President (To Win Colorado) See Full Big Line

(D) Joe Biden*

(R) Donald Trump

80%

20%↓

CO-01 (Denver) See Full Big Line

(D) Diana DeGette*

90%

CO-02 (Boulder-ish) See Full Big Line

(D) Joe Neguse*

90%

CO-03 (West & Southern CO) See Full Big Line

(D) Adam Frisch

(R) Jeff Hurd

(R) Ron Hanks

40%

30%

20%

CO-04 (Northeast-ish Colorado) See Full Big Line

(R) Lauren Boebert

(R) J. Sonnenberg

(R) Ted Harvey

20%↑

15%↑

10%

CO-05 (Colorado Springs) See Full Big Line

(R) Dave Williams

(R) Jeff Crank

(R) Doug Bruce

20%

20%

20%

CO-06 (Aurora) See Full Big Line

(D) Jason Crow*

90%

CO-07 (Jefferson County) See Full Big Line

(D) Brittany Pettersen

85%↑

 

CO-08 (Northern Colo.) See Full Big Line

(D) Yadira Caraveo

(R) Gabe Evans

(R) Janak Joshi

60%↑

40%↑

20%↑

State Senate Majority See Full Big Line

DEMOCRATS

REPUBLICANS

80%

20%

State House Majority See Full Big Line

DEMOCRATS

REPUBLICANS

95%

5%

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
December 10, 2018 10:21 AM UTC

The Loneliest Mustache In Colorado

  • 8 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols
Republican State Sen. Randy Baumgardner.

As the Grand Junction Sentinel’s Charles Ashby reports, Friday’s announcement of Colorado Senate Republican minority committee members left one telling name off the list–Sen. Randy Baumgardner of Hot Sulphur Springs, whose copiously-documented and repeatedly confirmed record of sexual harassment at the Colorado Capitol erupted in scandal in the 2018 legislative session:

Sen. Randy Baumgardner, the northwest Colorado Republican who was embroiled in a sexual harassment scandal during this year’s session, won’t have a lot of things to do when he returns to the Colorado Legislature next month.

That’s because the Hot Sulphur Springs lawmaker, who faced a failed expulsion attempt because of those complaints and is expected to face it again next session, wasn’t named to any of the Legislature’s 10 main standing committees…

“I’ve talked with (Baumgardner), and he is comfortable with (the decision),” [Senate Minority Leader Chris] Holbert said. “This is a continuance of where we’ve been. There’s been no change.”

While that’s technically true, it’s a considerable oversimplification of events from this year’s legislative session. The allegations against Baumgardner were investigated more than once, with the first investigation being disparaged by GOP Senate leadership who ordered a second probe. But before that second investigation’s findings could be disclosed, GOP leaders rushed a vote on the resolution to expel Baumgardner ahead of that report’s release. It was only after that second investigation was released, and some delay following even that, when Senate President Kevin Grantham finally took the step at the very end of the session of removing Baumgardner from his remaining committees.

Although Republicans were in control of the chamber, it remains possible that the further validation of the accusations against Baumgardner via this second investigation could have resulted in a different outcome for the motion to expel Baumgardner had it been disclosed before the vote. Any way you slice it, Republicans including the new Minority Leader helped protect Baumgardner from being expelled, and that is why he is still in the Senate.

We’ll give Chris Holbert a measure of credit for keeping still-Sen. Baumgardner at arm’s length from the women who work at the Colorado Capitol in the 2019 session, ostracism that could and probably should motivate Baumgardner to take his tired act back home to Hot Sulphur Springs.

But not very much credit, and we hope Holbert understands this is a big reason he’ll never be Senate President.

Comments

8 thoughts on “The Loneliest Mustache In Colorado

  1. Just spit-balling here … but maybe, just maybe, the new Senate majority can bring up a disciplinary action against Baumgartner in the first week of the session, allow Sen. Kagan the pleasure of voting in the majority to censure the 'stache, and then have Kagan retire to remind the Republican caucus how it could be done?

    1. I kinda’ hope the Senate majority spends at least the first week of this new legislative session actually doing a little bit of legislative work on issues of impact to Colorado . . . 

      . . . and saves the usual political kabiku ‘til . . .

      . . . oh, how about never?

    2. They would probably need a new charge to bring another expulsion/censure proceeding against him. Isn't legislative disciplinary action akin to impeachment. You don't get to keep voting on the same charge over and over again until you get a result you like.

      We may be stuck with him until 2020 but it's nice that he has become a pariah even in the Caucus of the Party of Trump.

      1. Republicans ran out the clock and there never was a vote on anything other than the first investigation.

        And my judgment is that what he did may not justify expulsion … but it could well serve as a basis for censure. If he wants to stand in the chamber and listen to a recital of his actions and the judgment of his colleagues, I suspect that would be an acceptable beginning to legislative action on a better process for handling complaints of sexual harassment.

    1. You mean the little lady didn't stand by her man? What is this world coming to…

      If he loses his pickup truck and his dog, there may be a country western song in the making.

       

Leave a Comment

Recent Comments


Posts about

Donald Trump
SEE MORE

Posts about

Rep. Lauren Boebert
SEE MORE

Posts about

Rep. Yadira Caraveo
SEE MORE

Posts about

Colorado House
SEE MORE

Posts about

Colorado Senate
SEE MORE

145 readers online now

Newsletter

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter to stay in the loop with regular updates!