( – promoted by Skyler)
Our own Congressman Perlmutter is on the short list of likely nominees to fill Senator Ken Salazar’s open Senate seat. Congressman Perlmutter seems to be interested in the seat and has support from the unions.
Of two names most agree will be on Ritter’s shortlist, Colorado’s powerful unions are opposed to Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper – who associates said Wednesday is actively seeking the job – and supportive of U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter.
So who is going to replace Congressman Perlmutter should he be selected by the Governor?
There are a whole host of people qualified for the job and in my opinion the replacement needs to come from Jeffco. About 1/2 of the population of the 7th resides in Jeffco with about 20% in Adams and 30% in Arapahoe county. A Jeffco candidate would stand the best chance in what would be a special election to replace Perlmutter. Those qualified Jeffco candidates that come to mind are below, in alphabetical order. Please pile on with others.
Polly Baca: The Hispanic community would certainly rally around this battle-tested figure.
Betty Boyd: Boyd served in both the House and the Senate and knows how to campaign.
Mike Feeley: He lost the 7th by a razor thin margin. The district changed a lot since 2002. Maybe now is the time for this former State Senator.
Moe Keller: Keller spent the last couple decades in the legislature and has a long proven history of winning tough seats.
Dave Thomas: While Thomas’s loss to Beauprez was wider that Feeley’s, Thomas is liked and is well respected as a former DA and County officer.
Sue Windels: Windels just came off a hard County Commissioner loss, but she held a tough Senate Seat and knows how to campaign.
There has to be some qualified non-state-elected officials out there too. I welcome your thoughts.
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Is a hard campaigner and a great legislator. He’s incredibly popular in his district and with the party in JeffCo.
I’ve also heard some rumblings about Renny Fagan.
Even Debbie Benefield could be in the mix. There’s certainly a bench in JeffCo.
Good thoughts Skyler. I didn’t think to go down in to the CO Rep. level. Andy Kerr is definitely well liked and a hard worker. Does Debbie live in the district? I thought she was in the Jeffco portion of CD 2. Although, Beauprez proved you don’t need to live in the district to win.
You and I both heard the same thing about Renny and apparently typed it at the same time. Jinx.
As for someone not in elected politics for a couple decades, how about Renny Fagan? There are also professional politicos like Mike Melanson or Danielle Radovich. They know how to do the supermarket meet-and-greet.
I’m just not sure he’s got the allies on the Central Committee. He’d run a good campaign, but I doubt he’d get the appointment.
Any reason why Danielle wouldn’t be going to the US Senate with Ed?
I’m sure Danielle would go with Ed, but it’s nice to have options. She’s a damn hard worker, smart as a whip and knows the district like the back of her hand. I don’t know if she’s interested in elected office for herself. If she is interested, she knows the entire central/vacancy committee and would be a formidable candidate.
I would agree with you that Renny Fagan may not have the inside track to the vacancy committee members just yet, but from other Pols posts and the rumor mill, sounds like he has a lot of support of the people who have the committee member’s ears.
Though I am sure that Jeffco Dems would always prefer a Jeffco candidate, I am thinking that Morgan Carroll would be wildly popular. Then Karen Middleton would easily slide into the Senate Seat and a vacancy committee could appoint someone to HD42.
..or however you spell his name.
I talked to Renny yesterday.
If Ed is appointed, he definitely wants to run for CD7, and made a point of letting me know.
Renny has been an active Democrat in Jeffco for a very long time, working on campaigns and supporting local candidates. He knows the issues and is ready to hit the ground running.
But, can he raise money and name recognition in the quantities needed to hold the seat?
(Let’s not get the cart before the horse though, I talked to both Ed and Andrew yesterday too. They both feel like they are in a good position to get the Senate appointment.)
Renny’s Bio:
Renny Fagan has served as the State Director for U.S. Senator Ken Salazar since December 2006. In that capacity, he is responsible for the Senator’s Colorado staff and eight offices around the state. These regional offices serve as the Senator’s “eyes, ears and voice” in Colorado communities and assist constituents in resolving problems with services provided by the federal government.
From 1999 until 2006, Renny was a Deputy Attorney General in the Colorado Attorney General’s Office. During that time, he managed two different sections of attorneys and staff that provided a wide range of legal services to state officials and agencies including the Governor, Treasurer, Secretary of State, health care, public health, human services, labor, higher education and regulatory law.
Renny was a member of Governor Roy Romer’s cabinet for six years, serving as the Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Revenue. This large agency collects taxes, licenses drivers, registers motor vehicles, enforces state liquor and gaming laws and operates the Colorado Lottery.
Renny also served as a State Representative in the Colorado General Assembly. Elected three times, his district included part of Colorado Springs, Manitou Springs and Ute Pass. He focused on school finance, land use and air quality issues.
He is a native of Colorado and grew up in the Pikes Peak Region. He earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Chicago and his law degree from Northwestern University.
we know you really typed that.
She can win if she wants it. However her loss of the Commissioner race in this very democratic year may mean a no go.
She’s good on buisness and independents will like it.
Any of those should run. Now that doesn’t mean they’ll win.
Gagliardi representitive, knows health care, nurse
Azari city councilmember, bi-partisan, high approval
Windels good in buisness/economy, charisma
Mike Feeley
Renny Fagan
Polly Baca
Moe Keller
Karen Middleton
Sue Windels
Dave Thomas
Andy Kerr
Betty Boyd
Danielle Radovich
Aaron Azari
Sara Gagliardi
Mike Melanson
There you go, probably way more though
should probably be at least on the long list of people who may take a shot at it. She is the term-limited Speaker Pro Tempore of the State House.
Can you back that up at all, Jason? From what I have watched over the years she votes with the Dems almost all of the time…
He doesn’t have much time for blogging nowadays, believe it or not.
Seems like “you guys” are making some pretty baseless accusations without backing them up. Has CJ been 100%, no. But most haven’t and I would hope that legislators aren’t elected to be a rubber stamp for any one special interest. If you can find me a single Repub’s record that compares to Jahn’s then ok…but it doesn’t exist. These blanket, biased statements are not what I have come to expect from CO Pols.
Is not a big secret. This is very well known. Of course she has some supporters – every politician does – but most major Democratic interest groups will likely not support her. She is in bed with CACI, for example, which is as Republican a group as there gets.
Wow! Historical Revisionism Already?
What votes would those be?
Like her 100% voting record with NARAL?
Got a problem with women’s rights, do ya?
Or her 100% voting record with Equal Rights Colorado,maybe?
You don’t need no stinkin’ gay rights!
Or maybe her 83% ranking with Colorado Humane Voters?
Perhaps its the high rankings with the Colorado Environmental voters, or the high points with the AFL-CIO that you don’t like! Or, oh! I know! Voting for old people 100% of the time is the problem!
Well thank goodness for Web 2.0! All the intertubes actually keep records, so you can’t just make stuff up and call it true!
Those 100% records are often just from one legislative session, which is meaningless because there may only be one or two relevant votes on a particular issue in a given session. The link you provided shows the evidence very clearly – going year-by-year shows a lot.
I think Cheri Jahn is very popular as a Democrat. In a general election I think she would be as strong as any of the current office holders.