The Contenders: Andy Rougeot Wants to Become First Republican Mayor in Sixty Years

This is the fourth in our series on the Denver mayoral candidates, based on their responses to a Westword questionnaire sent to every contender on the ballot last month; see PBS12's "Humanizing" piece on Andy Rougeot below.

Republican Richard Batterton served as Denver mayor from 1959 to 1963; no member of the GOP has served as the Mile High City's chief executive since then. Andy Rougeot, who showed his eagerness to improve the city by shoveling people's sidewalks and walkways this winter, wants to buck that trend.

A former U.S. Army officer who deployed to Afghanistan, Rougeot moved to Colorado in 2011, ultimately settling with his now-wife in Denver in 2013. In addition to his military experience, Rougeot has business experience: He's run his own company fixing gates for self-storage units. He is also the son of the CEO of Sephora Americas.

Rougeot, who has a ninety-pound golden retriever named Bandit and two young daughters, is running a largely self-funded, tough-on-crime campaign with a strict policy regarding unsheltered homelessness. As the lone registered Republican in the race, he's banking on a belief that Denver voters have gotten fed up enough with crime and homelessness to start leaning toward the right.

Why are you running for mayor?

I am running for mayor to fight for Denver’s future because I love Denver. I think it is the greatest city in the country. But our current mayor and city council have failed us. Crime, homelessness and the cost of housing are skyrocketing. As mayor, I will make Denver safer by adding 400 police officers and eliminating 911 hold times. I will reduce homelessness through the aggressive enforcement of the camping ban to get unsheltered homeless into mental health and drug addiction services. Finally, I’ll increase the affordability of housing for first-time homebuyers, young families and blue-collar workers by fixing our broken planning department and eliminating costly regulations that unnecessarily increase the cost of housing.

What is your plan to tackle homelessness?

As mayor, I will consistently enforce the camping ban to get the homeless into the mental health and drug addiction services they need.

Would you end homeless encampment sweeps?

I believe the camping ban is a critical tool to get service-resistant homeless to utilize the mental health and drug addiction services offered by the city. It is not humane to step over someone on our street dealing with a fentanyl addiction or schizophrenia.

What is your plan to improve public safety in Denver?

Crime is out of control in our city. We’ve seen a near tripling of murders over the past ten years. We are one of the car-theft capitals of the country. As mayor, I will add 400 additional police officers, increase funding for police training and ensure our 911 system is responsive.

How will you work with Denver Public Schools to improve education and safety in schools?

Our children need to be safe to learn. As a father to two daughters, this is a critical issue for me. As mayor, I will work to reintroduce school resource officers back into our schools to ensure our kids have a safe learning environment.

What is your stance on the Park Hill Golf Course development proposal?

We need to build more housing. I support converting the abandoned Park Hill golf course into both housing and a new city park as proposed in the Westside plan. It is critical that Denver's teachers, police officers and firefighters can afford to live in our city, and to make Denver affordable for first-time home buyers and young families.

How can Denver significantly expand its affordable-housing stock?

Housing is unaffordable in our city, for blue-collar workers, first-time home buyers and young families. As mayor, I will fix our broken permitting department and reduce regulations that unnecessarily increase the cost of building housing in our city to make Denver more affordable.

Denver has historically been a car-centric city. Should the city take significant road space from cars for other forms of transportation (walking, rolling, biking, scootering, bus, etc.)?

Traffic in Denver costs the average commuter an additional 36 hours a year, along with an additional $1,200 on gas. We should not pursue policies that increase traffic, increasing the burden on Denverites already struggling under rising prices.

What would you do if the Denver Broncos demand public dollars as a requirement for keeping the stadium in the Mile High City?

The taxpayer dollars of Denver should not subsidize billionaire owners of sports teams.

Violence during let-out in LoDo has been an issue for years. Would you support a staggered closing time that ends at 4 a.m.?

I would support staggered closing times, but the key solution to rising violence is increased police presence. As mayor, I will add 400 additional police officers to ensure all of Denver is safe, from young families to late-night bar patrons.


See answers from Kelly Brough, Thomas Wolf, Lisa Calderón, Andy Rougeot, Ean Tafoya, Renate Behrens, Debbie Ortega, James Walsh, Robert Treta, Leslie Herod, Chris Hansen, Mike Johnston, Trinidad Rodriguez, Aurelio Martinez, Terrance Roberts and Al Gardner.