John Hickenlooper
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John Wright Hickenlooper (born February 7 1952) is Mayor of the City and County of Denver, Colorado. He was born in Narberth, Pennsylvania. He is a graduate of Wesleyan University. Before becoming mayor in June 2003 he was a geologist turned entrepreneur: in addition to being very successful with real estate, he is also the owner of several popular restaurants, including Denver's first brewpub, the Wynkoop Brewing Company. He is generally considered one of the main people responsible for the success of the LoDo urban renewal period during the early 1990s.
2003 Mayoral campaign
In electing Hickenlooper, the city continued its 40-year tradition of electing Democratic mayors. Hickenlooper ran a media-heavy campaign featuring himself riding scooters and feeding parking meters. He was the darling of the Denver's two daily papers, The Denver Post and the Rocky Mountain News, both of whom endorsed him over the early favorite, City Auditor Don Mares, who was also a Democrat. The papers' tough coverage of Mares gave Hickenlooper an important edge. Hickenlooper was popular among voters, as he promised to reduce parking prices in the downtown area, which he followed through on soon after his election. In the first round of elections, Hickenlooper received 43% of the vote, 20 points ahead of Mares, but they still had to compete in a runoff, which Hickenlooper won in a landslide, receiving 65% of the vote.First term as Mayor
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. [link]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. In addition, Mayor Hickenlooper also is aiding in attempts to bring the 2008 Democratic National Convention to the Mile High City. Denver Mayors have tried to win the Convention in recent years, but have not been successful since the city first hosted in 1908. The city is currently considered to be the front-runner in the race to host the convention.
Political action
John Hickenlooper has led a very active mayoral term in Denver. The vast majority of the campaigning he's done for progress in the City and County has been considered popular with Denver-Aurora metro and statewide, a rare achievement for a Denver Mayor in recent years.Campaign for the homeless
Hickenlooper has gained much praise 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.Marijuana legalization
In 2005, Denver became the first major city in the U.S. to make 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%. It should be noted that the initiative doesn't usurp Colorado State Law, (CRS), which currently treats marijuana possession in much the same way as a speeding ticket, with fines of up to $100 and no jail time [link].2008 Democratic National Convention
Hickenlooper, like his Democratic predecesor Wellington Webb (1991-2003) has led the campaign for Denver to host the landmark 2008 Democratic National Convention. The city is now one of four left [link] competing to host the convention, which would coincidently be the centennial of the city's first hosting of the landmark 1908 convention. Hickenlooper has popularly pitched the centennial convention be held in the Centennial State.Controversy
Illegal immigrant Raul Garcia-Gomez was employed at the Cherry Cricket, a restaurant owned by Hickenlooper. During this time, Garcia-Gomez murdered police Detective Donald Young, and wounded Detective John Bishop, returned to work and completed a full day's shift, and then fled to Mexico. Hickenlooper has been severely criticized for refusing to allow deportation of violent illegal aliens while collecting federal reimbursement for housing them, and for extending welfare benefits to illegal aliens. Although the incident has been publicized by critics, Hickenlooper's popularity has not gone down despite critics' attacks.Future political career
Hickenlooper's popularity has made him a possible candidate for Governor of Colorado in the upcoming election to fill current Republican Governor Bill Owens' seat. Although he decided not to run despite a campaign called [Draft Hick]. He officially announced on Monday, February 6, 2006 that he would not seek the Democratic nomination for governor, and has since thrown support behind frontrunner Democrat Bill Ritter, Denver's former District Attorney.Hickenlooper will be up for re-election for the office of Mayor in 2007.
Family and private life
Mayor Hickenlooper graduated from Wesleyan University where he received a bachelor’s degree 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 live in Lower Downtown Denver with their three-year-old son Teddy.External links
- [Biography from campaign site]
- [Denver Commission to End Homelessness]
- [Press Release on Hickenlooper's Homeless Campaign]
- [City and County of Denver]
- [Mayor's Office]
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