Tony Pigford is a fourth generation Denverite, and a proud Southeast Denverite. He and his wife grew up in his district, and they live in his wife's childhood home.
"I mention that because we wouldn't have been able to buy that house in the existing state of our housing crisis unless we bought it from my in-laws, and they had been there 39 years," Pigford said.
It's part of why Pigford is running for Council District 4. With Councilmember Kendra Black not running for reelection and, with with Pigford running against Diana Romero, it's the only head-to-head race without an incumbent.
Pigford unsuccessfully ran for Council at-large in 2019. He's also helped run three successful ballot initiatives the past few years.
Pigford was involved in Democracy for the People, which created the Fair Elections Fund, operating for the first time this election cycle (and which Pigford has opted into, raising almost $124,000 so far). In 2019, Pigford worked on Let Denver Vote, which would require the city to let voters decide whether Denver could use public money to host the Olympics.
The most recent initiative came in 2021, which said voters, not the city, had final say on whether to lift conservation easements on open spaces like the Park Hill Golf Course. That's why there's a council-referred question on the ballot this election that will let voters decide the fate of Park Hill Golf Course.
Pigford was also involved in opposing the I-70 expansion because of the negative health impacts on low-income communities of color nearby.
But he's not a career politician. Pigford worked at business startups and software before moving into the education world and working at Denver Public Schools (DPS).
In the business world, Pigford worked for a range of companies, from a software company that helped public employees process workers compensation claims, to a small beef jerky business called Perky Jerky.
After working at DPS, Pigford founded a short-lived all-boys charter school, which was open for four years before closing in 2020. Many see neighborhood public schools and charter schools at odds, and Pigford said he felt that tension as a supporter of local schools. But he thought the need for an all boys school took precedence over his concerns, citing higher dropout rates and incarceration.
"How we socialize our boys is arguably one of the most important crises we need to address, and that's what The Boys School was about," he said. "When I think about the tension that I had around the charter school, being able to impact hundreds of boys overrode any of that."
The school shut down after a few years due to financial troubles and declining enrollment. Pigford said that unlike charter schools connected to bigger networks, he felt the district did not give The Boys School of Denver the tools it needed to succeed, like its own building. Other smaller charter schools have also faced challenges; one school for Indigenous students has been fighting to stay open, and another modeled off Historically Black Colleges and Universities has had to fight for a designated building.
When it comes to Council, Pigford's policy goals are centered around the "15-minute neighborhood concept."
"[It's] where all the amenities that folks need are within a 15-minute walk or bicycle ride from their home," he said. "The impacts that [has] on the vibrancy, sustainability, safety of communities, when things are within walkable and bicycle distance, is immense."
Under this model, Pigford wants to see housing for all income levels mixed within neighborhoods by encouraging "gentle density," through things like rezoning for multiplexes and converting vacant buildings. This would also look like a city-wide protected bike network, better ADA-compliant infrastructure and the expansion of green spaces.
Pigford also wants to prioritize protections for renters, policies that help support seniors as they age and more affordable housing opportunities for DPS teachers and staff. Like his opponent, Pigford worries about the newly passed Denver Deserves Sidewalks ballot initiative and the effect the added fee will have on older homeowners with fixed incomes.
On public safety, Pigford wants to expand the Supported Team Assisted Response program, which sends mental health responders and paramedics to nonviolent calls in place of police. He also wants to grow after school youth programming and diversion programs and implement recommendations from the Reimagining Policing Task Force.
Pigford also wants to grow civic engagement in the district he's always called home.
He praised efforts supported by Black like the district's South by Southeast festival, and hopes to continue to bring the community together.
"I come from a long line of educators, entrepreneurs and social justice champions," he said. "I'm a product of Southeast Denver, a very proud product of southeast Denver."
