Jun 10, 2024 - News
Spotlight: Meet Denver DA candidates Leora Joseph and John Walsh
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Denver district attorney candidates John Walsh, left, and Leora Joseph. Photo illustration: Axios Visuals. Photos: Courtesy of the campaigns of Leora Joseph and John Walsh
Leora Joseph and John Walsh are both Democrats vying to be Denver's next district attorney.
While the two candidates may be running for the same position, they offer separate visions for the role and differ even more distinctly when it comes to their personal lives.
- We asked each a series of lighthearted questions to get to know them better as part of our Spotlight profile series. (Their responses have been edited for style and brevity)
🎵 Campaign song
- Joseph: "The Man" by Taylor Swift
- Walsh: "One Time One Night" by Los Lobos
🥾 Hobbies
- Joseph: Getting outside everyday with a walk or jog, cooking and grilling, and reading before bed. "I'm a big reader."
- Walsh: Hitting the mountains for hiking and skiing. "I'm a very big outdoor person and always have been."
🍴 Favorite spots to eat and drink
- Joseph: Logan House Coffee in Lowry, Kahlo's, High Point Creamery (she's "a bit of an ice cream addict") and Leven Deli. "Their bread is ridiculous and sandwiches are amazing."
- Walsh: Cake Crumbs, Metropolis Coffee in the Golden Triangle, Los Carboncitos, and El Noa Noa, which has a"spectacular patio" and where he often takes his dad for Father's Day.
📚 Reading list
- Joseph: "Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents" by Isabel Wilkerson and "Believing: Our Thirty-Year Journey to End Gender Violence" by Anita Hill
- Walsh: "Gangbuster: One Man's Battle Against Crime, Corruption, and the Klan" by Alan Prendergast and "The Holly: Five Bullets, One Gun, and the Struggle to Save an American Neighborhood" by Julian Rubinstein
🎧 Podcast queue
- Joseph: "Ear Hustle." "I have a mug, a T-shirt — I do whatever I can to support it. It's really, really good."
- Walsh: "City Cast Denver" and "Y esto no es todo" to keep up my Spanish since his time as a middle school exchange student in Guanajuato, Mexico.
⚖️ Favorite Supreme Court case and justice
- Joseph: Roe v. Wade and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, whose quote she holds close: "Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you."
- Walsh: Gideon v. Wainwright, the case that determined the government must provide counsel if someone is charged with a serious crime, and Louis Brandeis. "He was a really strong political advocate for antitrust law, ensuring that democracy works, and preserving freedom."
💪 Leadership style
- Joseph and Walsh: Both describe themselves as servant leaders who bring about change from the bottom up.