The Greater Metro Denver Ministerial Alliance endorsed Kelly Brough for mayor of Denver, citing her experience in city leadership and how she overcame struggles in her personal life.
Bishop Jerry Demmer said that he met Brough over coffee, and was immediately struck that she was not a typical politician.
"First of all, I see that you're genuine, that you really mean it. Secondly, I see that you were not what we call privileged, but you also understood what hard knocks was. You came up tough," said Demmer addressing Brough. "You know what it is to run a city budget."
Leadership for the Alliance, a political and social advocacy organization that encompasses dozens of predominantly Black churches on the Front Range, gathered in the Friendship Baptist Church of Christ Jesus in the Hale neighborhood, holding Kelly Brough for Mayor signs.
Pastor Paul Burleson said they met with Mike Johnston and Kelly Brough, the two candidates left in the runoff for mayor.
"It wasn't anything in particular against Mike, we just were more impressed with Kelly," Burleson said. "She talked about what she would do rather than what somebody else was not doing. So she had a positive attitude and, nothing against Mr. Johnston, but we were just sold by the presentation and the life skills and things that she brought to the table."
Ballots go out on Monday for the runoff election, scheduled for June 6, and endorsements are piling up on both sides. This week Brough accepted an endorsement from the firefighters union, and Johnston collected endorsements from some former mayoral candidates and state senators.
Brough said she was honored to get the endorsement from the Ministerial Alliance.
"When I look at the history and the impact that this alliance has had for decades, with over 40 churches being represented, but more importantly, the center of community and bringing our Black community together to address critical issues. I know this: your endorsement means so much today," Brough said.
The ministers said they hadn't decided how much they would be involved in the ground game of the campaign, getting out and knocking on doors for Brough, but they said their voices, through this endorsement alone would carry influence.
Individual churches are banned by the IRS from engaging in political campaign activity, but the Alliance, which has been around for more than 80 years, is a separate membership group of clergy that's not a 501(c)(3) organization.
Another member of the Alliance, Syl Morgan-Smith, said she was excited by the potential for Brough to be the first woman to lead the city of Denver.
"As a woman, I know what it's like. We're always overlooked. We're always expected to make the tea and the cookies," said Morgan-Smith. "It's our time now. And as a grandmother and a great-grandmother, I'm counting on Kelly to lead the way and show my kids it's possible."
Meanwhile, Johnston gets big a union endorsement
Also on Friday morning, SEIU Local 105 announced it endorsed Johnston for mayor.
In a statement, SEIU wrote that union members interviewed and chose candidates that "have demonstrated their commitment to working families across our Denver communities. They understand the challenges faced by working people in our city and are committed to building on the victories we've fought so hard to achieve as a union."
"Mike was, out of the two candidates, the one who closely shares our values, and our values as a union," said Stephanie Felix-Sowy, president of the SEIU Local 105. "And whose record could show the commitment that they were looking for to centering the voices of working people."
The union has over 8,000 members across the Mountain West, most of them in Colorado, in health care and janitorial services, as well as at the airport. And their endorsement can come with significant volunteer help for the candidates they endorse.
"It's one thing to put your name behind somebody, that is very easy to do," Felix-Sowy said. "In every election that we've been engaged in, everybody -- myself, to our staff, our members -- we create opportunities for them to be out on doors, phone banks, text banks."
