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April 04, 2007 01:49 AM UTC

Fitz-Gerald Run Almost Official

  • 47 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

From The Associated Press:

Colorado Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald said Tuesday she is stepping down as chair of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee and plans to file “very soon” for an exploratory run for the seat held by Democratic Rep. Mark Udall.

Udall has said he will run for the U.S. Senate seat that will be open next year when Republican Wayne Allard retires.

“I expect a primary. It will be a very attractive seat,” Fitz-Gerald said of the House race.

Other top Democrats mentioned if the seat opens up in 2008 are Rep. Alice Madden and Sen. Ron Tupa, along with Colorado Conservation Trust executive director Will Shafroth and Jared Polis, a former member of the state Board of Education and a wealthy entrepreneur.

Fitz-Gerald may be stepping down from the DLCC, but she won’t be giving up her leadership role at the state senate anytime soon. We hear that several Democrats quietly urged Fitz-Gerald to step down as Senate President once she begins to campaign for congress. She said that she would step down – when she is sworn in as a member of Congress.

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47 thoughts on “Fitz-Gerald Run Almost Official”

          2. Sorry OQD.  In a post below, I indicate that Joan never ran for congress.  However I was wrong and you are correct she did run against Dan in 96.  I had forgotten about that (it is after all forgettable).

            I was not in the metro area at that time, was doing some politics elsewhere and frankly was not paying attention to fruitless races in the 6th CD.

            Mea Culpa

      2. Joan has never run for congress.  She served as Jefferson County Clerk prior to being elected to the Colorado Senate.

        She ran for the Senate in 2000 beating Bryan Sullivant.  Sullivant was appointed to the seat after the death of Tony Grampsas.  Tony had been elected to the Senate seat (previously held by Sally Hopper) from the house but died before serving.

        1. I believe that Sullivant withdrew as a candidate during that 2000 race due to personal use of campaign funds allegations. Don’t recall if anyone was “selected” to repace him on the ballot.

    1. She supported Bush and his invasion of Iraq. “…commends and supports the efforts and leadership of President George W. Bush in the conduct of military operations in Iraq.” (See co-sponsor at the top).

      http://www.leg.state…

      This is in addition to the one supporting the war in Iraq the Rocky mentioned recently that she voted for:

      http://www.leg.state…

      See the bottom of the Rocky article if you are interested in their take:

      http://www.rockymoun…

      1. Let’s try and update that.

        In 2007, she sponsored the resolution stating that as citizens of the United States and Colorado we expect “a chohesive stategy from our national leadership BEFORE, NOT AFTER, putting the lives of our brave service members in harm’s way.”
        http://www.leg.state…

        Seems pretty simple to me. We were all lied to about the purpose, justification, and strategy for Iraq. It’s time to correct those mistakes.

        1. Supporting the war is one thing. Commending Bush on his “leadership” is quite another. This wasn’t a vote for funding the war. Nor was it vote to go to war. This was support for Bush and his leadership in invading Iraq.

          I wasn’t fooled by Bush’s pounding of the war drums. Neither were many Democrats in Congress including Mark Udall, the one she is looking to replace. Others who stood up to Bush were Diana DeGette, Nancy Pelosi, and Paul Wellstone. We need Democrats with courage to stand up to people like Bush, not follow along because it is politically expedient.

          In response to your point about the 2007 resolution. We need resonsible thought from our Democratic leaders BEFORE, NOT AFTER putting the lives of our brave service members in harm’s way. The resolution itself speaks to the problems of her initial support.

          2.   Indeed, supporting Bush today is quite a mistake.  But this is now, that was then….
              Even I, for a very brief period of time in Sept. and Oct. of 2001, supported Bush.  I went so far as to contemplate the possibility of actually voting for him in ’04.  Then again, about 91% of the rest of the county supported Bush in the autumn of ’01.
              When the Iraq War started four years ago, I was an agnostic as to whether Bush had justifiable cause to attack Iraq or not.  Like many others in this country (most notably, Hillary Rodham Clinton, John Kerry, and John Edwards), I was willing to give “Shrub” the benefit of the doubt.  Once it became clear that his administration had lied about the WMDs, he lost that benefit of the doubt.
              You people in the left-wing Iraq Purity Caucus (to borrow and modify a phrase coined by Newt Gingrich to describe some of the right wing nuts in his party) are going to manage to elect John McCain president next year by trashing any Democrat who was not sufficiently opposed to the Iraq War from the start.  (I can see it in the way you people are demanding that HRC sufficiently grovel and beg for forgiveness for voting to authorize the invasion.)
              I seriously doubt that Joan Fitz-Gerald would be supporting, commending, or otherwise patting Bush on the back today.

            1. Supporting Bush in late ’01 is completely reasonable, I agree. I, like most Americans, was mad, scared, and wanted revenge. There wasn’t a choice of presidents so I could only hope that our current one would respond in a reasonable manner.

              Now fast forward to mid 2003, the time that both these resolutions were around. The war in Iraq was well underway. In fact, the President had declared the end of major combat operations. By this point, anyone that was paying attention knew something was wrong. Iraq wasn’t where the terrorists were. What were we doing there? Maybe one could be excused for not expressly opposing the President (for political reasons). But to commend him and his leadership? I don’t think so.

              1. thought Bush was responding well until he invaded Iraq.  He did not bomb Afghanistan immediately, he gave plenty of time for diplomatic efforts to work.  Plenty of warning, plenty of time.

