November 19, 2008 12:34 AM UTC

"Do Nothing" Allard Wants CSU Chancellorship

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• by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE: Liberal activist group Progress Now, as you can imagine, has a few things to say about this (release follows).

Could this be considered “failing upward?” It pays more, as 9NEWS reports:

Just weeks after his senate successor was elected; Wayne Allard is showing interest in a new Colorado position.

Allard’s spokesperson, Steve Wymer, says Allard is interested in the position of Chancellor of Colorado State University.

The opening comes after the sudden resignation of CSU President and Chancellor Larry Penley. Penley’s departure will likely bring about significant restructuring to the position.

CSU Board of Governors Chairman Doug Jones last week told CSU faculty members that splitting the historically shared position will mean a CEO-style chancellor will fight for the system in Denver, complementing the efforts of the presidents of the Fort Collins and Pueblo campuses, along with the CSU-Global online university, according the Fort Collins Coloradoan.

Allard had an informal discussion with Jones about the Denver-based position, according to his spokesperson.

Wymer said, “Allard loves CSU as much as Colorado and is interested in talking with the board about the position.”

The spokesperson for the board said Jones, thinks it’s great that such an experienced public servent is interested but wants to be clear that the board still has to discuss its thoughts, ideas and timeframe regarding the position…

What is it with high-ranking Republicans and college executive jobs? Audacity? Guilt? A desire to be there when the next Ward Churchill is unmasked? Based on the report, it looks like Allard is asking for the job as opposed to the board picking him as a “sole finalist.” That’s probably a good thing.

Of course they reliably progress from calling to slash funding for everything to calling to slash funding for everything but the school they work for–so maybe CSU can find an upshot in this.

ProgressNow calls on CSU to reject Allard:

Ineffective Senator would be a ‘disaster’ for University

For Immediate Release

November 18, 2008

Michael Huttner

(303) 931-4547

Denver – ProgressNow called on Colorado State University Board of Trustees to reject Senator Wayne Allard as chancellor of their university.  Earlier today Allard begin pitching himself to be chancellor of CSU.

“Allard would be a disaster for CSU,” stated Michael Huttner, Executive Director of ProgressNow, Colorado largest online progressive advocacy organization.  “Allard has been completely ineffective as a Senator and that is the last thing CSU needs in a time of dire fiscal needs.”

In 2006, Time magazine ranked Allard as one the country’s five worst senators. (Time, April 14, 2007) The magazine went so far as to dub Allard as “The Invisible Man” and reported that he “almost never plays a role in major legislation.”  Time concluded that Allard is one of our country’s “least influential senators.”

The Denver Post concurred with Time, noting that Allard “squanders any influence he might have with a narrow agenda.” (DP, 4/22/2006)

“With the new dynamics in Colorado and DC, the last thing we need is a right-wing ineffective Senator,” stated Huttner.  “Allard has proven that he has ineffective in bringing back money to Colorado as a Senator, how will be any better in helping CSU fiscal needs as a former Senator?” asked Huttner.

In his first five years in the Senate, one of Allard’s top priorities was banning interstate cockfighting.  Since then he has ignored the important issues and instead make his top priority interfering in other people’s privacy by pushing to amend the U.S. Constitution to discriminate against gay and lesbian couples. He is also a notable denier of man’s influence on climate change.

“Contrary to his own claims, Allard is no workhorse,” stated Huttner.

Since Allard entered office the amount of money Colorado gets backs on every dollar of federal taxes we pay, has consistently dropped, leaving our state at the bottom tier of all fifty states according to the Tax Foundation.

“Allard was even recently criticized in the media for not returning constituents’ letters–months before he left office,” Huttner added.

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