December 13, 2006 07:57 PM UTC

Battle to Replace Jim Dyer

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• by: Colorado Pols

From the Rocky Mountain News:

The election was held five weeks ago but Arapahoe County Republicans are still cutting each other up.

They’re squabbling over the state Senate seat that Jim Dyer resigned in midterm after being elected as an Arapahoe County commissioner Nov. 7. The GOP vacancy committee election to fill the seat is set for Saturday.

The rivals are former Centennial Councilwoman Betty Ann Habig (who lost a primary to Spencer Swalm in House District 37 in August) and former Arapahoe County Commissioner Steve Ward.

“I am originally from Chicago and the political machine there can’t hold a candle to these people,” writes Habig supporter Fred Mould.

Ward alleges Habig includes a half-dozen people (out of more than 100) on her list of supporters who aren’t in fact endorsing her. Habig denies the defections but has decided to drop the list from her Web site.

Meanwhile, Habig claims that Ward and his allies, who include former House Minority Leader Joe Stengel, are trying to change Senate District 26 bylaws. They want numerous precinct committee people appointed to vacancies after Dyer resigned Dec. 6 to become retroactively able to vote in the vacancy election. The current bylaw restricts the voting to precinct officers “in the district as of the date of the vacancy.”