day to vote is Election Day, on April 4.

Each candidate is listed in the interactive below or here. You can click on each candidate's photo to see a short biography and a link to their full interview with Denver7.

Related: Meet Denver city council, mayor candidates for 2023 | Denver Decides candidate forums

The full interviews are also included, in ballot order, below the interactive in this story. Each candidate's name links to his or her full interview with Denver7.


Lisa Calderón

Lisa Calderón is a Denver native with a number of degrees, including her law degree and doctorate from Colorado universities. She is a professor at Regis University and CU Boulder. Calderón also serves as the executive director of Emerge Colorado, an organization that trains Democratic women how to run for office.

This isn’t her first mayor race. Calderón ran for office in 2019.

According to city data, the candidate qualified for the Denver Fair Elections Fund. At the start of February, she received $131,718.41. Of that, nearly $89,000 is from the Fair Elections Fund.

2023 Denver mayor race: Candidate Lisa Calderón shares her platform


Trinidad Rodriguez

Trinidad Rodriguez was raised in West Denver. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts. From 2013 to 2021 Rodriguez worked at D.A. Davidson as senior vice president and managing director. Additionally, he serves on Metropolitan State University’s board of directors.

According to city data, Rodriguez qualified for Denver Fair Elections Fund. At the start of February, he received $121,767.65 in campaign funding. Fair Elections Fund contributions account for more than half of that.

2023 Denver mayor race: Candidate Trinidad Rodriguez shares his platform


Aurelio Martinez

Aurelio Martinez is a former boxer and business owner who grew up in Denver’s Five-Points neighborhood Curtis Park. Martinez says “the city of Denver is broken,” and he’s running to “bring back beauty and greatness.”

According to city data, Martinez qualified for the Denver Fair Elections Fund. At the start of February, he had received $7,484.98 in campaign donations, none of which is from the Fair Elections Fund.

2023 Denver mayor race: Candidate Aurelio Martinez shares his platform


Thomas Wolf

Thomas Wolf is running for mayor for a second time. He previously ran in 2011.

Wolf works as an investment banker at CREWE. He received his master’s from the University of Denver. His family formerly lived in London but chose to move to Denver for “quality of life, cost of living, geography and its people,” according to his campaign website.

Wolf qualified for Denver Fair Elections Fund, according to city data. At the start of February, he received $107,694.70 in campaign funding. Nearly $88,000 of those contributions are from the Fair Elections Fund.

2023 Denver mayor race: Candidate Thomas Wolf shares his platform


Aldwyn "Al" Gardner

Al Gardner calls himself a “civically engaged citizen” who has lived in Denver for the last 20 years. He is an IT Executive for Salud Family Health, a network of clinics serving low-income Coloradans, and Inspirato, a luxury vacation rental company. He has also served on various boards and commissions, including the Denver Civil Service Commission, the Denver African American Commission and the Citizen Oversight Board.

According to city data, Gardner’s qualification for the Denver Fair Elections Fund was revoked. As of the start of February, Gardner had received $12,150 in campaign funding.

2023 Denver mayor race: Candidate Al Gardner shares his platform


Terrance Roberts

Civil rights activist and Denver native Terrance Roberts is in the running for mayor. In 2013, Roberts made national headlines after he shot someone at an anti-gang rally. A former gang member himself, Roberts went to trial on attempted murder charges. A jury found him innocent. Since then, the book "The Holly: Five Bullets, One Gun, and the Struggle to Save an American Neighborhood" put a spotlight on the case, followed by a documentary.

According to city data, Roberts qualified for Denver Fair Elections Fund. At the start of February, he received $83,108.24 in campaign funding. More than three-quarters of that is from the Fair Elections Fund.

2023 Denver mayor race: Candidate Terrance Roberts shares his platform


Kwame Spearman (dropped out of the race)

Update: Kwame Spearman announced he was withdrawing his name from the race on Thursday, March 16. A vote for Spearman would now count as an "undervote," or the equivalent of not making a selection on that portion of the ballot.

Touting himself as “Denver’s Neighborhood Mayor,” Kwame Spearman is a Denver native and the co-owner and CEO of Tattered Cover Bookstore. He also serves on the boards of Denver Health Foundation and Denver Public Schools. Spearman has degrees from Columbia University, Yale Law School and Harvard Business School.

According to city data, Spearman qualified for the Denver Fair Elections Fund. As of the start of February, Spearman has received $55,314 in campaign funding.

2023 Denver mayor race: Candidate Kwame Spearman shares his platform


Renate Behrens

Renate Behrens is from Germany and moved to Colorado in 2007. She’s a survivor of human trafficking and delt with homelessness after coming to the U.S., she told Denver7 in an interview. To get back on her feet, Behrens worked in the same homeless kitchen that fed her.

City data shows Behrens did not qualify for Denver Fair Elections Fund. At the start of February, she’s received $429 in campaign donations.

