Auon'tai Anderson, the former Vice President of Denver Public Schools, announced Tuesday that he is dropping his bid to become a state lawmaker.
Anderson announced his House District 8 campaign in June, while simultaneously announcing he will drop his reelection bid for at-large member of the Denver School Board. The Northeast Denver district has been represented by Leslie Herod, who is serving her last year in the House due to term limits.
House District 8 is shaping up to be a competitive field, with six candidates still running active campaigns. No Republican candidate has filed to run in the district, so if things stand, the winner will be decided by the Democratic primary.
Anderson said he chose to drop out of the race due in part to the number of other Black candidates.
"The 2024 elections present a critical juncture where we risk losing this historically Black seat due to a highly contested primary featuring multiple Black candidates," Anderson said in a press release. "Such scenarios have historically led to the division of votes, often resulting in the loss of Black representation."
Anderson said he will instead focus on running his newly launched non-profit, The Center for Advancing Black Excellence in Education.
"Our mission is grounded in the conviction that access to high-quality education is not just a right, but the foundation of thriving and resilient communities," Anderson said. "We commit ourselves to disrupting the systems that cause educational disparities faced by Black students. Through this work, we will reimagine our K-12 education system and dismantle deeply rooted systems of oppression."
Through the non-profit, Anderson hopes to create a pipeline for marginalized communities to run for local school boards, as well as advocating for curriculum that includes the voices of diverse backgrounds.
The Center's founding board includes Colorado Representative Regina English, Colorado Black Caucus of School Board Directors Michelle Quattlebaum, and MiDian Holmes, CEO of the Epitome of Black Excellence and Partnership.
As a member of the DPS board, Anderson championed efforts to make school curriculum and buildings more welcoming for students of color. In 2020, he backed the "Know Justice, Know Peace" resolution that reworked the district's elementary social studies curriculum to highlight the contributions of Black, Latino and Indigenous people beyond slavery and the civil rights movement. Anderson was also a leading force in the removal of armed school resources officers in DPS schools that year, a measure that the DPS board reversed last year.
However, Anderson's time in politics has been, at points, controversial. During his time with the Denver School Board, Anderson faced several accusations of sexual assault, however a Denver School Board investigation found those claims unsubstantiated. However, the investigation surfaced some acts the board deemed inappropriate, including "unwelcome sexual comments and advances" and engaging "in unwelcome sexual contact," according to Chalkbeat. The board subsequently censured Anderson, who acknowledged making "mistakes" as a young person.
The remaining HD8 candidates are Kwon Atlas, Victor Bencomo, Christi Devoe, Lindsay Gilchrist, Dylan Morgan and Sharron Pettiford.
