Secessionist Suin' Sheriff Seeks State Senate Seat

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by: Colorado Pols

Repeat that title three times fast while (mostly behind a paywall) the Greeley Tribune reports:

Weld County Sheriff John Cooke will leave law enforcement after 35 years to run for the state Senate in 2014. Cooke, the Weld sheriff since 2003, is a Republican who said Monday that he will run for the District 13 seat, which Sen. Scott Renfroe, R-Greeley, must vacate due to term limits.

The district incorporates most of Weld County, including Eaton, Greeley, Evans, Fort Lupton, Gilcrest, Johnstown, LaSalle, the northern half of Brighton, Milliken and Platteville.

Greeley resident Joe Perez, a Democrat, recently announced that he will run for state senator in District 13…

We've taken note of Weld County Sheriff John Cooke a few times now as his prominence has grown following passage of landmark gun safety legislation in the Colorado General Assembly this year. Sheriff Cooke is leading the lawsuit by Colorado county sheriffs against these bills, and also supports the repeal of many other gun safety laws in Colorado including 2000's Amendment 22–the post-Columbine initiative, passed with over 70% support, that closed the so-called "gun show loophole." According to Cooke's Rocky Mountain Gun Owners candidate questionnaire, Cooke wants to repeal all background checks, to include federal instant background checks.

On the matter of the proposed secession of Weld County and other rural plains counties to form a new state, Cooke tells the Tribune supportively that "if we can get a 51st state then more power to us," but acknowledges that is unlikely. Which explains his willingness to serve in the Colorado legislature instead of waiting for a new one.

Bottom line: Outgoing Sen. Scott Renfroe's seat is probably Cooke's for the taking. In addition to being a relatively safe Republican seat, Cooke has emerged as a folk hero on the hard right for his opposition to the gun safety bills. In the end, Cooke may fall to the right–perhaps spectacularly so–of Sen. Renfroe, and become a new source of nasty quotes for Democrats to use against the Republican brand all over the state.

But worry about that in 2015, right?

6 thoughts on “Secessionist Suin’ Sheriff Seeks State Senate Seat”

MADCO says:

July 23, 2013 at 9:12 am

Well,…said another away:

after 35 years

My pension is safe I may as well get another gov't job.

Cooke wants to repeal all background checks

Sure- guns for kidnappers, cop killers and whatever felons want one. These guys don't follow the law anyway – and as a sheriff I would not enforce them even if I could. In fact, since bank robbers don't obey the law and banks still get robbed – no more laws against bank robbery. Domestic violence still occurs depsite the laws against it – so no more laws prohibiting it (besides, we all know law enforcement hates these calls the most). Rapes still occur despite all the laws against it. (And anyway- we all know about buyer's remorse and other false claims…we may as well have laws against short skirts and bikinis.)

…can get a 51st state then more power to us,…

See – it's not about good government or even being a great country. It's about power, and if we can get more, that's better.

This guy hates the government so much, he's never really worked outside of it. He hates the Colorado Constitution so much that he wants to subvert it. ANd in the end, his ~~hate~~ passion motivates him to run for office. How many years does he need in the legislature to get another pension?

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1. Half Glass Full says:
  
  July 23, 2013 at 11:08 am
  
  Great comment!
  
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2. Moderatus says:
  
  July 23, 2013 at 11:18 am
  
  You'd better shut up about pensions before Colorado WINS hears you! 😉
  
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Tom says:

July 23, 2013 at 1:01 pm

Since redistricting, SD13 is slightly less overwhelmingly republican. Renfroe won his first race with 60% and both the demographics and the shape of the district has changed since then. Combined with Cooke’s tendency to be publicly stupid, this race isn’t necessarily a gimme for the GOP

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1. JeffcoBlue says:
  
  July 23, 2013 at 2:24 pm
  
  What is the post-redistricting breakdown for this district? I'd love for you to be right!
  
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  1. Tom says:
    
    July 23, 2013 at 6:12 pm
    
    I'm no doubt reading the data wrong since the registration figures used in the redistricting kept things pretty much even- 29% D, 36% R, 33% U. I don't have any more recent registration data. The same redistricting figures puts the ethnic makeup as about 58% white, a drop from 65%.
    
    Looking at the map, the new district swaps a huge portion of rural Weld for the Hwy 85 corridor, including Fort Lupton. Even if the registration figures work out the same, the relative compactness of the new district makes a larger voter population reachable to traditional Dem registration and GoTV methods.
    
    Cooke hasn't had to run a real campaign in years since his party affiliation virtually guaranteed a win in his countywide office. The dude will likely still win, but if Joe Perez puts as much effort into his own campaign as he did organizing for Obama in 2008 then Cooke ain't gonna win by much.
    
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