John Hickenlooper
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| John Wright Hickenlooper | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 2003 |
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| Preceded by | Wellington Webb |
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| Born | February 7, 1952 Narberth, Pennsylvania |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Helen Thorpe |
| Children | 5 |
| Residence | Denver, Colorado |
| Alma mater | Wesleyan University |
| Website | denvergov.org/mayor |
John Wright Hickenlooper (born February 7, 1952) is the mayor of the City and County of Denver, the capital and largest city in the U.S. state of Colorado.
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[edit] Biography and early career
Hickenlooper was born in Narberth, Pennsylvania and is a graduate of Wesleyan University where he received a B.A. in English in 1974 and a master’s degree in geology in 1980. His wife, Helen Thorpe, is a writer whose work has been published in The New Yorker, New York Times Magazine, George, and Texas Monthly. They currently live in Denver's Park Hill neighborhood.[1]
Before becoming mayor in June 2003 he was a geologist turned entrepreneur: in addition to being a real estate developer, he is also the owner of several restaurants. He is generally considered one of the main people responsible for the success of the LoDo urban renewal period during the early 1990s. Hickenlooper owned several restaurants in LoDo in the late 1980s, before the area's renewal. He was one of the founders of the original Wynkoop Brewing Company microbrewery; these and others were central to the redevelopment of the area following the arrival of major league baseball in the neighborhood. The area had been known to be dangerous; Hickenlooper is quoted as saying, "I must've had rocks in my head." The rent for Wynkoop's real estate was $1 per square foot per year.[2]
[edit] Political career
His first tasks included taking on the city's budget crisis and reforming its career personnel system. He has broken with past tradition of appointing political insiders to his cabinet with a youthful crew of appointees. [1] In April 2005, Hickenlooper was named one of the top 5 big-city mayors in America by Time Magazine. He is well-liked by both Denver and suburban-Denver citizens and consistently has very good approval ratings. However, employees of Denver continue to question his leadership and give him poor ratings. In addition, Mayor Hickenlooper also aided in attempts to bring the 2008 Democratic National Convention to the Mile High City. Denver mayors had tried to win the Convention in recent years, but had not been successful since the city first hosted in 1908. The city was named host of the 2008 Democratic National Convention during his time as mayor. Mayor Hickenlooper is a member of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition,[3] an organization formed in 2006 and co-chaired by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston mayor Thomas Menino.
Although municipal elections in Denver are nonpartisan, Hickenlooper is a Democrat. Hickenlooper has led a very active mayoral term in Denver. The vast majority of the campaigning he has done for progress in the City and County has been considered popular with Denver-Aurora metro area and statewide, a rare achievement for a Denver Mayor in recent years. On the other hand there are some who say he ignores other more pressing problems such as gang violence and the unknown but likely large number of illegal aliens in the Denver area.
[edit] Campaign for the homeless
Hickenlooper has gained much praise and criticism for his campaigning for homeless services since taking office in 2003. He's responsible for creating the nation's first "10 year plan to end homelessness", a plan that many other cities have adopted since (he introduced the plan at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington, D.C.). In addition, he also created the commission for ending homelessness in Denver, a program seen by many around North America as being a trend setter and example for cities everywhere. "If we are to consider ourselves a truly great city, we must address all the issues that underlie homelessness." Hickenlooper was quoted as saying during the creation of the commission.
[edit] Marijuana legalization
In 2006, Denver became the first major city in the U.S. to make legal the private use of less than an ounce of marijuana legal for adults 21 and older. Hickenlooper opposed the marijuana legalization initiative, which voters approved 53.49%-46.51%, but he did say that the vote "reflect[s] a genuine shift in people's attitudes." Under the current Denver Police interpretation of the law, supported by Hickenlooper, the initiative doesn't usurp Colorado State Law, (CRS). CRS currently treats marijuana possession in much the same way as a speeding ticket, with fines of up to $100 and no jail time.[4]
[edit] Colorado gubernatorial race
Hickenlooper's popularity made him a possible candidate for Governor of Colorado in the November 2006 election to replace term-limited Republican Governor Bill Owens. Despite a "Draft Hick" campaign, he officially announced on February 6, 2006 that he would not seek the Democratic nomination for governor. Later, he threw his support behind Democrat Bill Ritter, Denver's former District Attorney who was successfully elected.[5]
[edit] Greenprint Denver
In his State of the City address on July 12, 2006, Hickenlooper announced a sweeping initiative called Greenprint Denver to promote the importance of sustainable development and ecologically-friendly practices throughout the Denver community and reduce citywide greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with the 2006 U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. The initiative, guided by a leadership group of city and community members, features a comprehensive action agenda to meet a series of goals over a five-year period.
[edit] 2008 Democratic National Convention
Hickenlooper was an executive member of the Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee and helped lead the successful campaign for Denver to host the landmark 2008 Democratic National Convention, which was also the centennial anniversary of the city's hosting of the 1908 Democratic National Convention.
In a controversial move reported July 22, 2008, the Hickenlooper administration arranged for the DNC host committee members, a private non-profit organization, to get untaxed fuel from Denver city-owned pumps, saving them $0.404 per gallon of fuel.[6]
However, Mayor hickenlooper was quoted by the Los Angeles Times to rue the day Denver received the nod to host the Donkey’s confab in August. To quote: “Nonetheless, at a conference on Western issues last week, Hickenlooper referred to the event [the Democratic National Convention] as the ‘blasted convention’ and compared it to a summer he spent painting a house for which he was never paid. ‘If we’d known back then what we know now, we’d never have done it,’ he said, before quickly adding, ‘and what an incredible shame that would have been.’”
[edit] Future political career
Hickenlooper won re-election for the office of Mayor in May 2007 with 87% of the vote.
According to The Denver Post, he was considered to be the frontrunner to fill the United States Senate seat to be vacated by Ken Salazar upon his expected confirmation to be Secretary of the Interior in the Obama Administration.[7] Hickenlooper had confirmed his interest in the seat.[8] However, on January 3, 2009, Gov. Bill Ritter appointed Denver Public Schools Superintendent Michael Bennet.[9]
[edit] References
- ^ Hickenloopers out to forsake their LoDo loft : Local News : The Rocky Mountain News
- ^ "Mile-High Madness", by Rick Reilly, Sports Illustrated, October 2007
- ^ "Mayors Against Illegal Guns: Coalition Members". http://www.mayorsagainstillegalguns.org/html/about/members.shtml.
- ^ USATODAY.com - Denver votes to legalize marijuana possession
- ^ "Hickenlooper endorses Ritter for Gov : The Rocky Mountain News". http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2006/oct/19/hickenlooper-endorses-ritter-for-guv/.
- ^ DNC host's tax-free gas evaporates : Updates : The Rocky Mountain News
- ^ "Next senator? Hickenlooper". Denver Post. 2008-12-21. http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_11266646. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
- ^ "Denver mayor confirms interest in Senate job". Denver Post. 2008-12-24. http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_11292904. Retrieved 2008-12-24.
- ^ "Bennet pick shocks some in Colorado". Denver Post. 2009-01-03. http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_11362547. Retrieved 2009-01-03.
[edit] External links
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by Wellington Webb |
Mayor of Denver 2003– |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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