In 2011, the last mayoral race without an incumbent on the ballot, Hancock ran against nine other contenders, and that one was plenty wild, too. And weird.
Here are five of the odder aspects of that election:
Hancock wanted to bring casinos to Denver
During a March 2011 mayoral forum at the Denver Athletic Club, Hancock, then a member of Denver City Council, campaigned on the idea that the next mayor should bring casinos to Denver."I want to bring casinos to Denver to bring the jobs and the money into the city. People say, 'They hate you in Black Hawk.' I don't care if they hate me or not; I'm not running for mayor there. I'm running for mayor here," Hancock said at the forum.
That campaign idea never panned out. Establishing casinos in Denver would require approval from Colorado voters through a statewide ballot measure. But since voters first approved allowing limited stakes gaming in Black Hawk, Central City and Cripple Creek (casinos were already allowed on Native American reservations) more than three decades ago, they have rejected all proposals to allow gambling in other geographic areas.
Hancock got himself into trouble over creationism and evolution
At an April 2011 mayoral forum at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Hancock was asked whether he believed in evolution. "I believe in God," he responded.In the weeks after, Hancock followed up by saying, "I believe in evolution, and I believe in God."
But after making the runoff with top vote-getter Chris Romer, Hancock again stumbled on questions of religion and science by answering "Yes" during a debate when he was asked whether creationism or intelligent design should be taught in Denver's public schools.
After the debate, Hancock's team again made it clear that the candidate had made a mistake and meant to answer "No."
The mistakes didn't end up costing Hancock that much. He cruised to victory in the June 2011 runoff against Romer.
Candidates sometimes appeared to be running for the school board
Although the Denver mayor has no authority over the Denver Public Schools system, mayoral candidates in 2011 often spoke as though they were running for a spot on the school board instead of mayor.In one particular ad — which the Denver Post's Vincent Carroll called "the most powerful ad of the entire campaign" — Hancock was seen driving his son to East High School, eighteen miles across town from where they lived, "because our neighborhood school is one of the many across Denver that are failing," Hancock said.
"Not every parent can do this. They love their children no less than I love mine. I'm Michael Hancock, and I'm running for mayor because this is wrong. High-quality schools should never be a luxury," Hancock added.
At debates, Hancock and Romer occasionally jousted over what direction the DPS system should take, including whether charter schools should get more support and how to approach failing public schools.
These were important subjects, but they just weren't anything Denver's mayor could control.
Cupcake truck becomes talking point
In January 2011, a pair of food trucks called the Denver Cupcake Trucks were forced into hibernation after running into trouble with Denver zoning officials. The trucks, which were associated with Cake Crumbs Bakery in Park Hill, had been traveling around town selling cupcakes. The owners — Sean and Denon Moore — had gotten the green light from city licensing officials, but zoning representatives threatened the Moores with tickets.Romer, then the frontrunner in the mayor's race, jumped on the issue, starting a petition to "Save the Cupcake Truck" and posting the following on his campaign website: "Bureaucracy and red tape in city government need to be cut when it's standing in the way of delicious treats. Whose day isn't better with a cupcake?"
The public pressure worked, and the city soon allowed the cupcake trucks to take to the streets again with their traveling treats.
UFO activist ran for mayor
In 2010, Jeff Peckman, a UFO activist, championed a Denver ballot measure to create an Extraterrestrial Affairs Commission to "ensure the health, safety, and cultural awareness of Denver residents” in case there's any contact "with extraterrestrial intelligent beings or their vehicles." An opposition campaign called the M.I.B. — Mission for Inhibiting Bureaucracy — fought the proposal, which was ultimately rejected 82.34 percent to 17.66 percent.But Peckman was not discouraged. In 2011, he ran for Denver mayor, speaking on the campaign trail not just about otherworldly opportunities, but also "weeds growing in the cracks of sidewalks throughout Denver that have more health-promoting properties than pharmaceutical drugs." His dreams came crashing back down to Earth when he garnered only 796 votes, accounting for just 0.7 percent of the total vote in the 2011 mayor's race.
Michael Hancock won the June 7, 2011, runoff with 70,780 votes to Romer's 51,082, and was inaugurated as the 45th mayor of Denver on July 18, 2011. His twelve-year run will end this July.
