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We’ve been expecting this e-mail for quite some time, and we’re sure it comes as a huge blow to all the other candidates in the race:

Denver mayoral candidate Chris Romer has received the endorsement of The Denver Post in the upcoming election for the city’s next Mayor.

“Good jobs are an integral part of the formula for a great city, as is a quality school system. We believe Romer is best suited to take on those challenges,” the Post writes. “He’s looking for smart solutions to the city’s nagging problems – new answers, not ones that already have been debated for decades. His intellect and command of public policy is impressive. And he embraces the importance of business-friendly policies.”

To be entirely honest, Chris Romer doesn’t need the Denver Post endorsement. He’s clearly established himself as the frontrunner in the race, and like it or not, he’s got the money and poll numbers to prove it. In fact, we’re pretty sure that everyone involved in the Mayoral race is convinced that it’s pretty much guaranteed that the son of Roy will make it through the run-off.

The endorsement isn’t important to Romer. In fact, the only reason it’s important in the race at all is if someone other than Romer had gotten it. Carol Boigon, James Mejia, Michael Hancock and the rest really needed some sort of third-party validation of their candidacy. That validation would’ve helped even more if it had come from the region’s largest newspaper. It would’ve been tremendously helpful to include the endorsement on TV ads and in direct mail. It might’ve even been able to unite the “anybody but Romer” faction in Denver. But that didn’t happen.

If anything, all the kind words from the Post do is cement Romer as the frontrunner. It’s not like he wouldn’t have still been ahead of the pack if he hadn’t gotten the endorsement, but it certainly could’ve made it easier for one of the other candidates to break out of the pack.

That said, the Romer campaign made a mistake in announcing a major endorsement on April Fools’ Day. Really, Chris? We guess that’s the kind of bullet you have to bite when April first is on a Friday, though.  

We got an e-mail from James Mejia this afternoon, and if anything, it lets us know just what every Mayoral candidate is angling for:

James Mejia, candidate for Denver Mayor, released the following statement after Michael Hancock made statements at a debate last night that Hancock knows to be false.

“At last night’s candidate forum, Michael Hancock accused me of “quitting on schools and children,” claiming incorrectly that I left my position on the Denver School Board only one and a half years into my four-year term. Michael knows those facts to be wrong and his attack on my commitment to Denver’s children is misguided,” Mejia said.

Folks, while Mejia can talk at length to his dedication to a clean campaign, what everything really boils down to is the fact that every candidate knows Romer is the candidate to beat. Don’t get us wrong: we’re not saying Romer will necessarily make it through to the run-off. What we are saying, however, is that all the other candidates seem to think that. First it was Carol Boigon’s negative ad aimed at Hancock and Doug Linkhart, and now Mejia’s jab at Hancock.