Michael Hughes (Colorado)

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Michael Hughes

Nonpartisan

Elections and appointments

Last election

April 4, 2023

Education

Bachelor's

University of Denver, 1981

Graduate

University of Pennsylvania, 1984

Personal

Birthplace

Colorado Springs, Colo.

Profession

Mediator

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Personal LinkedIn

Michael Hughes ran for election to the Denver City Council to represent District 5 in Colorado. He lost in the general election on April 4, 2023.

Hughes completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Michael Hughes was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Hughes' professional experience includes working as a mediator and city planner. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Denver in 1981 and a graduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1984.

Hughes has been affiliated with the following organizations:

• Vivent Health
• Curious Theatre
• Opera Colorado
• Opera Colorado Foundation
• Rocky Mountain Cares
• Capital Hill United Neighborhoods
• Hilltop Neighborhood Association
• Association for Commuter Transportation

Elections

2023

See also: City elections in Denver, Colorado (2023)

General election

General election for Denver City Council District 5

Incumbent Amanda Sawyer defeated Michael Hughes in the general election for Denver City Council District 5 on April 4, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Amanda Sawyer (Nonpartisan)	65.3	12,601
		Michael Hughes (Nonpartisan)	34.7	6,686

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 19,287
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Campaign themes

2023

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Michael Hughes completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Hughes' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

After a career in public policy consensus building and conflict resolution, I want to serve Denver District 5 and apply everything I’ve learned in my work to bring the community together to tackle Denver’s most pressing problems — housing and homelessness; community quality, preservation and development; public safety, crime prevention and violent prevention; transportation and infrastructure.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• To have a representative who will engage everyone in the community respectfully to work together, solve problems and move Denver forward
• Denver needs housing that current and future residents can afford - in places where we have the infrastructure to build without increased congestion
• Civility, inclusion, representation, and true engagement are the skills of my profession; it’s time to bring these to the work that lies ahead for the mayor and council

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Neighborhood vitality, safety and quality.

Housing affordability and an economy that supports our ability to live and work in Denver.
Transportation—all modes—in a system that makes travel easier and makes life better.
Placemaking, planning and imagining a better future for Denver— then taking on the problems that stand in the way of that future.

Creating a vibrant arts and culture environment.

What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the state government and legal system?

A significant proportion of the city council's time and attention is spent on land use, zoning, and future development. These decisions had a direct impact on the pace, location, quality and timing of development and redevelopment, on housing affordability, on placemaking and the quality of neighborhoods, the location and character of commercial and industrial development, on transportation and air quality, and on economic vitality.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I have had the privilege of working with many of the founders and the second generation of my profession - mediators and consensus-builders who started their own organizations, struck out on their own and were brave enough to take on the hardest public policy problems they could find - Bernie Mayer, Bill Ury, Louise Smart, Janesse Brewer, Mary Davis Hamlin, Jody Erikson, Caelan McGee, Robin Roberts, Robert Fisher, Deb Nudelman, Lucy Moore... and so many more

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

The Soul of Politics - Jim Wallis

The Death and Life of Great American Cities - Jane Jacobs
Design of Cities - Edmund Bacon
Exclusionary Zoning - Richard Babcock and Fred Bosselman
The Evolution of Cooperation - Robert Axelrod
The Architecture of Happiness - Alain de Botton
The Seduction of Place - Joseph Rykert
Just and Unjust Wars - Michael Walzer
The Examined Life - Robert Nozick

All the President's Men - Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

The values that are central to how I see the role of an elected official -- justice, fairness, equity, honor, courage, truthfulness, empathy, compassion, and selfless service.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Skills in public engagement, consensus-building, conflict resolution, listening skills, problem-solving skills and the ability to analyze complex policy decisions and help convene stakeholder groups to do the same

Qualities - respect for the dignity and value of every individual

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

To listen to the needs and concerns of constituents;

To engage the community meaningfully in important decisions
To consider the impacts, including the potential for unintended impacts from governmental decisions:
To work hard to understand the technical, scientific, economic, and social implications of inaction and of alternative actions;
To make the best decisions possible;
To evaluate those decisions and improve future decision making;

To stay in conversation with the community throughout

What legacy would you like to leave?

To see Denver a better, safer, more vibrant, more economically vital, more inclusive city where people can afford to live and work

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The first real political and cultural event that I remember was Watergate. I was in my early teens when it happened, and It made me aware for the first time that democracy is fragile, that power can corrupt and that every person has a duty to engage in civic life, pay attention to policy, legislation, regulation and political power and to be constantly vigilant, ensuring that governmental and political power are directed to the public good and to the preservation of democratic values.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I worked in a meat packing plant during school breaks and summers through junior high and high school. That job taught me a lot about hard work and it strengthened my resolve to do well in school and use education to open the door to greater economic opportunity.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Salman Rushdie's "Midnight's Children" with Gabriel Garcia Marquez's "One Hundred Years of Solitude" a close second.

Both opened my mind and heart to characters I have no direct connection to or previous understanding of, transporting me to other worlds and experiences, while demonstrating the fundamental human connection we have with every other human being.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Casta Diva from Bellini's Norma

Do you believe that it's beneficial for holders of this office to have previous experience in government or politics?

I do believe that experience matters - I have more than three decades of experience helping elected and appointed officials and key stakeholders build consensus on solutions to technically, scientifically, socially and politically complex problems - to answer transportation, public health, land use, energy and environmental questions.

What kind of skills or expertise do you believe would be the most helpful for the holders of this office to possess?

A mediator's mindset - an interest in and skills in bringing together groups that are diverse, inclusive and representative to gather facts and solve problems.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

See also

2023 Elections

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Candidate

Denver City Council District 5

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