Election 2010: John Hickenlooper aims to keep a democrat in the governor's mansion: Denver's mayor wants to brand Colorado as a pro-business state and attract more entrepreneurs.

• Author: Hickenlooper, John
• Position: 2010 ELECTION - Interview

Five years ago, John Hickenlooper jumped out of an airplane to promote two referendums designed to loosen the stranglehold the Taxpayer Bill of Rights was having on the state's ability to pay for transportation, education, health care and other services.

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"In the '90s, Colorado's economy was flying high. Then we fell into a recession," Hickenlooper said in the TV commercial before boarding a plane.

The 58-year-old Denver mayor won't be skydiving this time, but once again he's campaigning to help lead the state out of an economic slump.

We talked with Hickenlooper about his bid to be Colorado's next governor in July. Watch video highlights from the interview and read the complete transcript at cobizmag.com.

The following was edited for space and clarity.

ColoradoBiz: How has your tenure as the mayor of Denver prepared you to become governor?

John Hickenlooper: I think my 20 years as an entrepreneur and small businessperson really help set me up for being mayor--that sense of having made a budget, made a payroll, attracted a team of talented people. A lot of the success we've had in the city is that talent. And I think that's what the state needs right now. You need people who can manage and find savings, find different ways of delivering more with less resources.

ColoradoBiz: The Legislature just finished one of its most difficult sessions ever, and business took some hits during the budget slashing. Would you have done anything differently?

Hickenlooper: The first thing you have to do is brand the state as pro-business and really start creating jobs. I think we have to rebrand the state of Colorado so people all over country recognize that this is a place not just of ski resorts but of innovation and small businesses. And we make it the No. 1 place for young entrepreneurs, young would-be business owners that this is where they want to start their businesses.

I think we should do a bottom-up economic development plan for the state, county by county. The state has nine economic development regions. Have each of the counties come up and join their plans together so they have those nine regional plans, then you have a summit and make one statewide plan.

In terms of cuts, the first thing I would do, bring in real managers, not political appointees, but people who have managed complex enterprises and have them work with the employees of the state to try and find the savings.

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