Councilmember Shontel Lewis will run for Denver mayor in 2027, according to city election records.
The former RTD board director and first-term District 8 representative has been an outspoken voice against police excessive force and misconduct and the city’s concentration of homeless shelters in northeast Denver.
She has championed lobbying reforms, affordable housing, youth violence prevention, the conversion of Park Hill Golf Course conversion into a park, and participatory budgeting.
With her sights set on the mayor’s office, Lewis has withdrawn her campaign for reelection in District 8 next year, city records show.
Lewis has been an occasional collaborator and frequent critic of Mayor Mike Johnston, who has said he intends to run for a second term but has not yet filed the paperwork.
The field is already crowded: Lisa Calderón, Aurelio Martinez, Kenneth Simpson and Robert Treta are all previous candidates who are running for mayor again. Graylon Millen Cole, Samantha Nazish, Xander Thomas and Durango Dank are running for the position for the first time.
Lewis teased her mayoral campaign in a social media video post earlier this week, which set the wheels turning for candidates who would like to replace her in District 8. Labor organizer Kayla Frawley announced she would run for Lewis’ seat to continue the council member’s legacy.
On Thursday, after Jeff Fard, better known as Brother Jeff, suggested Lewis and Frawley were part of a “slate” on his show “The Free-Think Zone,” Lewis posted on Facebook that she had not handpicked her replacement.
“To clear things up,” she wrote. “I am not coordinating with ANY campaign, I did not give anyone my blessing for my seat. I have not endorsed anyone.”
The municipal election will take place in the spring of 2027. Lewis did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and a campaign official declined to comment.
Kyle Harris
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