Kayvan Khalatbari suspends Denver mayoral campaign

Kayvan Khalatbari speaks with a reporter at Mutiny Information Cafe, Nov. 29, 2017. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)

Esteban L. Hernandez

Oct. 02, 2018, 9:28 p.m.

Kayvan Khalatbari is suspending his run for mayor, his campaign announced.

Westword first reported the announcement Tuesday night.

“For personal reasons I must remove myself from this process to focus on my family and my personal health and wellness,” he said in a press release Wednesday morning. “I cannot thank enough all the people who have been participants in building this movement, including those who have helped educate and inform me on Denver’s vast and vibrant communities and the many pressing issues we are facing.”

The news came a day after former state senator Penfield Tate announced he was running for city mayor to unseat two-term incumbent Mayor Michael Hancock. It’s unclear if Khalatbari’s decision is related to Tate jumping into the race.

Khalatbari’s campaign outraised Hancock for a time earlier this year, raising $70,000 to Hancock’s $45,000 during the first three months of 2018.

This story will be updated.

Terrance Robertsts leads protesters in chants calling for an end to police violence on the steps of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver, July 19, 2020. Photo by Kevin Mohatt

These five people will help select Denver’s next police and sheriff watchdog

Mayor Hancock chose two of them and will decide who to nominate — but Denver City Council must approve.

Don Richardson receives a COVID-19 vaccine at a pop-up clinic at Servicios De La Raza in Denver's West Colfax neighborhood. Jan. 30, 2021.

Denver will open three more city-sponsored vaccination sites next week

Mayor Michael Hancock is optimistic about where the city is headed, but cautioned the pandemic isn't over.

Kalyn Heffernan in the video for Wheelchair Sports Camp's new song, "Yess I'm a Mess."

Wheelchair Sports Camp MC Kalyn Heffernan wrote the song of the pandemic four years ago

She's a mess, she's depressed, but the one-time mayoral candidate is doing OK.

Michael Finochio, transportation engineer with the Denver Department of Transportation and Infrastructure, shows off the guts of a stoplight array that contains technology to talk to connected vehicles. Feb. 11, 2021.

Denver is trying to produce ‘handshakes’ between people, cars and traffic signals

Not literal handshakes. That's not really a thing anymore.

Inside Denver International Airport's C concourse. July 7, 2020.

DIA wants $40 million in upgrades to its elevators, escalators and those things that help you move faster through terminals

The money will come from the airport's own billion-dollar bond program, which is also paying for the Great Hall project.

The Gang goes out for prime rib at the City Park Golf Course Tavern. Feb. 26, 2021.

It’s prime rib night at the local municipal golf course

We're food reviewers now.

Michell Jeske, city librarian for Denver Public Library, inside the central branch. (Denver Public LIbrary)

Denver Public Library will reopen nine branches on March 9

It's part of DPL's phased reopening after being mostly closed during the pandemic.

Axton Ranch. Photo courtesy of the city's parks and recreation department.

You’ll have another 450 acres of prime Colorado real estate to frolic on when Denver adds its newest mountain park

Denver City Council approved the donation of Axton Ranch to the city. The ranch sits in Jefferson and Gilpin counties.

Thomas Padilla sits inside of his One Stop Bike Shop on Morrison Road. Feb. 23, 2021.

One block in Denver’s COVID economy: The largely Latinx Westwood got help late in the pandemic, but businesses are holding strong

Four of ten business owners we spoke to didn't receive any emergency grants or loans during the pandemic.

Miguel "Angel" Harlston processes ballots inside Denver Elections Division headquarters on election day, May 7, 2019. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)

How Denver’s city elections might change

Officials and the public are weighing a change to how votes are counted and when the election happens.

A historic marker in LoDo that details the "Chinese Riot of 1880." Feb. 25, 2021.

How can Denver recognize its once-thriving Chinatown?

Residents want to provide more accurate context about the city's Asian-American history, which could mean adding historic markers in LoDo, where Denver's Chinatown once flourished.

Foster plays in the snow with his au pair, Ambar Tossolini, in GreenWay Park in the Central Park neighborhood. Nov, 24, 2020.

Things to do in Denver this weekend, Feb. 26-28

The return of (some) in-person events.

Kids sled the big hill at Ruby Hill in Denver. Feb. 25, 2021.

Denver’s music venues, libraries, rec centers: Here’s what we know about what’s opening when

The state is considering changes that would allow venues to open at larger capacity this spring.

Double protected bike lanes on South Broadway. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)

The Broadway bike ‘superhighway’ might be done sometime in 2023?

Eight years after it started.

A rendering of a proposed 72-unit housing complex for people experiencing homelessness called Valor on the
Fax.

The city is considering funding an apartment complex that would offer services to unhoused people who have brain injuries

The 72-unit complex would be built on East Colfax Avenue.

A giant English oak towering over Milwaukee Street in Cherry Creek is about to be cut down. Feb. 23, 2021.

A pretty big tree comes down in Cherry Creek

The dance between urban growth and urban nature continues, with tears and fancy furniture cutting in.

A protester kneels before officers after Aurora Police forcibly cleared the municipal building lawn at the end of a series of rallies demanding justice for Elijah McClain. June 27, 2020.

Aurora police chief said trust between cops and residents is broken but declined to comment on punishment for officers involved in Elijah McClain’s death

Wilson and other city officials responded to an independent report blasting APD's actions in the Elijah McClain case.

Some of the many painted walls in Five Points' RiNo Art District. Jan. 12, 2021.

How the CRUSH investigation came together, and why we reported it

A behind-the-curtain look at Denverite’s months-long investigation into CRUSH founder Robin Munro.

Denver Police officers enforce a cleanup of an encampment in front of Morey Middle School. Capitol Hill, Aug. 6, 2020.

Police will continue to patrol homeless sweeps, but Mayor Hancock wants civilians to play a larger role

The administration also wants to divert non-emergency 911 calls about homelessness to civilian workers.

Aurora police critically mishandled encounter with Elijah McClain before his death, independent report finds

McClain died in August 2019 after being placed in two carotid holds by police and injected with ketamine by EMS.

More Denverite