January 07, 2012 02:11 AM UTC

Sal Pace, Candidate in Colorado's Third Congressional District

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• by: Konola

(Does Pace have a chance? – promoted by Pita)

The first time I met Sal Pace was in Denver, when I was running for a seat in the state Senate. The second time was at the Mesa County Democrat’s annual fundraiser, the Spring Fling. The third time was at Main Street Bagels in downtown Grand Junction, where a group of malcontents meet each Friday to discuss current events over coffee. The fourth time was at the library in Parachute, where town leaders were invited to express their opinions. Most recently I met him again at Main Street Bagels, where he met with Mesa County Democrats.

I believe he is improving as a candidate, but he still has room to grow. He’s sincere when he says he wants to hear what people have to say; he even takes notes in those conversations. But he doesn’t own the room at his own events. Generally he sits down, avoiding the center of the table, and thus the center of attention. Pace is soft-spoken, and talks about working together to solve the problems facing his constituents. I wish he had more spark, more charisma.

The Pace/Tipton race is going to be one of the most highly watched in the nation. The district is one that could go either way. The new maps added a few registered Democrats to the mix, but it is still possible for a candidate from either party to win. Tipton has made lots of mistakes in his freshman year, not the least of which is irritating women by not supporting any of their issues. I haven’t been sure that Pace had the spine to stand up to Tipton.

But I finally saw him under attack on Thursday, and was pleased with his response. In the meeting with local Democrats, a local challenged his stated desire to work across the aisle, by suggesting that the only thing Obama achieved with compromise was moving the center to the right. The challenger then launched into a barrage, as much aimed at Obama as at Pace, expressing the frustration that many of us have with the constant obstructionism of Republicans in Washington.  I finally saw the spark I’d been looking for in Pace when he responded with “You don’t start negotiations with a bombing raid.”

Pace also shared with us that when Tipton was in Colorado’s state legislature, he frequently wore a tea bag pinned to his lapel. Pace lamented the fact that nobody seemed to have photographic evidence. What particularly amuses me about Tipton sporting a tea bag is his lack of support from the Grand Junction Tea Party. From what I’ve heard from them, Tipton is not their guy. I know that the local Tea Party did not endorse Tipton during 2010 primaries, and one of the founders of GJResult tells me, via posts at my blog, that they aren’t likely to endorse him in 2012 either.