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August 26, 2005 08:00 AM UTC

Hickenlooper Not Running

  • 39 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

According to this morning’s Rocky Mountain News, Denver mayor John Hickenlooper has ruled out a run for Governor in 2006.

Hickenlooper’s decision will change the Big Line yet again, moving Joan Fitz-Gerald up (pending her decision to run, which she says won’t be made until after the November 1st election).

Hickenlooper was the 800-pound gorilla in the room for the Dems, and Bill Ritter’s staff will breathe easier after this accouncement. Many others, though, are more worried than ever about whether Democrats will field any electable candidates for Governor in 2006.

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39 thoughts on “Hickenlooper Not Running”

  1. So it is all going to come down to Fitz-Gerald or Romanoff for the Dems. Personally my preference would be for Romanoff, but Joan is totally acceptable as well.

    I doubt either will commit one way or the other before Nov., but it would be nice if they jumped in earlier.

  3. Maybe losing 750 jobs because he was too busy being on vacation to go make a pitch to the base closing commission factored in to his decision.

    He promised to add 25,000 new jobs to Denver, well make that 25,750 now.

    But then, maybe the 25,000 were going to illegals at his restaurant.

    Hick, maybe your presence might not have made a difference, but if you are as powerful a persuader as you are touted to be, maybe the headline today would be that 750 jobs had been preserved.  Of course you would have had to interrupt your vacation to make a one day flight to California to save Denver jobs.

    Or was it that you didn’t want to try to make the case and lose, thereby diminishing your image as a winner.  If you don’t play then you can’t lose, is that it?

  5. I don’t mean to start a fight with this (but it probably will), but the word since April has been Beauprez is the only CO Rep who could beat either Salazar or Hick. With both of them out and Holtzman showing he is serious (big lit drop, RV tour over the weekend and a phone blitz last night)does anyone think Beauprez will drop out of the GOV race and stick to keeping the 7th CD?

  9. I don’t think Bobbie will be backing out either. Just because Hickenlooper and Salazar took away his primary message when they opted out, doesn’t mean he is going to go back to the 7th.
    ROD is doing too well to just step aside. If Bobbie goes back to the 7th, it will be like 2002 all over again with Pascal standing in for Sam and Joe… Out of the frying pan, into the fire.

  10. The crying you hear is all the Dems knowing they now have no chance of capturing the governor’s mansion. 

    The chuckling you hear is from BB and GOP-folks all over the state.

    How much longer will this site keep listing Holtzman above Beauprez?  The only way he would be “above” Beauprez is with more of the photoshop editing his staff has become known for.

  11. So much for the truce, that didn’t last long..

    Don – Get a grip

    MH has a new fancy website, BB doesn’t

    MH has a ton of money with more coming in, BB doesn’t

    MH has a full campaign staff, BB Doesn’t

    MH has an RV and is holding events that are well attended, BB isn’t.

    MH has already dropped a 100K mailers, BB hasn’t.

    MH is doing phone blasts, BB isn’t.

    BB has taken to flipping off candidates, MH hasn’t. 

    BB has a list of endorsers also endorsing C&D, MH doesn’t.

    Both are good men, but right now, MH has the momentum, plain and simple.

  13. I completely understand why Hick doesn’t want to get into the race.  He’s got a job that he loves in a city that he loves where he has the political capital to accomplish the things that he wants to.  My only concern is that if Hick ever wants to move to a higher officer this will be Hick’s best shot to move up.  I doubt he’ll ever be as popular as he is right now.

    And, as a Dem, I’m one hell of a lot more concerned with BB than MH and for the life of me I can’t understand how ColoradoPols continues to have Holtzman ranked first.

  15. It comforts me Peter that you don’t think Hick could have won.  That’s the best sign yet that if Hick had jumped in he could have and would have won.

  16. We are all tall campaign workers and we enjoy working for our tall candidate. We can’t speak about anything because it will be a violation of National Security!

  18. If C&D tank – and, honestly, what have we seen by the clowns running that operation which would make us think anything different will happen? – Hick, Salazar, Udall, and other big Democrats are pretty smart to stay where they are.

    Let the Republicans be in charge when Colorado’s fiscal situation collapses and that giant sound you hear are the moving trucks taking all the jobs elsewhere. MH should be careful what he wishes for, he just might get it – and then you’d see his political career over after one-term as governor.

    Governor is important, but C&D are about Colorado’s future as a viable place to live and do business.

  19. Sounds like Fitzie and Romey’s pipe dream…
    But it’s not going to happen. The economy is getting better now…
    Jobs are growing now. Might not be an explosion yet, but it is slow and steady, which is good. Huge, fast job growth is usually the “Boom” in “Boom and Bust” which is the usual history of the Colorado economy.
    C&D would be a new element introduced into a recovering economy. If passed, it will kill job growth in the private sector. And jobs created by a tax base aren’t really growing the economy.

