Denver Post Endorsement: "John Hickenlooper is the clear choice to be our next governor."

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"John Hickenlooper is the clear choice to be our next governor.

His background in both government and private business, along with his strong leadership skills, makes him uniquely qualified to lead our state in these troubled economic times.

In the late 1980s, he remade himself into a brewpub owner after losing his job as a geologist and, in turn, helped remake a downtrodden corner of Denver into LoDo. As Denver's mayor, he made government work better and helped Denverites imagine an even greater city.
He came to office in 2003, in the midst of another recession, and quickly balanced the budget despite a slump in sales tax revenues. He then hustled to get voter approval to reform the city's career service system and launched an effort to reform the police department.

Hickenlooper acknowledged that regional problems such as homelessness and transit needed regional solutions, so he built bridges into Denver's suburbs and formed coalitions with its neighbors.

He worked to pass a measure to send more children to preschool, and found private support to send more inner-city kids to college.

He also helped lure the Democratic National Convention here in 2008, and ensured that it came off without a hitch.

And, yes, Hickenlooper has even helped to raise taxes in Denver. While that may be a scarlet letter in this election cycle, Hickenlooper did it the right way: He asked voters first."

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