Denver’s ‘high stakes’ mayoral race field narrows

By JESSE BEDAYN
Associated Press/Report for America

DENVER (AP) — A crowd at a mayoral election watch party in Denver for candidate Mike Johnston broke into applause and cheers when the first batch of votes were returned. The results Tuesday night showed their candidate held a slim lead. He is one of an unusually large and divergent field of 16 contestants vying for an increasingly powerful position. Candidate Kelly Brough, president and CEO of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, was close behind. The vast majority of votes remain to be counted. Since the Mile High City has become a fast-growing tech and business hub of the Mountain West, the role of Denver’s CEO has become a steppingstone for ambitious politicians.