Michael Hancock : Net Worth, Family, Wife, Education, Children, Age, Biography and Political Career

Michael B. Hancock is an author and politician serving as the 45th and current Mayor of Denver, Colorado since 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he was in his second term as the Denver City Councilor from the 11th district at the time he was elected to the mayorship.

During his tenure on the Denver City Council from July 20, 2003 to July 18, 2011, Hancock served two terms as the body's president, the last ending in 2008. He was sworn in as Mayor of Denver on July 18, 2011 after defeating Chris Romer in a runoff election on June 7, 2011. Easily reelected with no significant opposition in 2015, Hancock was reelected to a third term in 2019. He is Denver's second African American mayor after Wellington Webb.

Hancock graduated from Denver's Manual High School (1987) and earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Hastings College in Nebraska (1991). He also earned a Masters of Arts degree in public administration management from the University of Colorado Denver.

Michael Hancock Net Worth

Michael Hancock Net Worth is $ 1 to 5 Million in 2021.

Michael Hancock Family

Born in Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas, Hancock moved with his family to Denver as an infant. He and his twin sister are the youngest of ten children. According to a DNA analysis performed on his behalf, he descends mainly from enslaved Cameroonians. During the 1986 Denver Broncos Super Bowl season, Hancock was the Broncos's mascot "Huddles", making $25 an hour.

Michael Hancock Wife and Children

Hancock is married to actress and vocalist Mary Louise Lee. They have three children.

Michael Hancock Career and Achievement

Hancock started his career in the early 1990s, holding down two jobs at the Denver Housing Authority and the National Civic League—while also pursuing a master's degree.

At the Housing Authority, he designed, implemented and oversaw the first-ever athletic, cultural and leadership-training programs for 11,000 inner-city kids living in public housing. Hancock also helped write a state law outlawing drug possession within 100 feet of public housing.

With the National Civic League, Hancock helped communities, nonprofits and other clients all over the country craft and enact strategic plans to solve economic and budget challenges, increase civic participation and improve governance.

He joined the Metro Denver's Urban League affiliate in 1995 as program director at a time when the economic-empowerment and civil rights organization was struggling—struggling so much that his first paycheck bounced. Undaunted, Hancock rose through the ranks, developing a strategic plan, overseeing day-to-day operations and leading fundraising efforts. He became Executive Vice President, interim President and then President in 1999.

At 29 years old, Hancock was the youngest leader of an Urban League chapter anywhere in the United States. He developed a talented staff, created a nationally recognized and award-winning job training program, and built private sector partnerships with companies like Qwest, Comcast and AT&T.

Denver City Council

After almost five years as President of Metro Denver Urban League, Hancock stepped down in 2003 when voters in northeast Denver's 11th district elected him to the Denver City Council. He was reelected in 2007. His council peers unanimously chose him to serve two terms as President of the Denver City Council from 2006 to 2008. He presided over the creation of the Denver Pre-School Initiative, strategies to fight foreclosures, as well as the implementation of the largest infrastructure improvement in Denver history.

While on the Denver City Council, Hancock was a leader on neighborhood issues, citywide finances, economic development and children's issues.

Mayor of Denver

Hancock's road to the Mayor's Mansion began with political domino effects. Then-Colorado Governor Bill Ritter announced on January 5, 2010, that he would not seek reelection to a second term due to low approval ratings and struggling polling numbers in the 2010 election. It was rumored that then-U.S. Secretary of the Interior and former U.S. Senator Ken Salazar was going to run, considering he had won statewide office as Colorado Attorney General in 1998 and 2002 and U.S. Senator in 2004. However, on January 7, he announced he would not seek the governorship; Salazar endorsed two-term Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper for the office. Five days later, Hickenlooper announced his candidacy for the governorship and went on to defeat Republican nominee Dan Maes and former U.S. Representative Tom Tancredo of the Constitution Party in a three-way race on November 2, 2010 with 51.0%. He was reelected in 2014.

Hickenlooper's election to the Colorado Governor's Mansion opened up the Denver Mayor's office, which began a free-for-all. In the May 3, 2011 first primary, Hancock was among the final two finishers against State Senator Chris Romer. Romer led the first round with 31,901 votes (28.49%) to Hancock's 30,314 votes (27.04%). Hancock went on to defeat Romer in the June 7, 2011 Runoff election in a landslide with 70,780 votes (58.08%) to Romer's 51,082 votes (41.92%). Hancock was inaugurated as the 45th Mayor of Denver on July 18, 2011.

Hancock was reelected on May 5, 2015 in a landslide victory with 75,774 votes (80.16%) against Marcus Giavanni, who pulled a second place win with 8,033 votes (8.50%). There were no mayoral debates in 2015. Hancock was inaugurated on July 20, 2015 at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House. In May 2018, it was reported Hancock was outraised by entrepreneur Kayvan Khalatbari for his upcoming reelection bid in the first reporting quarter of the year.

In June 2019, Hancock was nevertheless reelected with 56.3% of the vote in a runoff from the May 2019 general election in which Hancock and Jamie Giellis were the top two finishers. Giellis received 43.7% of the votes in the June 4 runoff.