Three days before Christmas, Denver manufacturing entrepreneur and civic leader Noel Ginsburg announced a run for governor on the Democratic ticket. It was unusual.

It seemed bizarre for a candidate to announce in the height of the holiday season, during a black hole for news coverage, and two weeks before the end of a fundraising quarter. But Ginsburg said that’s his charm.

“I’m a nontraditional candidate,” he told Colorado Politics, during an interview in February.

On Saturday, Ginsburg, 58, formally launched a run for governor at an event at Intertech Plastics in Denver, the injection molding business he founded more than 30 years ago. The event kicked off a statewide tour.

“For me, running for governor is not the fulfillment of a lifelong dream,” Ginsburg said Saturday, standing inside a large industrial space inside Intertech Plastics, surrounded by friends, family, students he mentored and more than 200 observers.

“In truth, it is not the office that I seek, but rather the difference I can make.”

A relatively unknown candidate on the statewide level, Ginsburg has risen to prominence in the Denver civics world, which has allowed him to rub elbows with top politicos.

Bob Hottman, chief executive of the Denver-based accounting firm EKS&H, who has known Ginsburg for 30 years, said the gubernatorial candidate is driven by a sense of civic duty.

“Noel has his entire career, his entire life, he’s been focused not only on his business … he’s given a lot of time to a lot of civic communities,” Hottman said. “He’s really focused on the things that matter and because of that, a lot of people know him and respect him. He’s known as one of those individuals that can get things done.”

Before the holidays, Ginsburg had an hour-long conversation with former Interior Secretary and U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, who at the time was believed to be the Democratic Party’s standard-bearer in the gubernatorial race. Salazar ultimately decided not to run.

But Salazar imparted wisdom, letting Ginsburg know that he would add a valuable dimension to the gubernatorial race.

“Who ultimately is the governor of Colorado is less important as making sure that the right person is,” Ginsburg said. “If my decision to run was based on who was or wasn’t running, then I shouldn’t run in the first place.”

But who is running in the race does matter. Ginsburg is competing against some high-profile names, including U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter, former state Sen. Mike Johnston and former state Treasurer Cary Kennedy. Also considering a run for governor is U.S. Rep. Jared Polis.

The governor’s office is open next year, as Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, is term limited.

A self-described “introvert,” Ginsburg acknowledged that he will have issues competing against well-conditioned candidates who have had a life in politics.

“It’s something that I thought long and hard about. But the fact is, what people really want is authentic and real and real solutions with people that have a history of not talking about solutions, but actually doing it.”

A life in manufacturing

When it comes to getting things done, Ginsburg has a proven record.

A second generation Coloradan, Ginsburg started working for his father’s food manufacturing business as young as the age of 8, working weekends and summers on the production line. He said it’s no surprise that he’s involved in manufacturing today.

“My orientation was shaped by those early years … I worked alongside people that obviously didn’t come from the same zip code or economic status of me, but I gained fundamental appreciation, and in some ways love for them,” Ginsburg said.

An extra credit class in college led to the business plan that became Intertech Plastics. Ginsburg left the University of Denver his senior year to start the company when he was 21. Despite a girlfriend who claimed that he had no life, Ginsburg stayed on the path, going into business at a time when interest rates hit over 20 percent.

Over the years he had to rethink the business several times. The biggest moment came when a major client chose not to pay, leaving $2 million on the table. Ginsburg had to restructure the company with very little capital.

“I was faced with survival for that business,” he said.

He was forced to file for bankruptcy and entered into litigation against the client. Ginsburg prevailed, saving his company, which is one of the few molders to survive 36 years of business in Denver.

“I learned a lesson to never give up,” he said. “However hard problems are personally or professionally, if you take the position that failure is not an option, you find a way.”

A dedication to civics 

Ginsburg’s business successes allowed him to enter into a life of civic leadership. He founded the Colorado I have a Dream Foundation with former state Sen. Chris Romer.

Ginsburg and his wife, Leslie, “adopted” 42 inner-city children from Denver, making a 10-year commitment to the kids to mentor them and provide college scholarships if they graduated from high school. He said 90 percent of those students graduated.

“This experience changed the trajectory of our lives, and I can say with conviction is the singular reason I am standing before you as a candidate for governor today,” Ginsburg said on Saturday.

The business and civic leader plans on making education and workforce development cornerstones of his campaign.

“The magic of that was not in the scholarship, it was in the blocking and tackling that takes place over a decade for these kids,” Ginsburg explained.  “The experience there taught me that you can make a difference in someone’s life. It’s not where they were born or what color their skin is, we all have potential.”

Ginsburg went on to chair the Mile High United Way board and to serve as president of the Denver Public Schools Foundation.

“It’s going to be harder for me to get elected because I’m not willing to say anything to whoever is in the audience so that they are going to vote for me,” Ginsburg said.

“I don’t have to compromise who I am, because I can’t, it’s not in my DNA. But people like that can win.”