November 27, 2006 04:45 AM UTC

What should Denver do?

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• by: Karen Morrissey

As you may be aware, I am running for the Denver Election Commission. I think we all agree that our last election was an absolute disaster. There are many people calling for major changes, and I would like to solicit the opinions of the readers here.

Below are four options currently being considered. I would appreciate hearing your opinions on which are better. Or, if you have a better idea yet, I’d love to hear it.

I intend to serve my best at whatever the voters elect me to do: be a transitional Commissioner until a single person is elected in November; serve a full 4-year term; or go back to my “day job.” I have no intention of running for County Clerk; other people are better suited for the whole of that job, it’s elections — and voters — that I care about.

OPTION 1 – KEEP THE CURRENT STRUCTURE.
Make no changes to the current structure of the Commission (2 are elected, 1 is appointed by the Mayor and serves as Clerk). This is not preservation of the status quo; people clearly expect some personnel changes even if this scenario wins. If elected to a full 4-year term, I will immediately begin a full review of all personnel from the top down and, with my fellow Commissioners, make decisions about who to keep and what job duties to reassign or reorganize. The Information Technology organization (my profession) will be thoroughly scrutinized and, if necessary, totally revamped.

OPTION 2 – ELECT A CLERK IN MAY
This is Auditor Dennis Gallagher’s proposal. The question of what to do about the structure of the Commission would be on the May ballot. This proposal would have people running for the office of County Clerk on the same ballot, even though it has not been approved by the voters yet. It would allow the Clerk to get a running start on running the 2008 elections, but it also means some people (either Commissioner or Clerk candidates) will be raising money and campaigning for an office they won’t take even if they win. There are some legal questions here that the city attorneys are still researching.

OPTION 3 – ELECT A CLERK IN NOVEMBER
The question of whether to change the structure would be on the May ballot and then, if successful, a County Clerk would be elected in November. Under this proposal, if the ballot question fails, the Commission continues on as before. This is Councilwoman (and former Clerk and Recorder) Rosemary Rodriguez’s proposal.

OPTION 4 – ELECT A DIRECTOR OF ELECTIONS
This is being promoted by Councilwoman (and former Election Commissioner) Marcia Johnson. This would work the same as Option 3, but the elected post in Nov. would be specifically a Director of Elections. The County Clerk would remain appointed by the Mayor, but have no involvement with elections. This Dir. of Elections would be a full-time elected position with adequate pay to attract competent candidates. If the voters of Denver really want to change the structure, this is my personal preference. I have not yet decided if I would run for this position.