January 28, 2011 10:08 PM UTC

Reminder: Dave Balmer is a Straight-Up Creep

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• by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE #2: Statement from Senate President Brandon Shaffer after the jump: “The Senate chamber must be a sanctuary for the exchange of ideas in an atmosphere free of intimidation. I will not tolerate a breech in decorum. We have real work to do for the people of Colorado.”

UPDATE: The AP reports, Rep. Dave Balmer will not face a Senate investigation over his conduct toward Sen. Gail Schwartz. But he is banned from the state Senate floor for the duration of the session, and will formally apologize for his behavior.

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In March of 2007, Republican Rep. Debbie Stafford got a taste of Dave Balmer’s ugly side. The Rocky Mountain News reported at the time:

Rep. Debbie Stafford, of Aurora, said that a fellow Republican in the House told her she would be a target in future elections if she supported a construction-defects bill that the homebuilders industry opposed…

“There is a specific House rule that says a lobbyist cannot threaten a legislator, for that matter any other public employee, with violence or economic or political reprisal,” [Speaker Andrew Romanoff] said. “There is no corresponding rule in the House with respect to threats made by lawmakers, and I think there should be.”

Stafford said that a number of people lobbied her to vote against House Bill 1338, including Rep. David Balmer, R-Centennial, the assistant minority leader.

Stafford left the Republican Party soon thereafter–not that she was considered a great prize by Democrats, with some erratic and impolitic statements in her own past, but she was allowed to serve out her term as a Democrat in peace.

Dave Balmer has had a rough ride trying to move up in the ranking of Republican leadership in the Colorado House. It wasn’t due to a lack of trying: Balmer was always regarded as a potent fundraiser, and as the story above recounts, he was useful as an enforcer for GOP leadership from time to time.

But Balmer also has a troubled past. We’ve discussed his odd history as a state legislator and congressional candidate in North Carolina–a political career that ended in allegations of resume embellishment and a bizarre “disappearance.” In 2008, this history resurfaced when other Republicans used it against him during a bid for minority leadership. During the last election cycle, more unsavory personal details from Balmer’s past in North Carolina emerged. Until he was appointed to the bipartisan redistricting committee, we thought the guy was done; just biding his time until term limits put him out of his misery.

But Frank McNulty, for whatever reason, thought Balmer would make a good addition to this nominally important committee–and appears to have paid for it. The AP reports:

A Colorado Senate committee will be appointed to investigate the behavior of a state representative a witness says made “boisterous noise and a lot of hand gestures” during a discussion about redistricting in the Senate after adjournment.

Senate President Brandon Schaffer, D-Longmont, tells The Denver Post that the committee will look into the behavior of Rep. David Balmer, R-Centennial. A witness says Balmer was talking to Democratic Sen. Gail Schwartz of Snowmass Village Wednesday when a sergeant at arms asked Balmer to leave.

Albert Einstein once said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result. At some point this rule has to be applicable to Dave Balmer in anything resembling a position of influence. We’re pretty sure that the only reason Balmer hasn’t been Jim Welkerized long before now is his uncanny ability to charm wealthy Republicans’ wallets open.

Well, at some point, the ugly is going to catch up with the charm.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, January 28 2011

Representative Balmer banned from Senate Chamber

Will formally apologize on House floor

DENVER-Today, Senate President Brandon Shaffer (D-Longmont) banned Representative David Balmer (R-Centennial) from the Senate chamber for the remainder of the legislative session. This action comes in response to an incident which took place on Wednesday, January 26 in which a Senate Sergeant-At-Arms asked that Balmer remove himself from the Senate chamber due to his aggressive behavior toward Senator Gail Schwartz (D-Snowmass Village).

“This morning Representative Balmer came to my office to apologize for his conduct on the Senate floor when he confronted Senator Schwartz. Mr. Balmer’s behavior was unacceptable, and for that reason I have revoked his privilege to enter the Senate chamber for the remainder of the legislative session.

At my request Representative Balmer will apologize publicly in the House chamber at his first convenience.

The Senate chamber must be a sanctuary for the exchange of ideas in an atmosphere free of intimidation. I will not tolerate a breech in decorum. We have real work to do for the people of Colorado.”