by Chanel Ward
On Tuesday morning, supporters cheered in front of the Denver City and County Building as their former mayoral candidates, Lisa Calderón and Penfield Tate rallied behind Jamie Giellis for Mayor.
Reverend Dr. Timothy E. Tyler, the Pastor of Shorter Community African Methodist Episcopal Church thanked the candidates for uniting before introducing Calderón.
“On May 7th when the smoke cleared, for many of us things did not turn out the way we wanted them to,” Reverend Tyler continued, “but as the ancestors and heavens would cause it to be, the numbers did stack up.”
He explained, “this is not about choosing the best of two evils,” but instead, “this is about an administration that had eight years, eight years, and in eight years he has divided this city, destroyed our historic neighborhoods and has systematically sought to deal harshly with the homeless. And so today, we come together realizing that we have an opportunity, not only to be heard, but to still make a difference in Denver Colorado!”
Calderón was introduced with applause and chants of her name, the crowd looked on with a mix of slogans and support for their candidate on t-shirts, signs and buttons, and even though it was a blended crowd they all had one goal, to unite for change.
“As Reverend Tyler said, this was not the outcome that we were hoping for,” said Calderón, “but I’m someone who always looks forward and doesn’t look backward; if I did, I wouldn’t survive as long as I have, particularly under this administration.”
Calderón spoke to El Semanario and explained why she is endorsing Geillis for mayor.
“It’s essentially because she has absorbed our platform. It wasn’t the ideal outcome that we wanted, but we’re still moving forward and making it beneficial for the people who have been rallying behind me.
“This convening today is not about supporting an individual, it’s not about Jamie, or me, or Penfield it is about was in the best interest for Denver.”
“As a doctor of education I study history, and looking at history of the team of rivals we see that the great president Lincoln brought people together who were his adversaries to form a way forward and those folks needed to understand that you make friends out of former adversaries, that you listen with compassion,” asserted Calderón, as the clock of the City and County Building chimed behind her she spoke over its song to add, “that you admit your mistakes and you do better, that you share in the credit for moving the people forward. But one of those things that the team of rivals didn’t have that we have were women at the table!”
Calderón continued, “For the first time in Denver’s history we can have women leading city government, and what those team of rivals didn’t do was set the example that women can in fact come together, support one another and lead together in the best interest of the people of this city, particularly those who are hurting the most; the un-housed, the people who are being pushed out, the workers of this city. We are taking a new approach to leading in Denver; we are leading with compassion, and honesty and integrity and accountability,” expressed Calderón.
Tate also spoke with El Semanario exclusively and said of his endorsement, “I support Jamie Giellis and we’re creating a unity ticket to move the city forward with a vision towards new leadership that’s accessible, ethical, transparent and inclusive.”
Geillis began by applauding the group of about 60 attendees who united. “This is a humbling day and has been an extraordinary journey for all of us,” she said. “It’s been exhausting, it’s been emotional, it’s been intense,” added Giellis.
“We all got in this race because we believed that this city needs to refocus on putting people first and that is what we are going to do together, the collective we, together,” Geillis expressed.
“When I launched this campaign, ‘All Together Now’ was the theme… and it was there because of our vision to collaborate, to set a big tent, to set a big table, to invite all of the voices to be included and this unity moment embodies those values.”
Georgie Aguirre-Sacasa, the former campaign manager for Tate explained the process for voters from here. “There is a runoff election on June 4th. All registered voters will receive a ballot starting May 20th, Denver Election Commission will be mailing those ballots out and you will get a chance to vote for mayor again. So, it’ll be Mayor Hancock and Jamie Giellis on the ballot.”
For more information about Giellis: JamieForDenver.com.
For More Colorado News: ELSEMANARIOCOLORADO.COM
