Colorado’s epic crime wave has Denverites on nerve’s edge. New poll results reported in The Gazette last week reflect that.

Crime is in fact top of mind for Denver voters heading into next month’s mayoral election. The poll — commissioned by The Denver Gazette, Colorado Politics, 9News and Metropolitan State University, and conducted by SurveyUSA — shows crime tops the big issues facing the city. Among likely voters, 57% said crime preoccupies them more than any other issue.

As also noted in The Gazette’s report last week, a recent Common Sense Institute report shows Denver’s crime rates remain worse than before the pandemic. Metro Denver is among the most crime-ridden metro areas in America, especially for auto theft.

Clearly, voters expect Denver’s next mayor to make crime the highest priority. That’s something Chicago’s first-term Mayor Lori Lightfoot failed to do, leading to her ouster in that city’s election last Tuesday. Denver’s crowded field of mayoral hopefuls should take heed.

The April 4 election to replace term-limited Mayor Michael Hancock will have a definitive impact on the city’s crime fight. The right successor to Hancock will empower Denver to break out of its cycle of violence, theft and drug abuse.

Kelly Brough is the candidate who can rise to that challenge.

As the only mayoral contender who actually has run the city — as chief of staff under former Mayor John Hickenlooper — Brough knows how to restore community safety while requiring accountability of our public safety agencies.

Denver voters want both, after all — security on their streets and in their neighborhoods, schools, workplaces and play spaces, as well as accountability by those entrusted with enforcing the law to ensure they don’t cut corners. In other words, Denver residents want swift and effective policing that is also answerable and transparent. Brough will get them there.

As The Gazette editorial board noted recently in its endorsement of Brough, she wisely supports an all-of-the-above approach to the crime fight. That includes a fully staffed and funded police department. She will improve the department’s recruitment capabilities and hire 150 officers to return police ranks to a fully functional level so they can cover the bases. One way she would jump start recruitment is by advocating for the repeal of a misguided 2020 state law that exposed cops to personal liability even when doing their jobs properly.

Brough also wants some other state laws revisited to help keep Denverites safe, and she challenges recent lawmaking at the Capitol that made it easier for repeat offenders to return to the streets and prey on the public. For example, she wants the legislature to restore felony status for possession of deadly fentanyl in any amount.

At the same time, Brough aims to raise the bar for the city’s public safety agencies regarding national best practices, transparency, and accountability. She says she would employ data-driven strategies and emphasize disclosure for public-safety incidents involving police and other responders. She supports continuous improvement and peer learning within public safety agencies so personnel hold each other accountable.

All of that and more is why — as Brough notes on her campaign website, https://kellybrough.com/issues/ — Denverites as diverse as former DA and Gov. Bill Ritter, and former American Civil Liberties Union political director Denise Maes have endorsed Kelly Brough for mayor.

Kelly Brough has the right approach to the crime fight. And she’s the right choice on the April 4 ballot.