Of the handful of people I have had the pleasure of interviewing for this publication, Glenn Levy was the only one who had actually researched me first. Although this caught me off guard at first, our conversation showed a man with a unique sense of humor and an interesting history.
Originally from Arizona, Levy attended Arizona State University, where he began writing for The State Press Magazine, as well as working as an interim reporter for High Country News. He eventually moved into his family’s transportation business, where he continued to use his skills doing corporate media communications, writing the newsletter and interviewing staff in the early 2000s. While working for his family’s company, he also started or worked for a number of other publications before moving on. His work with his family’s business would lead him through several states and multiple careers, before finally settling in Mountain View.
He had been through central Colorado multiple times while traveling in his early 20s, and was somewhat familiar with the area already. Initially, he had been spending time in neighboring Wheat Ridge, writing the corporate newsletter for his father’s company. Eventually, he was asked to manage the company and was given the choice of transferring either to Wheat Ridge or Beckley, W. Va. Levy decided to move to Wheat Ridge, and at first worked managing transporting major airlines’ crews from Denver’s old Stapleton airport to nearby hotels.
“I had no idea what I was getting into,” he said with a slight chuckle. Levy described workers not doing their jobs, sleeping in fields, and clocking in false hours. After a couple of years, Levy moved away from this and became invested in the Wheat Ridge property market in the first decade of the new century. This is when he first discovered Mountain View. “I didn’t know anything about Mountain View, I didn’t even know there was a municipality there.” This wouldn’t prevent him from establishing himself within the city in just a few years.
In addition to today being the full-time mayor of Mountain View, Levy also has multiple real-estate investments around the area that he maintains and rents out. After first moving to the town and before becoming mayor, Levy bought up to eight rental properties, in his words working as a “glorified handyman fixing houses,” until the recession forced him to sell these properties.
Since that time, Levy’s role in the community, even before his election, was quickly growing. His work within the property market gave him perspective on the unique housing and developmental issues facing the city. This outside perspective provided Levy with numerous opportunities to invest in the Mountain View and Wheat Ridge markets.
Being the mayor in a town of 600 people can make it very difficult for Levy to separate work life from home life, considering all of his constituents live next door. Levy can often be seen walking his three adopted rescue dogs, which he likes to take around the neighborhood while he chats with his fellow citizens.
