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December 22, 2010 01:18 AM UTC

Hickenlooper Picks Al White to Head Tourism Office

  • 76 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

According to a press release from the office of Gov.-elect John Hickenlooper (full release after the jump):

Gov.-elect John Hickenlooper announced today Sen. Al White will be Director of the Colorado Tourism Office and Joan Henneberry will be the Healthcare Exchange Planning Grant Project Director.

White is a businessman from Winter Park who served eight years in the Colorado House of Representatives before he was elected to the Colorado Senate two years ago. He has a long history of promoting tourism in Colorado, creating jobs as a small-business owner and working collaboratively with all levels of government.

“Tourism can be a catalyst for economic development throughout Colorado,” White said. “Our beautiful state has the perfect climate for family and business. We want people to visit every corner of Colorado and decide to stay for a lifetime.”

White has earned a reputation among conservative Republicans as one of those mythical “RINOs” (Republican In Name Only) thanks to his sins of not always toeing the Party line and daring to think for himself. It’s no surprise that White might want to step aside from the GOP hardliners; in fact, White’s situation is reminiscent of that of former Republican Rep. Don Marostica, both former Joint Budget Committee (JBC) members who drew the ire of GOP bosses for being overly reasonable in budget discussions. Republican leadership recently voted against re-nominating White to the JBC, similar to threats made against Marostica in 2008. Marostica accepted an appointment from Gov. Bill Ritter as State Director of Economic Development not long after being bashed by fellow Republicans for having the “temerity” to say that Colorado really did have economic problems that couldn’t be solved merely by repeating rhetoric about cutting taxes and spending.  

White was first elected to the State House in 2000 and was elected to the Senate in 2008; he’ll resign his position in the coming weeks, setting up a vacancy committee in Senate District 8 (which encompasses Craig, Steamboat Springs and Gypsum, among other towns).

Republican Rep. Randy Baumgardner (HD-57), whose House District makes up a large chunk of SD-8, would seem to be the logical choice to move up — potentially creating another vacancy committee in his current House district (Note that Baumgardner may not live in the Senate District; h/t to Ralphie on this one). POLS UPDATE: Baumgardner’s voter registration lists him in SD-16, which would make him ineligible to seek a vacancy committee appointment in this case. The two House Districts inside SD-8, HD-56 and HD-61, are both currently held by Democrats, which means that White’s successor will not likely be a current legislator.

Whomever Republicans ultimately choose to replace White, the Party will not be better off in his absence. Continually running off Republicans who are fiscally responsible, and not just blindly conservative does not help their cause in a state that has long favored moderate politicians.  

DENVER – Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2010 – Gov.-elect John Hickenlooper announced today Sen. Al White will be Director of the Colorado Tourism Office and Joan Henneberry will be the Healthcare Exchange Planning Grant Project Director.

White is a businessman from Winter Park who served eight years in the Colorado House of Representatives before he was elected to the Colorado Senate two years ago. He has a long history of promoting tourism in Colorado, creating jobs as a small-business owner and working collaboratively with all levels of government.

“Tourism can be a catalyst for economic development throughout Colorado,” White said. “Our beautiful state has the perfect climate for family and business. We want people to visit every corner of Colorado and decide to stay for a lifetime.”

Henneberry is now executive director of the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing and responsible for managing public health insurance programs including Medicaid and CHP+.  She will stay in her current role until a replacement is named.

“Colorado is well positioned to implement federal health care reform that meets the needs of families throughout the state,” Henneberry said. “We are committed to working with consumers and businesses to effectively and efficiently provide health care services that are both affordable and accountable.”

In her new role, Henneberry will be responsible for continuing the planning phase for a health insurance exchange in Colorado as called for in the Affordable Care Act. This will involve setting up work groups and committees; working with the health reform director and implementation board;  working to assess through economic modeling and analysis if Colorado can sustain a state exchange; and continuing to engage stakeholders, especially consumers and small businesses, to ensure that the Colorado exchange enables them to purchase valuable, affordable health insurance.

Henneberry joined Gov. Bill Ritter’s cabinet as executive director of the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing in 2007. She previously worked in the private sector after spending seven years at the National Governors Association, providing consultation to states on health care services and financing, cost containment and emerging policy issues. She spent 13 years at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, chairs the board of the Colorado Regional Health Information Organization, and serves on the Executive Committee for the National Academy for State Health Policy.

