What does the clerk and recorder do? The position was described by outgoing Denver Clerk and Recorder Debra Johnson as more administerial than most other elected positions. The office oversees elections, issues marriage licenses and other records, and serves as a public trustee for the city. Whoever wins this year's race will be just the third clerk and recorder elected to in the city's history (it was previously an appointed position).
Who's still in it: Paul López and "Peg" Margaret Perl.
- López is the current District 3 councilman and is term-limited, but he's hoping to stick around city hall. Empowering more Denver voters will be among his biggest goals. To improve voter turnout -- especially in neighborhoods usually home to people of color or working-class people who do not turn out as highly as other neighborhoods -- he wants to increase the number of 24-hour drop boxes in the city. But in addition to the public spaces they're currently in, he wants to include them in areas like grocery stores, carnicerias and cafés.
- Perl previously worked in political and campaign finance consulting and on the U.S. House Ethics Committee. She believes her work at the federal level -- making recommendations on campaign finance regulations, advising on compliance for certain programs -- is part of what her responsibilities at the city and county level will include. She wants to centralize all public records to make it easier for residents to look at things like financial disclosure forms, and she wants to improve voter engagement by giving people more access to voting centers and drop boxes.
These were the results on May 7: It was a tight one with López squeaking by with 36.87 percent of the vote, while Perl came in second with 32.68 percent. Sarah O. McCarthy, who did not qualify to the runoff, got 30.44 percent of the vote
How former opponents feel: McCarthy has endorsed López.
