June 22, 2010 05:18 PM UTC

GOP State House Candidates--Slow Fizzle Begins?

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• by: Colorado Pols

It’s not a secret–well, not a very well-kept secret, anyway–that the Colorado Republican Party has singled out the state House as their primary electoral focus this year. We’ve heard rumors of over $4 million committed to GOP efforts to retake the House, and that candidate recruitment efforts have gone (their opinion) quite well.

On the other hand, we’re beginning to hear stories about serious problems emerging with a number of GOP House contenders: stuff that might have given recruiters pause had they fully vetted their picks, from the mundane and circumstantial to things you’ll be talking about for some time–seriously. Over the next few weeks, we’ll try to profile some of these more interesting races and candidates.

For today, though, we can start with the Fort Collins Coloradoan, and their report on what was once considered a prime pickup opportunity for the GOP, the seat held by Rep. John Kefalas:

Larimer County Republicans designated Fort Collins City Council member Aislinn Kottwitz this spring as their candidate to challenge Democratic state Rep. John Kefalas.

But it’s not at all clear that Kottwitz will actually run for the seat.

She was the sole candidate designated for the primary ballot at the House District 52 Republican Assembly. But since filing her candidate affidavit in late April, she’s done nothing – Kottwitz hasn’t raised any money and hasn’t even filed the paperwork that would allow her to do so…

Now the story from local Republicans is that Aislinn Kottwitz is expecting, and as a result hasn’t decided whether to commit to her nomination. That may be true, but Kottwitz’ performance on the Fort Collins City Council hasn’t been much more reliable: appointed to the Poudre Fire Authority Board last year, Kottwitz has missed four of the last seven meetings through April 2010 according to board records. She has missed numerous important votes on issues before the PFA and the City Council, including–wait for it–a vote on a resolution on “the importance of punctuality.”

Do part-time elected officials lead busy lives? Sure. Should you nevertheless consider your ability to keep commitments you make before making them? Uh, yes. Yes you should.

It’s not too late for Republicans to find another candidate, of course, but they’ll be playing catchup at this point to Kefalas’ $37,000 in the bank. That’s why, when you go through all the time and trouble to recruit somebody for a hot legislative race, you check for evidence of flakiness.