Henneberry earned a master’s degree in management and completed the Senior Executives in State and Local Government program at the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government in 2008. She is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives.

White was first elected in 2000 as State Representative for House District 57, representing Garfield, Grand, Jackson, Moffat, Rio Blanco and Routt counties. He served four terms and during his tenure served as Assistant Majority Leader and Vice Chair of the Business Affairs and Labor committee. He was a member of the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, the Education Committee, the Water Resources Review Committee and the Legislative Audit committee. White was the House appointee to the Colorado Tourism Office board for 10 years and was instrumental in securing funding for tourism promotion in Colorado.

White was elected to the Colorado Senate in 2008, representing District 8 (Eagle, Garfield, Jackson, Moffat, Rio Blanco and Routt counties). He currently serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee and he served on the Joint Budget Committee for four years.

White was honorably discharged from the Army and relocated 35 years ago to Colorado, where he attended the University of Colorado. He then moved to Winter Park and began a career as an entrepreneur in the ski business. Through hard work, and the community’s support, Al and his wife, Jean, spent 25 years as owners and operators of several full-service ski shops, a bike shop and a mountain lodge.

As an active member of the business community, White served on several bank boards, was the Chairman of the Fraser Valley Metropolitan Recreation District, Secretary of the Grand County Water and Sanitation board, and Vice Chair of the Winter Park Fraser Valley Chamber of Commerce.

White will resign his Senate seat in the coming weeks; a date has not been set. A vacancy committee will name his replacement.

###

About the Colorado Tourism Office

The Colorado Tourism Office was created by the legislature July 1, 2000, to promote Colorado as a tourism and travel destination. The CTO replaced the Colorado Tourism Board and the Colorado Travel and Tourism Authority. The office is governed by a board of directors consisting of 15 members, including four legislators and 11 members appointed by the Governor and representing various tourism and travel industry segments. Administrative oversight is provided by the Office of Economic Development and International Trade.

About Health Care Reform

Under the Federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, states have critical responsibilities for implementation of new federal policies. One critical area for planning is the development of exchanges, or virtual marketplaces, where thousands of currently uninsured Coloradans will seek information to select and purchase health insurance. Many of these individuals and families will be eligible for federal subsidies to help them pay their insurance premiums. Click here for more information.

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76 thoughts on “Hickenlooper Picks Al White to Head Tourism Office”

    1. We who?

      Is the state better off with White languishing in the Senate (where Dems have a decent majority so don’t need a moderate R to break filibusters or anything) or doing the people’s work bringing dollars into the state?

      1. is better off purging every last moderate out of their party and we shouldn’t give a good fuck because the Dems have a majority in the Senate right now?

        Wow, talk about short sighted thinking.

        I’m with David on his larger point. Happy to see White join Hickenlooper’s staff but sad to see yet another Republican seat likely filled with a hard liner.  

        1. I didn’t say anything of the sort. But Al White has clearly been marginalized beyond any effect in the Senate. Is it better for David’s royal “us” that his talents be put to good use in state government rather than languish in his little corner of the upper chamber? Yes.

          And because the vacancy committee (which tend to be even more extreme than primary voters) will almost assuredly nominate someone to the right of White, the loss of a moderate Republican in the Senate might be an issue. Except that it isn’t.

          The short-sighted thinking, if you can call it that, is on the part of the Republican caucus leadership and the party bigwigs that demand apologies and trips to woodsheds when moderate Republicans fall out of line. In the abstract, is it better for everyone if the GOP has more and better internal arguments? Sure. But this isn’t the abstract, this is one man’s career.

      2. They need a moderate voice in the newspaper from time to time so that it doesn’t appear as though Republicans in the legislature are all right-wingers.

    2. Yes we do.

      As the R’s move further and farther right, they are less and less electable.

      Witness 2010 – Hickenlooper took a shower with his clothes and he’s governor by a safe margin.

      Would not have happened against any other R who was in the ring Sep 09.

      Bennet campaigned against Buck, using Buck’s own statements and Bennet wins.  Would not have happened with Norton.