2023 Denver mayor race: Candidate Renate Behrens shares her platform


Chris Hansen

Colorado State Sen. Chris Hansen has represented Denver for the last six years in the legislature, where he has focused on clean energy. Hansen co-founded the Colorado Energy and Water Institute and previously worked in finance and corporate strategy. Hansen grew up on the Colorado-Kansas border in the small town of Goodland. In his run for mayor, Hansen says the “safety of all Denverites” is his top priority.

Hansen qualified for the Denver Fair Elections Fund, according to city data. At the start of February, he had received $307,068.26 in campaign donations. Of that, $172,530 is from the Fair Elections Fund.

2023 Denver mayor race: Candidate Chris Hansen shares his platform


Mike Johnston

Former State Sen. Mike Johnston is on the ballot for Denver’s top job. He is currently the CEO of Gary Community Ventures, an organization that focuses on improving education and helping families reach financial independence. Johnston holds a handful of degrees, including his master’s and law degree from Yale.

He served in office from 2009 to 2017. Additionally, Johnston was a governor candidate in 2018. He also made a run at U.S. Senate in 2020 but dropped out of the race.

According to city data, the candidate qualified for the Denver Fair Elections Fund. At the start of February, he received $446,375.52 in campaign funding. Less than one-third of that is from the Fair Election Fund.

2023 Denver mayor race: Candidate Mike Johnston shares his platform


James “Jim” Walsh

Professor Jim Walsh has taught history and political science at the University of Colorado Denver since 1998. He’s running for mayor “to make Denver the most worker-friendly city in the U.S.” Walsh created the Romero Theater Troupe in 2005 to use the arts to tell historical stories of worker struggle.

Walsh qualified for the Denver Fair Elections Fund, according to city data. At the start of February, he had received $16,106.99 in campaign donations, none of which is from the Fair Elections Fund.

2023 Denver mayor race: Candidate Jim Walsh shares his platform


Ean Thomas Tafoya

Environmental and civil rights advocate Ean Thomas Tafoya is a fourth generation Denverite running what he calls a “people-powered campaign.” Tafoya has worked in local government, served on dozens of community boards and led winning ballot initiatives. He founded the Headwaters Protectors, a mutual aid group providing services to unhoused people in Denver, and serves as the Colorado state director for the environmental nonprofit GreenLatinos.

Tafoya qualified for the Denver Fair Elections Fund, according to city data. At the start of February, he had received $130,149.94 in campaign donations. Of that, $97,067.07 is from the Fair Elections Fund. people-powered campaign.

2023 Denver mayor race: Candidate Ean Tafoya shares his platform


Andre “Andy” Rougeot

Andy Rougeot, a former United States Army Officer and small business owner, says he's “fighting for Denver’s future.” Rougeot first moved to Colorado in 2011 when assigned to Fort Carson, and after deployment to Afghanistan, he returned to live in Denver.

According to city data, Rougeot did not qualify for the Denver Fair Elections Fund. At the start of February, he had received $786,151.96 in campaign donations.

2023 Denver mayor race: Candidate Andy Rougeot shares his platform


Leslie Herod

State Rep. Leslie Herod was re-elected in November for her fourth term, and now she’s vying to be Denver’s next mayor. Rep. Herod was first elected to the Colorado General Assembly in 2016, becoming the first LGBTQ African American to hold a seat. She graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder.

According to city data, Herod qualified for the Denver Fair Elections Fund. At the start of February, she received $624,437.68 in campaign funding. Nearly half of that is from the Fair Elections Fund.

2023 Denver mayor race: Candidate Leslie Herod shares her platform


Robert Treta

Born and raised in New Jersey, Robert Treta came to Denver in 1996, and now he’s looking to lead the city. According to his campaign website, he’s self-employed at Treta Consultants, Inc.

City data shows Treta did not qualify for Denver Fair Elections Fund. At the start of February, he received $125 in campaign donations.

2023 Denver mayor race: Candidate Robert Treta shares his platform


Deborah “Debbie” Ortega

Debbie Ortega, a long-time Denver councilwoman, is running for mayor to build a “safe, affordable and strong Denver.” Ortega was born in New Mexico and moved to Denver at 13 years old. She was first elected to the city council in 1987 and served until 2003, when she became the first executive director of Denver’s Homeless Commission. She returned to the council in 2011 and has held her citywide at-large seat since.

Ortega qualified for the Denver Fair Elections Fund, according to city data. At the start of February, she had received $279,418.67 in campaign donations. Of that, $171,361 is from the Fair Elections Fund.

2023 Denver mayor race: Candidate Debbie Ortega shares her platform


Kelly Brough

Kelly Brough has been the first woman to take on many of her previous jobs and hopes to add Denver mayor to the list. She was the first female president and CEO of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce for a dozen years until she stepped down last September. Brough has worked within the Denver government, as an analyst for city council and chief of staff to then-Mayor John Hickenlooper. She has also served on various boards, including Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver, Denver Zoo and Visit Denver.

Brough qualified for the Denver Fair Elections Fund, according to city data. At the start of February, she had received $848,872.47 in campaign donations. Of that, $395,208.27 is from the Fair Elections Fund.

2023 Denver mayor race: Candidate Kelly Brough shares her platform