    So if you want to hear that sucking soud JS, hope C&D passes.

    If you want job growth, like we have right now, C&D must fail.

  21. Iron Mike: “The economy is getting better now…
    Jobs are growing now.”

    According to the Corporation For Economic Development, Colorado ranks:
    47th in average annual pay
    36th in the disparity between rural and urban areas
    27th in employer health coverage
    48th in the number of uninsured low-income children
    48th in change in unemployment rate
    39th in change in the poverty rate
    49th in change in venture capital investments 44th in K-12 expenditures
    46th in high school completion rate
    36th in average teacher salary
    41st in highway performance.
    37th in personal income growth
    Receives an overall “C” grade on the performance index-dropping a full grade for the second year in a row

    It’s obvious the state economy is NOT “getting better.” But those who think Ref C/D are the White Knight to save us or the Trojan Horse to kill us are being simplistic. The state needs reform beyond the jingoistic rhetoric of those fighting for/aganst C & D.

  22. The State of Colorado needs cleaner air quality.  The Denver metro area has too many pollution warnings … we have made progress, but the Denver metro area smells real bad when compared to other parts of the country.  I suggest, that if we were to outlaw SUV’s, we could make the area much more environmental friendly, thus reducing cancer levels and attracting new visitors to our COLORFUL COLORADO … THAT SMELLS, (COUGH) REAL BAD. 

    Another great idea, is to make it manditory that every truck that enters the State of Colorado must pass emissions testing, or you can turn the truck around fella … that would really reduce the traffic on I-70, and I wouldn’t have to SMELL THE BAD AIR IN TRAFFIC ANYMORE …  (COUGH).

  24. Thanks to Peter for again showing new CP readers his stripes.

    Here’s to you loosing out on more parking spaces due to monster SUV’s Peter!

    Thanks,

    Your Friendly GOP SUV driver

    Peace — Through well placed shots.

  25. Shocking as this may be, I actually prefer Peter’s inane socialist ramblings to this ongoing catfight between MH and BB staffers…

    Actually, I take that back. Peter’s just too damn socialist.

  26. It makes an interesting debate.  Sometimes, you need to press a bit, to find out where things are heading …

    Frankly, I like clear and clean air to breathe.

  27. Jingoistic is such a good word. 

    One, it sounds cool. Two, it reminds me of Jengo Fet from Star Wars.

    On a more serious note, there is a lot of truth to what you said Matt.  While the numbers you are citing are produced by a group which has openly endorsed Ref C, and as such are highly suspect, there is some traction to the overwhelming need for reform within state government.  My biggest problem with C and D is that there aren’t any real solutions in it.  We all know that we need to confront the TABOR ratchet, the mandated spending in medicaid and 23, and the issues created by Gallagher: but C doesn’t approach the problem with any lasting solution.

    Rather it pumps money into a clearly disfunctional system.  I wholeheartedly think we need to take some hard looks at TABOR, but doing it outside of the context of overall reform amongst the other systemic maladies in our budget is miopic.

    I can’t vote for something that has no clear goal but to prolong existing problems, even if the result is temporary decline in government services.

  28. Ah, Jango Fett. Is there any better philosophy of life than Jango’s?

    “I’m just a simple man, trying to make my way in the universe.”

    Says it all.

  29. Ref C is only a temporary measure.  It doesn’t pump money into a dysfunctional system, so much as to maintain what is present.  It is supposed to give the people of Colorado 4 years to decide what to do about many problems and find solutions. (the 5th year is becuase of timing of legislation).

  33. Actually part of Ref. C is temporary and part is permanent. The temporary part is the retention of TABOR tax refunds to allow the state to catch up from past shortfalls.

    The permanent part is the lessening of the “ratchet affect” which will require spending to decrease with recession, but also allow it to increase at the the rate as the economy in general does after a recession.

    The current system does not allow that. It keeps post-recession spending levels artificially low despite an otherwise healthier economy.

  34. Hey Deal,
    You really think BB could just stay in the 7th with his ego?  Doesn’t he want to control the entire state – if not the entire country?

    Wondering.

  35. To the clueless person several posts up claiming the fact that Hick couldn’t be in Monterey, CA – to testify before the Base Realignment and Closure Commission – is why the Lowry accounting jobs are moving – get a clue!  The mayor DID testify before the BRAC…in DENVER…a few days before the Monterey meeting.  One would think that the Republican Governor and two U.S. Senators would have been able to seal the deal in California – if there was a deal to be sealed at all.

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