Friday, May 8, 2015

Roiling Under the Surface

The Denver Post’s Jon Murray got to sort through the conflicting messages among Denver voters who re-elected a host of Denver city officeholders, but exercised harsh judgment on one incumbent, City Councilperson Susan Shepherd, losing two-to-one, and rejected Chris Nevitt, thought to be an easy win for auditor, losing to little known and underfunded Tim O’Brien.

It probably sends an effective warning to the Denver political class to not interpret the placid election and most of its results as general satisfaction with the status quo. Like most places in the U.S. and the world, there’s protest in the air.

One of the few themes in the election captured by the Denver Post was that the city’s recent growth surge has irritated neighbors, congested traffic and produced a backlash, which will make the next city council less friendly toward development.

Political analyst Floyd Ciruli said such issues illustrate the flip side of Denver's recent success. “In general, this looks like an election where the biggest complaint is that we're doing too well,” Ciruli said.

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