Your Daily Guide

🗳️ Who Will Be Denver’s Next Mayor?

City records show that nine people are already officially planning to run for Denver mayor in the Spring 2027 election. The current mayor, Mike Johnston, has said that he plans on running again, but he has not made it official. Will 2027 match the 17 candidates we saw in 2023? We shall see.[Denverite]

• The latest announcement: City Councilmember Shontel Lewis, who represents District 8, announced her plans to run in an online video last week. In her time on City Council, Lewis has spoken out against police misconduct and voted against the city’s contract with Salvation Army. She previously served for four years on RTD’s Board of Directors.[Denver Post 🔐]
• Other mayoral candidates: Also challenging the mayor are four previous candidates who ran without success, including former mayoral candidate and criminology professor Lisa Calderón, Kenneth Simpson, Robert Treta, and Aurelio Martinez, who wants to revive downtown with Vegas-style glitz. Graylon Millen Cole, Samantha Nazish, Xander Thomas, and Durango Dark will run for the first time. [Colorado Politics; Denverite]

🛒 Grocery Prices Go Digital

More than 100 King Soopers stores across the state have debuted a new feature: digital price tags. The grocery store says that digital tags save employees time, create more accuracy, and lower prices overall. Opponents of the change worry the shift will allow King Soopers to adopt dynamic pricing — a surge strategy where companies can raise costs in real-time based on demand and market conditions. [9News]

• What do you think? Have you seen the digital price tags in your local King Soopers? Are you worried about prices going up when everything is already so expensive? Share your thoughts!

🌎 Denver’s New Climate Campaign … Hot or Not?

The City of Denver is launching a new social media campaign encouraging residents to take action in the fight against climate change. Critics say the campaign, which overall is costing $3 million, focuses too much on individual change, which lets pollutive corporations off the hook. Others say Denver should use its climate funds to make it easier for people to make climate-friendly choices (like improving bike infrastructure).

Key context: Currently, Denver is far behind its goals of cutting greenhouse gas emissions [Denverite; Instagram]

🧊 Aurora ICE Facility Employee Shoots Protestor

An employee of GEO Group, the private prison company that runs the Aurora ICE facility, shot and injured a woman during a weekly protest last week. Her condition remains stable. Aurora PD arrested the shooter on suspicion of attempted murder after he fled the scene. Tensions surrounding the facility have escalated in recent weeks due to a confirmed case of tuberculosis there, which caused the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to demand immediate “access, records, and information” involved in the case. [Denver Post 🔐; Denver 7]