Denver City Council District 10 runoff: Chris Hinds and Wayne New

2 min. read
Wayne New and Chris Hinds. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)

What's in the district: Neighborhoods include Capitol Hill, North Capitol Hill, Cheesman Park, Congress Park, Cherry Chreek and Belcaro.

Who's still in it: Chris Hinds and incumbent Wayne New.

  • Hinds lives in North Capitol Hill, aka Uptown, and thinks New has neglected the west side of the district during his tenure. He envisions a new raft of voters, sparked by the last two national elections, ushering him into office by virtue of his housing and transportation platform. It centers on creating "20-minute neighborhoods." Hinds wants the city to take responsibility for public sidewalks like it does with roads.
  • New has held the seat for four years. Of the 13 members behind the dais, he is one of the quieter ones, and says his experience as an elected official combines with is 30-plus years running hospitals to qualify him for four more years. If re-elected, New says he will tackle homelessness and float an impact fee on developers to raise money for affordable housing and other needs. He said at a forum that he was once part of a racist political party called the Dixiecrats, but later said he didn't realize the party was racist.

These were the results on May 7: Hinds challenged New with 30.34 percent of the vote, compared to New's 38.99 percent. Election maps show a stark divide between the southern, richer and older part of D10, which voted New, and the northern side of the district, which voted Hinds.

These are the area's biggest concerns: Multiple candidates interviewed by Denverite called the district a "tale of two cities." In Country Club, the average household income hovers around $150,000, according to city demographic data. Nearby in Cap Hill, households average about $45,000. Both candidates put housing (including homelessness) and transportation at or near the top of their to-do list.

How former opponents feel: They're split. Antonio Méndez endorsed Hinds. Tony Smith endorsed New.

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