Mayoral Tracker

The mayor proposes the budget, runs the police, and signs or vetoes every ordinance. This guide compiles what the public record tells us about each declared candidate for Denver Mayor - their positions, backgrounds, and track records.

Looking for City Council races? See the Council Candidate Tracker.

Mayor of Denver

Election: April 6, 2027. Runoff (if no candidate exceeds 50%): June 1, 2027. As of May 2026, four candidates have declared; the field is not final until the December 16, 2026 filing deadline.

Mike Johnston

Incumbent Mayor (2023–present)

What We Know From the Public Record

  • Elected mayor in 2023 runoff, defeating Kelly Brough by over 10 points. Former Colorado state senator (2013-2017) and education nonprofit executive.
  • Launched a hotel-based shelter initiative that the administration says achieved the "largest reduction in street homelessness of any major American city." Critics argue the model lacks wraparound services and long-term housing placements.
  • Vetoed council's freezing-temperature encampment sweep moratorium. Bypassed City Council's 12-0 rejection of the Flock surveillance camera contract by structuring a deal under the $500K council approval threshold. Audit logs showed ICE searched Denver's camera data 1,400+ times.
  • Laid off hundreds of city workers in 2025, citing budget shortfalls. Administration says it cut violent crime and auto theft in half during first term.
  • Has supported STAR program funding. Denver voters approved municipal broadband in 2020; the city has not built it under Johnston's administration.

Lisa Calderón

Justice Advocate, Executive Director of Women Uprising

What We Know From the Public Record

  • Third mayoral run. Finished third in 2023 with 18.21% - 3,200 votes short of the runoff. Fourth-generation Denverite. Holds a bachelor's, master's, JD, and EdD.
  • Executive director of Women Uprising, which trains progressive women to run for office. Teaches criminology at Regis University. Ran Denver's reentry program for people leaving incarceration.
  • Housing: Build permanently affordable and social housing on city land and surplus buildings. Expand community land trusts and co-ops. Strengthen renter/homeowner protections. Accelerate ADUs and reform zoning. Shift to true housing-first with master leasing, wraparound services, building conversions, medical respite, and 24/7 STAR. Center people with lived experience.
  • Public Safety: Create a Department of Neighborhood Safety and expand STAR 24/7 citywide. Invest in violence interruption, restorative justice, and survivor services. Maintain public safety funding while increasing community-based prevention. Discontinue the Flock mass surveillance contract. Protect constitutional rights of all residents, including immigrants.
  • Workers & Economy: Reinstate laid-off city workers and restore seniority protections. Support unions, livable wages, and Best Value Contracting. Replace the Career Service Board with worker-centered leadership. Expand city contracting for small, legacy, women- and minority-owned businesses. Oppose corporate giveaways and AI data center tax breaks.
  • Infrastructure & Climate: Build protected bike and pedestrian networks. Advance Complete Streets and Vision Zero to prevent traffic deaths. Align transportation with climate goals. Protect air and water quality and hold utilities accountable.
  • Families & Cost of Living: Expand free universal childcare birth to 5 with wraparound support. Reduce healthcare costs through community-based providers. Invest in food cooperatives and anti-hunger partners.
  • Fiscal plan: Collect fair revenue from those who benefited most from Denver's growth. Voter-approved social housing and mobility bonds. Prioritize prevention over reactive initiatives or vanity projects. Work with council on collaborative, moral and responsible budgets.

Aurelio Martinez

Lifelong Five Points Resident, Former RNO President

What We Know From the Public Record

  • Second mayoral run. Received 0.44% in 2023. Lifelong Denver resident, born and raised in Five Points / Curtis Park. Former president of the Curtis Park Block Council. Has kids, grandkids, and a great-grandchild in the neighborhood.
  • Central issue is neighborhood preservation vs. overdevelopment. Says the city ignores residents, neighborhood organizations, and small businesses in favor of developers. Fought a PUD rezoning allowing five- and seven-story buildings bordering the Curtis Park historic district.
  • Housing: Says Denver needs housing for medium-income people, not luxury apartments. Wants incentives tied to households making $45,000/year and below, not current AMI definitions. Opposes density increases in single-family-zoned neighborhoods. Supports preserving neighborhood zoning and parking.
  • Homelessness: Opposes both traditional shelter expansion and sweeps. Proposed an "Encampment Enforcement Team" to prevent tents from going up rather than clearing after the fact. Favors assisted living-style housing over shelters. Says he would not arrest people under the urban camping ban.
  • Wants to revitalize the 16th Street Mall and support small businesses. Says small businesses "don't get any help from the city." Goal: make Denver "the icon city of the United States" by centering neighborhoods, residents, and small businesses.

Robert Treta

Housing Developer, Unaffiliated

What We Know From the Public Record

  • Second mayoral run. Also ran in the 2023 race. Unaffiliated (former Democrat). Housing builder and developer with 30 years of experience in Denver. Also a short-term rental landlord in Denver and Mexico.
  • Central issue is government corruption and nonprofit accountability. Says city funnels tens of millions in sales tax revenue to politically connected nonprofits like Caring for Denver with "no accountability, no oversight by the city auditor."
  • Housing platform focuses on deregulation. Says Denver building permits take up to 14 months vs. one day in Lincoln County. Argues regulations add 25-35% to housing costs (~$150,000-$200,000 per build). Wants to reduce permitting times and regulatory burden.
  • Critical of out-of-state donor influence in Denver politics, naming Michael Bloomberg and Reid Hoffman. Critical of local media. Has expressed interest in America PAC and Elon Musk involvement in Colorado local elections.
  • Also identifies unchecked short-term rental conversions (circa 2015) as a factor in Denver's housing crisis - says investors converting rentals to Airbnbs removed significant inventory before regulation was written. Describes himself as a "results guy" focused on hands-on housing expertise.

Our Approach

This is a public-record guide, not an endorsement. The candidate field reflects the state of the race as of May 2026 and is not final until the Denver Elections Division filing deadline of December 16, 2026.

"What We Know From the Public Record" sections are sourced from news reporting, campaign materials, and official records. Corrections welcome - email us or open a GitHub issue.