Lisa Calderón will run against Denver Mayor Mike Johnston in 2027

Calderón, who is the first person besides Johnston to enter the race, placed third in the last mayoral election, narrowly missing the final runoff. She also placed third when she ran in 2019.

“Across neighborhoods, people are urging me to run and telling me the same thing: despite Mike Johnston’s campaign promises, things have only gotten harder,” she said in a news release.

Calderón is the executive director of Women Uprising, an organization that trains progressive women in Colorado to run for office. Calderón helped form the group after a similar organization, Emerge Colorado, disbanded amid a rift with its national parent organization.

In her announcement, Calderón focused on criticisms of Johnston, who she said has been bad for Denver. Calderón said she decided to run for mayor again after Johnston laid off 169 employees last August in response to an estimated $200 million budget gap.

“Someone has to stand up and take him on. I came very close to beating him once, and I am the best person to challenge him and win,” she said.

Calderón was also a frequent critic of Johnston’s predecessor, Michael Hancock. She butted heads with him often while serving as the top staffer for former City Councilwoman Candi CdeBaca.

During her campaign, she plans to focus on cost-of-living issues, community-based safety efforts, a housing-first homelessness strategy, bike and pedestrian safety, workers’ issues and small businesses.

Campaign materials obtained by The Denver Post included promises like reinstating laid-off workers, ending the city’s contract with the controversial surveillance company Flock, building more affordable housing and expanding universal child care.

Calderón, a fourth-generation Denverite, holds four degrees — a bachelor’s in English, a master’s in liberal studies, a law degree and a doctorate in education.

Johnston became mayor in 2023 after soundly defeating Kelly Brough, the former CEO of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, by more than 10 percentage points in a runoff election. The two faced off after an initial general election with 17 candidates.

Calderón planned to formally file for the election at 10 a.m. Tuesday. She will host a campaign kick-off Feb. 11 at Su Teatro Cultural & Performing Arts Center.

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