State Sen. Chris Hansen joins crowded 2023 Denver mayor’s race

State Sen. Chris Hansen represents a big chunk of east Denver at the capitol. On Monday, he made it official that he hopes to represent the entire city as mayor, filing paperwork to join a crowded field of candidates for the April 2023 election.

Hansen confirmed via text message Monday that he is jumping into the city’s mayoral candidate field. The election, scheduled for April 4, will be the first open mayor’s race in the city since the term-limited Michael Hancock was elected to the first of his three terms in 2009.

Over the summer, Hansen told The Denver Post that he was “taking a very hard look” at the mayor’s race. After a two-decade career in the private sector that included advising energy companies and governments on how to improve their operations, he prides himself on his legislative work on environmental policy.

Hansen served in the State House from 2017 to 2020 when he was appointed to succeed Sen. Lois Court representing District 31 in the Senate. He won re-election later that year. His term ends in 2025 but that could be sooner if he can beat out a field of 14 (so far) other declared mayoral candidates.

Hansen becomes the second former member of the legislature’s influential joint budget committee to declare for mayor. Fellow Democrat, Rep. Leslie Herod, also served on that committee with Hansen. Herod was re-elected to her District 8 seat last week despite also running for mayor.

Aside from Herod, the other candidates that have so far filed paperwork to run for the city’s top office next year are: Kelly Brough, Anna Burrell, Lisa Calderón, Alex Cowans, Marcus Giavanni, Aurelio Martinez, Debbie Ortega, Jesse Lashawn Parris, Terrance Roberts, Andy Rougeot, Ken Simpson, Ean Thomas Tafoya and Thomas Wolf.

More candidates are expected to enter the field now that the 2022 midterm election is over.

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