      1. Well, us and the Brits, until lately but not at the moment. Certainly not any other European country that comes to mind. Is the hallowed TPS functioning effectively in Washington? What’s the attraction of 2 versus 3, 4, or even 5 parties?

        1. but for better or worse that’s what we got. Quick, name me the last member of the Legislature who belonged to a party other than the D and R’s? I wish we did have more parties represented in the Legislature.

          Most European countries have a parliamentary system that lends itself to multiple parties.  

      2. In 2008, Ali first wanted to run against Al White in a primary, if I recall correctly.  The party talked him out of it, and he ran for the HD56 seat – against Scanlan, who just won re-election this November and quit the seat a few weeks later.  

        This is why politics is more fun than sports!

        1. One of the candidates for the HD 56 vacancy, she impressed party officials at the vacancy committee meeting, and told me after the meeting that she’d be interested in going after the SD8 seat. This was before White’s decision, and I doubt that his stepping down will convince her otherwise 🙂

          http://bit.ly/hLZhdq

          (Link to the story in The Statesman)

  7. That Repblicans appoint an idiot to this seat so that the Dems can take it in 2012.  Next to the district held by Ellen Roberts, this is the most libertarian seat in the state.  Even Republicans are pro-chioce.

    1. He would probably know off the top of his head. Taylor would have to wait four years (a full term) before running again, which probably works the same in a vacancy situation.  

      1. A person has to be eligible for the seat under all the normal rules, which includes term limits.

        Article V, Section 3 of the Constitution of the State of Colorado states as follows:

           Section 3. Terms of senators and representatives. (1) Senators shall be elected for the term of four years and representatives for the term of two years.

           (2) In order to broaden the opportunities for public service and to assure that the general assembly is representative of Colorado citizens, no senator shall serve more than two consecutive terms in the senate, and no representative shall serve more than four consecutive terms in the house of representatives. This limitation on the number of terms shall apply to terms of office beginning on or after January 1, 1991. Any person appointed or elected to fill a vacancy in the general assembly and who serves at least one half of a term of office shall be considered to have served a term in that office for purposes of this subsection (2). Terms are considered consecutive unless they are at least four years apart.

        I believe the pertinent language is the very last line of this section…

  9. Betcha the Industry will have a lot of say over the next pick. They could never count on Al 100%….something about tourism and drilling not mixing too well….

    The 8th will no doubt be one of the biggest fights during redistricting. The Dems just need a little help — like cutting off Western GarCo.

    Legislators from both sides will no doubt miss White’s expertise during the budget crisis next year.

            1. leave for a visit to see my mother, who lives in Texas. Laundry…packing…reading Pols. Adrenaline and caffeine…what a combo! It is very exciting that your career is doing so well. I have some friends who are filmmakers. I know one I think you would particularly like, a  delightful lady named Deb Anderson. She is the director of “Split Estate”.

              I get my best creative work done at night

              yeah, me too.

              Some day when I have more time, I would love to tell you of the project in which I am currently engaged, I think you might find it interesting.

              Full disclosure: My major at USF was Speech/Theatre. I am an aging thespian turned musician, but have never lost my love for the stage and cinema.

  10. First off, I have the great honor of running for SD8 (but for a few months) and I’m proud I ran – I got to know the district well and when you consider all of the oil there, I mean it when I say, I don’t think there’s a State Senate district in America that commands as much power as SD8 – and more importantly, the people are wonderful!

    Technically, I’d be first in line to be appointed, with my SD8 and HD56 runs, as well as my tight connections with the Central Committees of Routt, Moffat, Jackson, Rio Blanco, Garfield, and Eagle (as mentioned above)

    That said – before running for SD8, I had ZERO idea that my film, RABIA, would go on to win 36 awards, that my screenplay, BENAZIR, would win 3 major awards, and that I’d find myself with a really great agent-lawyer and potential film career – no regrets here

    I’ll be registering as a California Democrat (and may soon be a New Mexico Democrat) in the coming months and I couldn’t be happier – I’m proud to call myself a “Democrat” – I’m looking forward to continuing my political work on Constitutionalists For Gays & Immigrants, supporting Michael Hancock for Denver Mayor, and getting involved with the Central Committee for the Orange County Democrats

    ONTO SD8 —-

    There are A LOT of hungry, talented, and qualified GOPers in SD8

    Some of my favorites, as follows –

    BOB McCONNELL of Routt County — he ran an EXCELLENT primary against Scott Tipton and he’s the kind of Republican I would love to see advance – he keeps the issues fiscally-based and is very open-minded and honest – he’s also very intelligent – the only way he doesn’t get this seat is if the Central Co’s are Tipton supporters who hold grudges because, after all… Republicans in Colorado don’t participate in PRIMARIES (GASP!)



