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March 09, 2008 02:15 AM UTC

Political newcomer outpolls Doug Bruce at GOP assembly

  • 18 Comments
  • by: NEWSMAN

( – promoted by Colorado Pols)

Also see: Barry Noreen: For many, Douglas Bruce is just a bad movie

http://www.gazette.com/article…

EXCERPT Colorado Springs Gazette March 8, 2008

Mark Waller, who has been known so far only as the Republican challenging Rep. Douglas Bruce, earned a new title Saturday: Front-runner to take Bruce’s seat.

Waller received 57 percent of the vote from House District 15 delegates at the El Paso County General Assembly, winning top-line designation on the Aug. 12 primary ballot. Bruce, who earned 43 percent, is the first incumbent in recent memory to get outpolled at the assembly.

Because both men received the minimum 30 percent support necessary to get onto the primary ballot, Waller’s win means only that he will be above Bruce on the ballot. Democrats also have two candidates competing for a seat in the overwhelmingly Republican district in northeast Colorado Springs.

Bruce, … goes into the primary with far greater name recognition among constituents and will draw support from a bigger crowd, he said.

Bruce, a former El Paso County commissioner who gained a following for authoring the 1992 Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, began to lose his luster after taking his legislative seat.  

Waller, an attorney and Air Force reservist, played off that controversy Saturday, noting that his views on issues differed little from Bruce’s conservative stances. But in him, constituents could find someone who works with other legislators to do something rather than alienate peers and leave the district without a voice, he said.

Bruce shot back that Waller was an untested conformist who represented the status quo rather than government reform. He did not shy from his “brusque” and “sometimes tactless” style – his own words – but said he’ll continue fighting for constitutional rights and against taxes.

It is clear, though, that Bruce has lost at least some support. One of Waller’s other nominators, Dan Lanotte, noted that he had backed Bruce as recently as the December vacancy committee meeting.

“We’re not saying that Doug is an evil man, because most of us agree with his principles,” Waller supporter Brian Wess said as the votes were being counted. “We’re just saying that we need somebody who can communicate conservative ideals and represent us at the state Legislature, and unfortunately Doug has shown he can’t do that.”

Waller – who received 139 votes to Bruce’s 105 – said he intends to ramp up what was a relatively quiet campaign. Though he said the victory should help him build name recognition, he is aware that he hasn’t won anything yet, he said.

Bruce said he hopes to engage Waller in a series of debates and will try to portray the differences between his voting record and what he called Waller’s lack of record. But he said that he did not take the votes of 139 people as any general outcry or rebuke against him.

“It doesn’t matter. Top-line means nothing,” Bruce said. “People know me. They don’t know him.”

http://www.gazette.com/common/…

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18 thoughts on “Political newcomer outpolls Doug Bruce at GOP assembly”

  1. It’s a long time till the August Primary.

    Waller had a great comeback to Doug’s campaign lit asking “Where was Waller”

    Turns out, In 2006 he was in Iraq prosecuting insurgents.

    Well delivered too.

    Doug has a serious challenge on his hands.

    NEWSMAN

    1. Waller did ok today, but not great. Bruce seemed uneasy.

      The one area where I would like to Waller speak out more is on development. Bruce claims the HBA’s endorsement of Waller means that he believes current residents should foot the bill for new residents to move in. Waller needs to discuss this issue and bring clarity as he did today with “Where was Waller”. Waller has a lot of work in front of him, but today had to be very encouraging.

      As for the last line in the story…it is true that far more people know Bruce, but knowing is not the same as liking.  Bruce even tried to make light of “the kick”, but nobody saw the humor in it.

      It should be an interesting race…and will give us something other than CD5 to discuss!

    2. He has two options at this point: stay low or take the low road.  Neither option is ideal for an incumbent.

      This race is far from over, but Bruce is in real danger.

      1. Unfortunately Bruce doesn’t have your common sense (I struggle here to find a way to say what it is he’s lacking, I certainly wouldn’t call him dumb) he wants to debate.  Bad decision, but it’d sure be entertaining.

  2. “It doesn’t matter. Top-line means nothing,” Bruce said. “People know me. They don’t know him.”

    I think that’s the problem for Bruce – they know him. If he loses this he probably won’t be able to bully his way into a vacancy appointment and he’s unlikely to win an open seat.

    1. Don’t kid yourself. Top line is worth 2, 3 to 5% in any race below the statewide level. If the election is close, top line is the determining factor. It is an incredibly valuable piece of real estate. (Those who say otherwise have never run a down ballot election.)

