May 1, 10:11 PM EDT


Denver Voters Re-Elect Mayor


DENVER (AP) -- Mayor John Hickenlooper easily won election to a second term Tuesday, facing only token opposition after a first term plagued by an election fiasco and criticism about his blizzard response.

The 55-year-old but boyish-faced restaurateur defeated Danny Lopez, a city employee who barely campaigned, by a large majority. About 40 percent of nearly 190,000 registered voters cast ballots in the nonpartisan election.

Hickenlooper, 55, didn't immediately declare victory, saying he preferred to wait for more votes to be counted.

He was criticized when a long ballot, software problems and mechanical breakdowns created long lines at election polls in November and delayed some results for days. No such problems were reported Tuesday.

The mayor also came under pressure this winter when snowstorms clogged streets for days and shut down the city's airport for nearly two.

"People don't expect you to be perfect or have all the answers. But people do expect you to work hard," Hickenlooper said earlier Tuesday.

A former geologist who opened Colorado's first brew pub, Hickenlooper erased a $70 million city budget deficit by cutting employees' salaries, including his own, and requiring unpaid leave.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/D/ ... SECTION=US


Gee that's funny, AP forgot to mention his restaurants hire illegal aliens and one killed a local police officer.