DENVER — Denver Public Schools Board Vice President Auon'tai Anderson is running for a second term to fill an at-large seat in November.
Anderson will be challenged by Tattered Covered CEO Kwame Spearman, who previously ran for Denver mayor before dropping out of the race roughly three weeks before Election Day.
Anderson was first elected for the position in 2019, making headlines when Denver voters put in a then-21-year-old to the position. He told Denver7 his decision to run again was not an easy one.
"I talked with family, and we had come to the reasoning of 'no,'" Anderson said. "But I told them we needed to finish the job."
He then weighed in on his challenger, saying he welcomes the competition.
"I actually want more challengers. I want us to have a diverse field of candidates for Denverites to be able to look and see my track record, but also be able to see other folks say they have a good idea," Anderson said. "I'm just excited for this election and I hope more people get into the race."
Anderson also spoke about the issue of school safety and responded to concerns after a 17-year-old student shot two deans at East High School.
"I hope it plays a significant portion of this election because I think we need to be a leader in safety across Colorado," he said.
Anderson stressed the importance of listening to the voices of the community and prioritizing the mental health of students. He also promised a change in policy.
"The student that we lost died of suicide. Those deans will be forever changed. And I am going to make sure that I listen to their voices to make sure we change policy so that nobody else has to be put in that position again," Anderson said.
Anderson says his major accomplishments include making strides to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline and improving pay equity in the district.
