Before entering the politics, Sal Carpio was a teacher at Metropolitan State College of Denver. Carpio served three terms on the Denver City Council starting in 1975. Among Denver's first elected Hispanic leaders, Carpio was a mentor and confidant of two-term Denver Mayor Federico Peña. Carpio headed the Denver Housing Authority from 1994 until 2007, when he left the post while battling throat cancer. While Carpio was at the Denver Housing Authority he publicly struggled with an alcoholism problem. Carpio also owned a restaurant in the 1960s called Lechuga's. It was a popular political and community gathering place known for its square pizzas.