    DEBBIE BUCKLEY of Eagle County     — Debbie was a former Town Council member of Avon and former candidate for County Commissioner – she is VERY well informed and very likable – however, I don’t think she would want to spend much time in Denver, but we’ll see?



    ED WOODLAND of Eagle County     — Ed is the Mayor of Eagle and he has done a FANTASTIC job as Mayor – he would be a terrific State Senator, but my hunch is that he probably wants to stay on as Mayor and entertain future seats later – nonetheless, he would be terrific

    BECKY RIPPY of Garfield County — Becky ran against Kathleen Curry for HD61 in 2006 – of all the candidates listed, Becky is the most sincere and honest candidate out there – she has been very active with the GarCo GOP and has kept appearances throughout the district – she would be an EXCELLENT choice

    My personal take –

    In this process, I believe every county will get 3 votes in the vacancy process (I could be wrong?)

    Nonetheless – GarCo, Eagle, Rio Blanco, and Jackson are all pretty independent of each other – however, ROUTT and MOFFAT almost ALWAYS agree and will probably all vote for the same candidate – that said, whoever wins the Central Committees of Routt and Moffat will go on to become the State Senator of SD8

    Nonetheless – I think there’s gonna be a lot of applications for this vacancy, so it should be a (polite) dogfight

    Hope that analysis helps 🙂

    1. Forgot to add two more quality names –

      KAYE FERRY of Eagle County – this is my former campaign manager from Eagle (for HD56) – she ran for CD2’s Board of Education seat this last election cycle – she knows big time elections, is very intelligent, and has been an excellent advocate for small businesses – she’d be terrific if picked

      MATT SMITH of Rio Blanco – former State Rep from GJ, Matt Smith, I believe, was born and raised in Meeker and now lives there – anyway, like Becky Rippy, he may be the most sincere and honest man in the district – would be a great pick, if he wanted it

      Okay – I’m checking out – that’s my best analysis

  13. He didn’t hate labor, understood that rhetoric isn’t governing and kept his word on votes.

    I’m sure he will do well in the executive, but the moderates are almost extinct in the GOP.

  14. Any one of them could do exactly what Al White did – move. White moved to Hayden to be in SD 8; prior to that he was a 25-year resident of Winter Park and in SD 16. That’s also Baumgardner’s SD.

    1. The reason we overlooked Al’s carpet-bagging is that we love him.  None of those folks are Al White.  Al garnered nearly as much support amongst Democrats as Republicans because of his tireless work in reforming the funding formula for rural school districts and making sure that far-flung places like Moffat and Rio Blanco Counties got their fair share of DOLA money.

      My money is on Jack Taylor jumping to the head of the line.  Routt and Eagle counties are the battlegrounds for this district and the GOP will need name recognition to carry them.  Ken Brenner did a remarkable job challenging Al in 2008 and it wouldn’t surprise me one iota if he ran again in 2012.

      I was often at odds with Al on the issues, but I think he saw the writing on the wall.  He knew he would face an ugly primary that he might just lose and the right wingers in the area were growing increasingly discontented.

      Finally, Bob McConnell is not a good choice whatsover.  I’m not terribly familiar with the other names tossed out other than Matt Smith, but in the case (and many others) I disagree vehemently with MAH.

      1. will not come down to who the people like, it will come down to who the party likes.

        The party is considerably to the right of the people in SD8.  They will appoint the crazy of their choice, people be damned.

  15. “Whomever Republicans ultimately choose to replace White, the Party will not be better off in his absence. Continually running off Republicans who are fiscally responsible, and not just blindly conservative does not help their cause in a state that has long favored moderate politicians.”

    http://bit.ly/giP8Hj

    That applies only if another moderate doesn’t step up, like say, Mrs. White…..

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