Michael B. Hancock

This page was current at the end of the official's last term in office covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Michael Hancock

Nonpartisan

Prior offices

Denver City Council

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Denver City Council President

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Mayor of Denver

Successor: Michael Johnston

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Report an officeholder change

Education

High school

Manual High School

Bachelor's

Hastings College

Graduate

University of Colorado, Denver

Contact

Personal website

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Michael Hancock was the Mayor of Denver in Colorado. Hancock assumed office on July 18, 2011. Hancock left office on July 17, 2023.

Hancock ran for re-election for Mayor of Denver in Colorado. Hancock won in the general runoff election on June 4, 2019.

He was a member of the Denver City Council from 2004 to 2011. He served as council president from 2006 to 2008.

Hancock has served as president of the National Conference of Democratic Mayors.

Biography

Email [email protected] to notify us of updates to this biography.

Hancock was born in Fort Hood, Texas. He obtained a B.A. in political science from Hastings College and an M.P.A. from the University of Colorado Denver. His professional experience includes working at the Denver Housing Authority and National Civic League and the Metro Denver’s Urban League.

Career

Below is an abbreviated outline of Hancock's political career:

2011-Present: Mayor of Denver
2003-2011: Denver City Council
2006-2008: President of the Denver City Council

Elections

2023

See also: Mayoral election in Denver, Colorado (2023)

Michael Hancock did not file to run for re-election.

2019

See also: Mayoral election in Denver, Colorado (2019)

General runoff election

General runoff election for Mayor of Denver

Incumbent Michael Hancock defeated Jamie Giellis in the general runoff election for Mayor of Denver on June 4, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Michael Hancock (Nonpartisan)	56.3	91,675
		Jamie Giellis (Nonpartisan)	43.7	71,069

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 162,744
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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General election

General election for Mayor of Denver

The following candidates ran in the general election for Mayor of Denver on May 7, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Michael Hancock (Nonpartisan)	38.7	69,271
✔		Jamie Giellis (Nonpartisan)	24.9	44,543
		Lisa Calderón (Nonpartisan)	18.5	33,100
		Penfield Tate (Nonpartisan)	14.7	26,370
		Kalyn Heffernan (Nonpartisan)	2.5	4,481
		Stephan Evans (Nonpartisan)	0.7	1,325
		Marcus Giavanni (Nonpartisan) (Write-in)	0.0	83
		Kenneth Simpson (Nonpartisan) (Write-in)	0.0	23
		Paul Fiorino (Nonpartisan) (Write-in)	0.0	7
		Leatha Scott (Nonpartisan) (Write-in)	0.0	4

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 179,207
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2015

See also: Denver, Colorado municipal elections, 2015

The city of Denver, Colorado, held elections for mayor and city council on May 5, 2015. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was March 11, 2015. In the mayoral race, incumbent Michael B. Hancock defeated Seku, Paul Noel Fiorino and Marcus Giavanni.

Mayor of Denver, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Michael B. Hancock Incumbent	80.2%	75,774
Marcus Giavanni	8.5%	8,033
Paul Noel Fiorino	5.7%	5,379
Seku	3.1%	2,973
Write-in	2.5%	2,366
Total Votes		94,525
Source: City of Denver, "Official general election results," accessed May 19, 2015

2011

On June 7, 2011, Hancock defeated Chris Romer in a runoff election.

Mayor of Denver, 2011
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Michael Hancock	58.1%	70,780
Chris Romer	41.9%	51,082
Total Votes		121,862
Source: Denver Post Election Results 2011

Campaign themes

2019

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Michael Hancock did not complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign website

Hancock's campaign website stated the following:

“	Delivering a Thriving Economy Denver’s economy is one of the strongest in the nation with record low unemployment, 100,000 new jobs and 8,000 businesses created in the last seven years. Mayor Hancock has worked to expand our workforce by creating job trainings, apprenticeships, and new programs that prioritize hiring local, disadvantaged individuals so everyone has an opportunity to build a future in Denver. Making it Easier to Get Around Mayor Hancock is taking smart and bold steps to make it easier to get around town. His administration is providing more transportation options, improving intersections and sidewalks, expanding our bike network, and deploying new technologies to make our trips easier and faster. Improving Sustainability Mayor Hancock has made Denver more environmentally friendly by expanding composting and free recycling to more neighborhoods, adding more electric vehicles to city fleets and charging stations to city streets, reducing carbon emissions, and striving to make Denver 100% renewable in the next ten years. Ensuring Equity Mayor Hancock is working to protect Denver’s most vulnerable people and communities from displacement by expanding financial empowerment centers, strengthening job-placement efforts for local residents and improving business opportunities for women and people of color. Making Denver More Livable Mayor Hancock doubled the amount of money dedicated to affordable housing to create and preserve more than 6,000 units within the next five years. Michael’s work with partners in the community has placed 6,300 people experiencing homelessness in housing, opened three new shelters and launched innovative programs like Denver Day Works and Social Impact Bond housing. Modernizing City Services Mayor Hancock is delivering a city that works. His administration has eliminated a $100 million budget deficit that slashed city services. Since 2011, Michael has established the globally recognized Peak Performance program to drive innovation, efficiency and savings, which has reduced wait times, put more services online and saved taxpayers $31 million. Protecting Kids & Seniors As mayor, Michael has expanded opportunities for Denver’s children and seniors to thrive. All Denver children and seniors now have free access to our recreation centers. Preschool and early childhood education programs have been expanded. And Denver residents enjoy more parks, playgrounds and longer hours at the library.	”
—Hancock for Denver

