Lisa Calderón, director of Emerge Colorado, joins race for Denver mayor

Julia Cardi, The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
·2 min read

Oct. 13—Lisa Calderón, the director of Emerge Colorado and a professor at Regis University, announced Thursday morning she will run in Denver's 2023 mayoral election.

She finished third in the 2019 mayoral primary.

Calderón said in a news release that she wants to rebuild trust in government institutions, which she characterizes at an "all-time" low because of political polarization and economic uncertainty.

She indicated she considers key issues to be affordable housing, equitable pay for workers, climate change solutions, availability of mental health services, a balance between safety and police reform and protecting abortion access.

Calderón has a background in education, city government and running nonprofits. The organization of which she currently serves as executive director, Emerge Colorado, trains Democratic women to run for public office.

"I am not a term-limited career politician or part of Denver's political machine. I have been fighting for working families, affordable housing, safer communities, civil rights, and reproductive freedom long before the pandemic or current threats to our democracy," she said in a statement.

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Calderón, a Black Latina, joins a crowded field of candidates vying to replace term-limited Mayor Michael Hancock, who will finish his third term. Other women of color already in the race include At-Large Councilmember Debbie Ortega and Rep. Leslie Herod, who represents District 8 in Colorado's legislature.

At the time of Calderón's 2019 run for mayor, she had an ongoing lawsuit against Denver and city officials alleging discrimination for the decision not to renew a contract with a nonprofit running a community re-entry program for people released from jail that she headed. She claimed the city's decision not to renew the contract was in retaliation for her outspoken criticism of Hancock's administration and the sheriff's department.

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Calderón announced her campaign team includes:

Sarah Lake, Campaign Manager

— Tyler McDermott, Field Director

— Summer Nettles, Communications Director

— Millete Birhanemaskel, Treasurer

— Sol Sandoval, Spanish Bilingual Outreach Consultant

— Kristen Seidel, Campaign Consultant

"When we reimagine Denver, we can transform how city government operates and is viewed by the public," Calderón said in her statement.