Shepherd first incumbent to lose in 28 years

Denver political history has a new chapter tonight.

An incumbent city council member running for re-election has been trounced by a 2-to-1 margin. It is the first defeat of an incumbent in recent memory, and the biggest margin in distant memory.

Susan Shepherd dropped her seat to Rafael Espinoza after an acrimonious campaign in which Shepherd, her husband and coterie of supporters attacked the North Denver News for investigatory reporting on her campaign contributors and ethics in office. Espinoza was aided by the widespread perception she favored developers who gave her campaign money over residents. Shepherd was also sued mid-campaign by a registered neighborhood organization over her actions in an up zoning at the site of the St. Anthony’s redevelopment.

An active social media campaign was run independently against Shep herd, which netted tens of thousands of video and page views.

Shepherd was able to dramatically outspend Espinoza, but his campaign, staffed by volunteers with long histories in North Denver activism, outmatched Shepherd in a ground game that had been Shepherd’s strength in her previous two forays before the voters.

Espinoza thanked his opponent for her work over the last four years and spoke to the strength of community voice in this year’s election.

“Today, I am humbled by a community that rallied to the belief that resident voice must be included in representative government,” said Rafael Espinoza. “Today, we showed the power of people. But the real work has just begun. Now we will begin working together to grow Northwest Denver communities, neighborhoods and prosperity for all residents.”

Espinoza is planning community engagement and listening sessions across District 1 to help shape his agenda.

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