      Colorado Springs may be a rare place demographically but there is a an ever increasing portion of the Springs electorate that doesn’t know what TABOR is or who the County Commissioners were from way back in the early part of the century.

      That said, Mr. Waller has an uphill battle to run.  

  3. to Bruce on a silver platter.  As safe a Republican seat as you could ask for, to run as an incumbent.  Then a minor squabble over when he took the seat that no one should have cared about a week afterwards.  He turned it all to dross with his inability to show the least amount of humility, or even graciousness at the largess handed to him.  

    Who would have thought two months ago that he would even have a primary challenge, let alone losing the majority of the  assembly vote so as to be at the bottom of the ballot?  You rarely see such a spectacular self-destruct of a political career in such a short time.  If at any time in the last month and a half he had apologized for any of the actions he has been criticized for, he wouldn’t be in this situation.  His ego has trumped his common sense.  I can’t find any sympathy for him.  I very much doubt we will find anything about Mark Waller that will match what we know about Doug Bruce.

  4. this restores my faith in the Republican assembly process!  

    Bruce was given the appointment to get him out of El Paso county and into a group where his eccentricities would be diluted.

    Will no one rid us of this meddlesome libertarian?  

  6. The good of TABOR is not outweighed by being one of the biggest boorish jackasses in the history of the Colorado Assembly.

    Who would have thought that Michael Garcia would be the second biggest jerk-off this session?

  7. The seal of approval from the Country Club Republicans in the party leadership is the kiss of death in HD-15.

    With all due respect, with 2 choices, top line ain’t a big deal for Doug Bruce.

    What is a big deal is Doug’s failing to realize the undercurrent here.  Either he wakes up and stops using the word “I”, and starts framing issues as to how they effect “us”, or he will be replaced.

    Waller is right.  He has won nothing but the opportunity to challenge.  This is still Doug Bruce’s seat to loose.

    Will He???

    1. this is far from over, but Bruce is in real danger.  Obviously the result that matters is the result of the August primary.

      But Bruce should be concerned.  There were a lot of new faces this year, and they’re probably the ones who voted for Waller.  They probably aren’t as involved as some (though they’re becoming more so) and they’re the ones an incumbent usually relies on.  The more fresh faces start to get involved, the worse the problem gets for Bruce.

      1. Most newcomers to the state are going to have, at best, an academic understanding of what Doug Bruce did to get TABOR passed in this state.

        Their views of him are much more likely to be framed in how he has acted as a county commissioner, and how he has acted up as a State Representative.  And many long-time residents like myself have long ago gotten tired of Doug’s self-satisfying attitude.  When a virtual unknown like Mark Waller wins the majority of the vote so overwhelmingly against an incumbent, it speaks poorly of that incumbents image, and prospects.  

        1. they know that, at best, it was flawed.  Whether you were for or against C&D, almost everyone agreed that there was a problem, they just didn’t agree on how to fix it.  He would have been better able to run on that ’04 and back, but that didn’t work too well.  So borrowing your points, all in all, it’s a pretty bad public record.

          1. Whatever you think of Mr. Bruce, A Bill of Rights for Taxpayers was the best citizens petition the voters have ever passed in Colorado.  

            1. Government must ask you first BEFORE they raise your taxes.

            2. Flat Income Tax put into the CO. State Constitution where politicians can’t mess with it.

            3. Taxes automatically raise no more than growth plus inflation.

            I personally worked on TABOR in 1992 (And its predecessors in 1988 and 1990)  I wrote voiced and paid for radio spots that aired in favor of TABOR.

            Doug Bruce was the point man, but he did not pass The Taxpayers Bill of Rights alone.

            For all the complaints about the restrictions and inconveniences that government officials find restraining, TABOR did and continues to do far more good than harm.

            1. well at least not all of it.  Personal views aside, the “ratchet” effect was/is a flaw, so most people thought/think.  I purposely left that ambiguous because I’m talking about his public image.  It’s probably reasonable to say that the majority of HD-15’s constituents agree with his basic policies, if not behavior.

              Honestly, I wouldn’t get in an argument about the rights or wrongs of TABOR, we could be here forever. 🙂

            2. Actually this is a big problem

              It should be growth times inflation if you want to keep spending “constant” in real dollars.

              Assuming both a 3% growth rate and inflation rate the differential is only about 1/10th of a percent in year 1, but 10 years latter the real budget has actually declined by about 7% assuming these numbers.

              I will not go into the structure of TABOR in exacerbating the business cycle too much, but suffice to say it sends you rebates when the economy is hot and cuts back on services when the economy is weak–any economist will tell you that is not good.

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