Tuesday’s random drawing to determine the order of appearance of candidates for Denver mayor on the municipal ballot put Lisa Calderon’s name at the top of the list.

Does that give her any edge?

Two veteran observers of Denver city politics offered a mixed assessment.   

Steve Welchert, a former legislative liaison for Gov. Richard D. Lamm and advisor to Denver Mayor Federico Peña, said that’s “an old wives’ tale.”

But Michael Dino, who served as campaign manager for former mayor Wellington E. Webb, said it depends.

“It might be worth a bump of a point or two with the electorate,” Dino said. “I think with Lisa Calderon at the top, that’s got to give her a little wind in her sails.”

The boost a candidate could get from being listed near the top may not be as tangible as it once was, said Dino, who noted that, since ballots are mailed to voters, they have more time to review the candidates and make a choice.

In the past, voters would instead be immediately confronted with a list of candidates at the polling precincts, leaving them to quickly scan the list and decide from there, he said.

Being listed at the top would also help if a candidate already enjoys some degree of name recognition, Dino said, who added that some candidates are more well known than others.

If a well-known candidate sits in the middle of a long list, that blunts the value of name recognition, he said.

“I do think likeability is a big factor at list in this general election,” Dino said. “In the runoff, they’ll make a judgement more on their ability to run the city, their capability and their smarts.”

About half of the 17 candidates on the mayoral ballot have begun to separate themselves from the rest. In alphabetical order, they are former chamber boss Kelly Brough; criminal justice reform advocate and 2019 mayoral candidate Lisa Calderón; state Reps. Chris Hansen and Leslie Herod; former state Sen. Mike Johnston, who ran unsuccessful campaigns for governor and U.S. senator; at-large council member Debbie Ortega; Tattered Cover co-owner and CEO Kwame Spearman; human rights activist Ean Tafoya; and, veteran and small business owner Andy Rougeot, considered a potential player largely because of the six figures he’s already sunk into his own campaign.

A runoff in June, which looks increasingly likely based on the city’s voting history, will showcase the two candidates receiving the most votes in the April 4 general election.

The Denver Elections Division used a tumbler to determine the order of the candidates’ names — there are 17 aspirants for mayor, 41 for other city offices — appearing on the ballot.

Here’s how the names will appear, in order.

Mayor:

1. Lisa Calderon

2. Trinidad Rodriguez

3. Aurelio Martinez

4. Thomas Wolf

5. Al Gardner

6. Terrance Roberts

7. Kwame Spearman

8. Renate Behrens

9. Chris Hansen

10. Mike Johnston

11. James Walsh

12. Ean Tafoya

13. Andy Rougeot

14. Leslie Herod

15. Robert Treta

16. Deborah Ortega

17. Kelly Brough

City Auditor: 

1. Timothy M. O’Brien

2. Erik J. Clarke

City Council At-Large

1. Travis Leiker

2. Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez

3. Penfield Tate

4. Sarah Parady

5. Jeff Walker

6. Marty Zimmerman

7. Will Chan

8. Dominic A. Diaz

9. Tim Hoffman

Council District 1: 

1. Ava Truckey

2. Amanda Sandoval

Council District 2: 

1. Kevin Flynn

2. Chris Herr

3. Tiffany Caudill

Council District 4: 

1. Tony Pigford

2. Diana Romero Campbell

Council District 5: 

1. Amanda Sawyer

2. Michael Hughes

Council District 7: 

1. Nick Campion

2. Flor Alvidrez

3. Adam Estroff

4. Arthur May

5. Guy Padget

Council District 8: 

1. Christian A. Stweard

2. Tyler Drum

3. Leslie Twarogowski

4. Shontel M. Lewis

5. Brad Revare

Council District 9: 

1. Candi CdeBaca

2. Kwon Atlas

3. Darrell Watson

Council District 10: 

1. Margie Morris

2. Shannon Hoffman

3. Chris Hinds

4. Noah Kaplan

Note the races for Council Districts 3, 6, 11 and the office of the Clerk and Recorder are uncontested.