Denver voters choose union-backed Democrats over reform in school board sweep

By Melanie Asmar | Chalkbeat Colorado

A “blue wave” swept across the country on Election Day. But in Denver, all the school board candidates were Democrats.

So, faced with similar choices, voters bubbled their ballots for the candidates endorsed by a Democratic stalwart: the teachers union.

“If you’re in a blue city and you’re a blue voter, you’re going to vote for the true-blue candidates — and the true-blue candidates were the union candidates,” said Van Schoales, a longtime supporter of the Democratic brand of education reform.

For many years, Denver Public Schools was considered a national exemplar of the type of education reform that favors school choice and charter schools but not private school vouchers. A 2019 teachers strike sparked in part by pushback to reform policies helped flip control of the school board back to members who had union support. The board has been chipping away at the district’s reform policies ever since, though some are coming back under new names.

Denver voters on Tuesday elected one union-backed incumbent, Xóchitl Gaytán, and three newcomers: Amy Klein Molk, DJ Torres, and Monica Hunter. All were decisive wins.

Hunter was at The Abbey Tavern, an Irish pub on Colfax Avenue, on election night. A former teacher with a blended family of six children, she said she was shocked when the first returns came in at 7 p.m. and showed her ahead of her three opponents.

Hunter hadn’t prepared a victory speech. She entered the race late and had been outspent by deep-pocketed pro-reform groups. She wasn’t expecting to win. On Wednesday, she said she attributes the union sweep partly to “the state of the world.”

“People don’t have food right now,” Hunter said, referring to the millions at risk of losing SNAP benefits due to the federal government shutdown. “They’ve seen so much on a global and federal level and they’re worried about their kids. They know they can trust teachers.”

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