Denver City Council District 10 Results: Chris Hinds wins re-election

Incumbent Councilmember Chris Hinds had 56% of the vote Wednesday morning, compared to Shannon Hoffman’s almost 43%.
5 min. read
Incumbent District 10 Councilmember Chris Hinds (left) and challenger Shannon Hoffman.
Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite

Update June 7 at 6:54 p.m.: Chris Hinds has been re-elected as District 10's Councilmember. Hinds got 9,129 votes, or 55.37%. Challenger Shannon Hoffman received 7,359 votes, or 44.63%. The Denver Clerk & Recorder's Office said all in-person and verified ballots have been counted. The remaining votes are from people overseas ballots that need to be cured.

Results won't be official until June 20.

"I'm looking forward to representing the center city and making sure that the center of business, tourism, government and culture is set up for success," Hinds said. "We have the 16th St. Mall that we're finishing and I'm really looking forward to revitalizing downtown so that we have workers, tourists and residents come back to our center city. I want to thank the voters of District 10 for giving me the opportunity to come back for four more years."

Hoffman said although she didn't get the victory, her messages regarding tenant rights and social housing were still heard and well-received. She added that after she spoke with Hinds, he said in the future he'd like to work with her and learn more about social housing.

"I really mean it when I say I love my neighbors and I love my community and I'm proud of them and I'm proud of us," Hoffman said. "We lost by 1,770 votes, a grassroots campaign that started with $1000 to build a website. I feel monumental. This is monumental people power and I feel like we have really moved the conversation around tenants' rights and around the needs of our unhoused neighbors and the desire for co-governance in District 10."

Our original story follows below. 


At the 1:30 a.m. vote drop Wednesday, incumbent Councilmember Chris Hinds remained well ahead of challenger Shannon Hoffman in the race for City Council District 10.

Hinds had 56.45% of the vote; Hoffman had 43.55%.

"It's a promising lead, but we'll wait until we get more data," Hinds said Tuesday night after early vote results showed him with a double-digit lead.

Hoffman said she would not concede Tuesday night.

"I still feel very good, like, we're in this, you know," Hoffman said. "I started this campaign with a thousand dollars that I gave to build a website and it snowballed. That's amazing and powerful and I hope inspiring to people, that people can prevail."

In the April election, Hinds took first place with around 35.6% of the vote. Hoffman took second place with 27%, with day-of votes counted later in the evening propelling her to the runoff. But as of Tuesday night, Hoffman would have to make up 2,000 votes on Hinds before the final tally.

In the runoff, Hinds received the endorsement of his former competitors who failed to make the June election: Noah Kaplan (who got around 25.7% of the vote) and Margie Morris (who got 11.7%).

Denverite reached out to the Hinds campaign after 10 p.m. for comment on his continued lead but did not immediately hear back.

Hinds was a political newcomer when first elected in 2019, with a background in computer science and finance.

When a cycling accident put him in a wheelchair, he got involved in disability advocacy at the state level before unseating incumbent Wayne New in the 2019 race for council.

As the incumbent, Hinds said he was proud of his work raising Denver's minimum wage, and wants to focus on pedestrian and cyclist infrastructure and housing in his next term. He recently co-sponsored a bill that passed Council Monday codifying safe outdoor sites for people experiencing homelessness. He was a top fundraiser this election season, raising the second-most of all District Council candidates (around $513,000).

Hoffman was now the political newcomer, running as part of a coalition endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America that also included incoming at-large Councilmember Sarah Parady; fellow runoff candidates Shontel Lewis (District 8) and incumbent Candi CdeBaca (District 9).

Other candidates backing Hoffman include third-place mayoral candidate Lisa Calderón and former Council candidates Tony Pigford and Tiffany Caudill.

Her background is in social activism and nonprofits. Before running for Council, Hoffman worked for Montbello Organizing Committee's FreshLo project, bringing a grocery store and affordable housing to a food desert. As a renter, Hoffman told Denverite her priorities include better tenants' and workers' rights, social housing and sustainability. She raised the eighth-most money among District Council races, with around $200,000.

District 10 feels most of the city's big issues, including homelessness and transportation issues.

The district includes Central Business District, Union Station, most of Capitol Hill, Cheeseman Park, Congress Park, Civic Center Park and parts of City Park. With many of Denver's flagship public spaces, central downtown areas and neighborhoods made up of majority renters, District 10 encompasses many of the top issues this election cycle: public safety, housing and homelessness and affordability.

In a May debate, their approach to public safety became the key difference between the two candidates. Hoffman described herself as an abolitionist, advocating for diverting money from the Denver Police Department toward other departments that work on public safety and health. Hinds came out in support of expanding police staffing, but said he also wants Denver to expand the police-alternative Support Team Assisted Response (STAR) program. Hoffman also called to end the urban camping ban, while Hinds said he supports sweeps in certain situations involving public health hazards (though control over the urban camping ban comes from the mayor's office).

Both Hinds and Hoffman voiced similar priorities around transportation and housing, including reducing car-dependency, improving accessibility, purchasing motels for housing and promoting rental assistance. At the May debate and in their policy platforms, Hoffman has specifically called for city-owned social housing and a tenants' bill of rights, while Hinds has talked about converting downtown space.

This story has been updated with comments from Hinds and Hoffman and the latest unofficial vote results. Denverite reporter Desiree Mathurin contributed reporting to this story. 

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