2015

On his 2015 mayoral campaign website, Hancock highlighted the following issues:

Creating a City of Opportunity

• Excerpt: "Michael Hancock is creating a more livable city for all people, with opportunity around every corner, to move Denver toward the future and continue to establish this great city as a world-class place to live, work and play. In the past four years, Michael has developed and implemented plans to better connect Denver to the region, enhance our neighborhoods and transform the city."

Creating a Vibrant Economy

• Excerpt: "From Day One, Michael Hancock has been focused on creating economic opportunity for all – our friends and family, our next door neighbors and all our unique communities throughout the city. As Mayor, Michael has vowed to continue his efforts to keep the economy on the right track until the promise of opportunity is within reach of every resident, every business and every child, because good-paying jobs that support a strong economy require access to affordable housing, quality schools and an efficient government that can support businesses."

Noteworthy events

Tested positive for coronavirus on January 1, 2022

See also: Government official, politician, and candidate deaths, diagnoses, and quarantines due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020-2021

Coronavirus pandemic
Select a topic from the dropdown below to learn more. Political responses overviewState reopening plansDocumenting America's Path to RecoveryElection changesChanges to vote-by-mail and absentee voting proceduresFederal responsesState responsesState executive ordersStay-at-home ordersMultistate agreementsNon-governmental reopening plansEvictions and foreclosures policiesTravel restrictionsEnacted state legislationState legislative session changesSchool closuresState court closuresInmate releasesLocal government responsesDiagnosed or quarantined politiciansBallot measure changesArguments about government responsesThe 1918 influenza pandemicPandemic Response Accountability CommitteeUnemployment filingsLawsuitsBallotpedia's polling on the coronavirus pandemicSubmit

Hancock announced on January 1, 2022, that he tested positive for COVID-19. He said he was vaccinated at the time he contracted the virus.

Events and activity following the death of George Floyd

See also: Events following the death of George Floyd and responses in select cities from May 29-31, 2020

Hancock was mayor of Denver during the weekend of May 29-31, 2020, when events and activity took place in cities across the U.S. following the death of George Floyd. Events in Denver, Colorado, began on Thursday, May 28, 2020, at the Colorado Capitol. On May 30, Mayor Michael B. Hancock instituted a curfew. The same day, Gov. Jared Polis (D) activated the Colorado National Guard with members deployed to the city.

To read more about the death of George Floyd and subsequent events, click [show] to the right.

On May 25, 2020, Minneapolis police officers arrested Floyd, a Black man, after receiving a call that he had made a purchase with a counterfeit $20 bill. Floyd died after Derek Chauvin, a white officer, arrived at the scene and pressed his knee onto Floyd's neck as Floyd laid face-down on the street in handcuffs. Both the Hennepin County Medical Examiner and an independent autopsy conducted by Floyd's family ruled Floyd's death as a homicide stemming from the incident. The medical examiner's report, prepared by Dr. Michael Baden and Dr. Allecia Wilson, said that it was "not a legal determination of culpability or intent, and should not be used to usurp the judicial process." On April 20, 2021, Chauvin was found guilty of murder and manslaughter in relation to Floyd's death. Floyd's death was filmed and shared widely, leading to activity regarding racism, civil rights, and police use of force. The first events took place in Minneapolis-St. Paul on May 26. An event in Chicago organized by Chance the Rapper and Rev. Michael Pfleger took place the same day, making it the first major city outside of Minneapolis to host an event in response to Floyd's death.

Release of suggestive text messages (2018)

See also: Sexual assault and harassment in American politics (2017-2018)

In February 2018, news outlets reported that Hancock had sent suggestive text messages to Detective Leslie Branch-Wise in 2012, when she was a member of the mayor's security team. One message read, "You look sexy in all that black!"

Hancock responded to the reports by saying, "I never want to embarrass this city and I certainly don’t want to embarrass my wife and children. I’ve done that here and that’s why it’s important to me to lean in and take responsibility." Hancock said that he did not think the texts amounted to sexual harassment but the texts were inappropriate to send.

Notable endorsements

See also: Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements

This section displays endorsements this individual made in elections within Ballotpedia's coverage scope.

Notable candidate endorsements by Michael Hancock

Endorsee	Election	Stage	Outcome
Joe Biden  source  (D, Working Families Party)	President of the United States (2020)	Primary	Won General
John Hickenlooper  source	President of the United States (2020)		Withdrew in Convention

See also

2019 Elections

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Government

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External links

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Personal

Website

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by -	Mayor of Denver 2011-2023	Succeeded by Michael Johnston
Preceded by -	Denver City Council President 2006-2008	Succeeded by -
Preceded by -	Denver City Council 2003-2011	Succeeded by -