John Hickenlooper

John Hickenlooper
John Hickenlooper at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, Davos, 2012
42nd Governor of Colorado
Incumbent
Assumed office January 11, 2011
Lieutenant	Joseph Garcia
Preceded by	Bill Ritter
42nd Mayor of Denver
In office July 21, 2003 – January 11, 2011
Preceded by	Wellington Webb
Succeeded by	Guillermo "Bill" Vidal
Personal details
Born	John Wright Hickenlooper February 7, 1952 (1952-02-07) Narberth, Pennsylvania, United States
Political party	Democratic Party
Spouse(s)	Helen Thorpe
Residence	Governor's Mansion (public) Denver, Colorado (private)
Alma mater	Wesleyan University
Religion	Quaker
Website	Governor John Hickenlooper

John Wright Hickenlooper (born February 7, 1952) is an American politician and current Governor of Colorado. A Democrat, he was previously the Mayor of Denver, Colorado from 2003 to 2011.

Early life, education and career

Hickenlooper was born in Narberth, Pennsylvania, just outside of Philadelphia, part of the suburban Main Line. Hickenlooper was raised by his mother after his father suffered a premature death. He 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.

Before becoming mayor in July 2003 he was a geologist turned entrepreneur. He is often considered a prominent figure in 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 brewpub; these and others companies contributed 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.

Mayor of Denver

Hickenlooper's first tasks included handling the city's budget crisis and changing its career personnel system. He has appointed a relatively young crew of appointees to his cabinet. Mayor Hickenlooper is a member of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition, an organization formed in 2006 and co-chaired by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston mayor Thomas Menino. Hickenlooper resigned as mayor at 8am on January 11, 2011, hours before being inaugurated as Colorado's Governor.

Although municipal elections in Denver are nonpartisan, Hickenlooper is a Democrat. Hickenlooper won re-election for the office of Mayor in May 2007 with 87% of the vote. In 2005 he was named by Time Magazine as being one of the 5 greatest big city mayors in the US.

Political positions

Campaign for the homeless

Hickenlooper has campaigned for increasing homeless services since taking office in 2003. He announced a "10 year plan to end homelessness" at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington, D.C.^{[citation needed]}.

Marijuana legalization

In 2006, Denver became the first major U.S. city to legalize the private use of (less than one ounce of) marijuana by those over age 21. 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 the state law, the Colorado Revised Statutes (CRS). The CRS currently treats marijuana possession similarly to exceeding a speed limit, with fines of up to $100 and no jail time.

Greenprint Denver

In his State of the City address on July 12, 2006, Hickenlooper announced an initiative called Greenprint Denver to promote sustainable development and practices 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 series of goals to meet over a five-year period.

Political campaigns

2006 Colorado gubernatorial race

Hickenlooper was viewed as a possible contender 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 later elected.

2008 Democratic National Convention

Hickenlooper speaks on the first day of the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado.

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 decried by critics as breaching partisan ethics, 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.

2008 Senate seat appointment

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. Hickenlooper had confirmed his interest in the seat. However, on January 3, 2009, Gov. Bill Ritter appointed Denver Public Schools Superintendent Michael Bennet to the position. Bennet previously served as Chief of Staff to Mayor Hickenlooper.

2010 Colorado gubernatorial race

Main article: Colorado gubernatorial election, 2010

After Governor Ritter announced on January 6, 2010 that he would step down at the end of his term, Hickenlooper was cited as a potential candidate for state governor. Hickenlooper stated that if Secretary Salazar mounted a bid for governor, he would likely not challenge him in a Democratic primary. On January 7, 2010, Salazar confirmed that he would not be running for governor in 2010 and endorsed Hickenlooper for the position. On January 12, 2010, media outlets reported that Hickenlooper would begin a campaign for Colorado governor. On August 5, 2010, Hickenlooper selected CSU-Pueblo president Joseph A. Garcia as his running mate. On November 2, 2010, at 8:46 MST CNN projected that Hickenlooper would be the next Governor of Colorado.

Personal life

Hickenlooper's 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 with their son, Teddy. Hickenlooper told the Philadelphia Inquirer that he and Thorpe attend Quaker meetings and try to live by Quaker values.

A cousin, George Hickenlooper, was an Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker. John made a cameo appearance in George's 2010 film Casino Jack.

Other relatives include Olga Hickenlooper (a.k.a. Olga Samaroff), a concert pianist who was the first wife of conductor Leopold Stokowski, and Bourke Hickenlooper, who served as a governor of and senator for Iowa.

Hickenlooper appears in Kurt Vonnegut's novel, Timequake.

External links

• Governor John Hickenlooper official government site
• Hickenlooper for Governor official campaign site
• Profile at CityMayors.com
• Biography at the National Governors Association
• Biography, interest group ratings, public statements, vetoes and campaign finances at Project Vote Smart
• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Issue positions and quotes at On the Issues
• Campaign contributions at FollowTheMoney.org
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Appearances at the Internet Movie Database
• Works by or about John Hickenlooper in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Profile at Notable Names Database

Political offices
Preceded by Wellington Webb	Mayor of Denver 2003–2011	Succeeded by Guillermo "Bill" Vidal
Preceded by Bill Ritter	Governor of Colorado 2011–present	Incumbent
Party political offices
Preceded by Bill Ritter	Democratic nominee for Governor of Colorado 2010	Most recent
United States order of precedence
Preceded by Joe Biden as Vice President	Order of Precedence of the United States Within Colorado	Succeeded by Mayor of city in which event is held
		Succeeded by Otherwise John Boehner as Speaker of the House of Representatives
Preceded by Dave Heineman as Governor of Nebraska	Order of Precedence of the United States Outside Colorado	Succeeded by Jack Dalrymple as Governor of North Dakota