                Then…..

                1. I’m a little confused. You specifically say ” Bush was responding well until he invaded Iraq.” I am pointing out that these resolutions were concluded AFTER the end of major combat operations in Iraq. Are you agreeing with me that by that point people should have known better?

          3. I find it interesting that you would bring up Wellstone… For most he’s pretty much faded from memory.

            Maybe you need to change your handle to “RealMinnesotan”.

            1. This post was put in the wrong spot, but it was obviously a reply to you:

              Wellstone forgotten? 
              You know, in this last election season there were a number of “Camp Wellstone” training seminars for people interested in learning about campaigning.  Plus there’s that foundation up in Minnesota that his friends are running. So, I don’t think he’s forgotten–hope not since he was a great addition to the U.S. Senate.

              ——————————————————————————–

              by: DemB4Dirt @ Wed Apr 04, 2007 at 10:50:14 AM MDT 

  3. I have a lot of respect for her, and although she does great within the party, the GOP just can’t wait to pull the trigger on her.

    Not that Polis is much better mind you… But I think his wealth can (and has) offset his liabilities.

    1. Heard on KCFR today that Jared Polis’ American School is opening a new branch in Eagle county. His charter schools, one in Aurora, one in Thornton(?), and now in Eagle county, target immigrant students, ages 16 – 21.

      Why do you think he’s opening a new charter school in CD-2?
      Hmmm…

    2. Fitz-Gerald will be a formidable opponent in a Democratic district.  I don’t believe the GOP “can’t wait to pull the trigger on her.”

      1. Its all about the benjamins.  She’s gonna tell all the lobbyist that they better pony up big to her congressional campaign if they want any progress on their bills.

          1. then why hasn’t Joan sworen off lobbyist money?  She really doesn’t even have to make the threat just by keeping her position it is implied.

  5. and I live in Boulder and follow politics. If I don’t know them then most of the population here doesn’t know them.

    The names are familiar – but what they stand for, what they’ve worked for – all I know is Polis gave us amendment 41 (gee thanks).

    So I think they all have work to do to sell themselves.

    1. I’d say that is a fair assessment of the situation. Primary elections are decided by party voters, not (although some might like to think) by party insiders. While support of party insiders is certainly a plus, it isn’t everything.

      In addition, I can tell you with certainty that each of the three main candidates has support of some important party insiders. Joan clearly has an advantage in her access to the media (as demonstrated by this “story” about her stepping down from a position none but the biggest wonks knew she held). That advantage may or may not last. It all depends on how much people buy into her anointment as the party candidate.
      Obviously many here on Colorado Pols (and Pols itself) think that she has all but won. I feel pretty safe in saying that the race hasn’t even started.

    2. although it is pretty early, but I’ve gotten a bit of a sense that all the players are trying to keep themselves as unpinned down as possible so they can be John Kerry when it comes race time

  6. I have heard an ugly rumor that Fitz-Gerald does not even live in the district.  Is this true?

    Over here in District 7 we dealt handily with a Boulder carpet bagger.

    If she changes her “residence” to qualify for the election, would she have to resign her seat in the State Senate?

    1. I’m assuming you are referencing Peggy Lamm but I also live in CD7 and Perlmutter is the first “non-carpetbagger” we have had represent us.  I remind you that Beauprez was from Louisville (CD2) and promptly moved back just as soon as he was humiliated in the Governor’s race.

  7. I haven’t seen much of her public speaking, but at Salazar’s CO Energy Summit a couple of weeks ago she was a total snooze.  Not just a flat, uninspiring speaker, but no evidence that she’s really engaged on the issue she was speaking about.  (Not that she needs to be, but then why was she talking if she’s not engaged on energy?)  It was a pretty stark contrast with Romanoff who immediately followed her.  During her talk I kept thinking, “this is the favorite to win the CD-2 seat?  Oh boy….”  At least in the personality department, from what I’ve seen, Madden is the brighter choice.  We’ll see what happens, but if F-G keeps putting people to sleep I’m not sure the race is hers.

    1. if you’re looking for a good public speaker, you should listen to Ron Tupa. I’ve only heard him speak a few times a while ago, but he was certainly good at it.

  8. You know, in this last election season there were a number of “Camp Wellstone” training seminars for people interested in learning about campaigning.  Plus there’s that foundation up in Minnesota that his friends are running. So, I don’t think he’s forgotten–hope not since he was a great addition to the U.S. Senate.

  9. I’ve heard of an exploratory committee to “investigate the possibility of running,” but never of an exploratory run.  Kind of fits in with the statement “I’ll step down as Senate President when I become a Congresswoman.”

    Fitz-Gerald:  “I’m going to run exploratorily, and if on election day I win, then I’ll make it official.  If I lose, it was just exploratory so it won’t really count.”

    1. committees are the first step to running—basically gauging how much $$ you need, your infrastructure, etc….as to the Fitz quote, I don’t think that was her but Colorado Pols

    2. Made me laugh. But to be fair, I have to point out that Paulson, the AP writer of the story, has made many errors in his analysis of Colorado politics in the recent past. At one point, shortly before the election, he said that Beauprez was “closing the gap” on Ritter.

      1. True enough.  Just an interesting phrase that I’d never hear before – I’m not a big fan of “exploratory” anything.  Either do it or don’t.

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