January 03, 2009 05:57 PM UTC

What They're Saying About Bennet

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• by: Colorado Pols

Selected quotes from around the state and nation this morning.

Fort Collins Coloradoan:

Poudre School District Superintendent Jerry Wilson said Bennet has displayed his political and negotiating skills in heading DPS, the state’s largest school system, which has faced years of performance issues.

“In urban districts, those political skills are vital to the success of the district,” said Wilson, who said he’s had “limited interactions” with Bennet…

Bennet’s position on teacher pay is a break from orthodox Demo-cratic policies, which generally have been resistant to merit-based pay for teachers, said Kirk Brush, chairman of the Larimer County Republican Party.

“From a Republican perspective, the fact that he’s willing to look at different options for education is encouraging,” Brush said.

Brush’s Democratic counterpart, Adam Bowen, said Bennet appears to be the type of moderate Democrat – like Salazar, Ritter and Rep.-elect Betsy Markey – who performed well in recent years in Larimer and Weld counties.

Rocky Mountain News:

“It is surprising, and hopefully he’ll surprise us,” said Ted Textor, political director of the Colorado Council of Teamsters, which backed another applicant.

“I think you’ve got people who are personally unhappy, but there isn’t a large faction that would be unhappy,” Denver City Councilman and former Democratic legislator Doug Linkhart said of the pick.

“If (Gov. Bill Ritter) had appointed somebody with a long track record – let’s say against labor, for example – then labor would have been mad. But Michael has never been in a position to vote on anything. That’s a plus for him. He doesn’t have a whole bunch of people who oppose him.”

Grand Junction Sentinel:

Bennet, superintendent for the Denver Public Schools, lacks legislative experience to truly succeed in Washington, according to Mike Hesse, a Republican political consultant.

Hesse said Bennet’s lack of statewide name recognition will leave him in danger at the polls in 2010.

“Even the average Denver resident, if you walk down the street, wouldn’t know who he is,” he said.

Mark Hillman, a member of the Republican National Committee and a former state senator, praised Bennet as “a sharp guy,” but said his lack of legislative experience will be a boon for Republicans.

“Bill Ritter is the governor that keeps on giving to the Republican Party,” Hillman said…

Former Congressman Scott McInnis, R-Colo., said unlike some of the other contenders for the U.S. Senate appointment, including Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper and Congressman Ed Perlmutter, D-Colo., Bennet is a moderate.

“Mike’s very capable,” McInnis said. “I think he’s fairly moderate … and he’ll be pretty strongly seated two years from now.”

Denver Post:

“I think it’s an outside-the-box pick,” said [Senate President Peter] Groff, noting that Bennet was part of a new generation of public servants bringing a fresh perspective to Washington along with the 47-year-old president-elect.

“You have this new energy and this new idea of going to Washington and working outside of the beltway. And I think Michael brings that.”

But many state politicians within the Democratic Party were surprised that Ritter would pick someone with Bennet’s lack of legislative experience and his unfamiliarity with the state outside the Denver area.

“Our concern would be, ‘How well does he know our rural issues like agriculture and water?’ ” said state Sen. Jim Isgar, a Democrat from the southwest Colorado community of Hesperus.

…some wondered if passing over Hickenlooper had something to do with the mayor continually toying with running against Ritter in a gubernatorial primary two years ago. After Hickenlooper finally opted out, he didn’t endorse Ritter until two weeks before the November 2006 election.

…”Is Ritter just saying to John Hickenlooper, ‘You were going to run against me in the primary, to hell with you,’ ” said Denis Berckefeldt, a political organizer in Denver and spokesman for City Auditor Dennis Gallagher. “In my mind, this is a slap in the face to John Hickenlooper.”

AP (Paulson):

Colorado Republican Party Chairman Dick Wadhams said the seat already was being targeted in 2010 by both parties, but he said the choice of Bennet was “perplexing.”

“There are some admirable things Bennet did with Denver Public Schools, but he’ll be judged by what he does in the Senate. There are major issues coming up this year, and he’ll have to vote on tax increases and bailouts. Those votes will define Michael Bennet,” Wadhams said.

Political consultant Floyd Ciruli said Bennet is a risky choice for Democrats, who will have to spend millions of dollars defending that seat in two years.

“He’s the one candidate on the list who has the least political experience. I don’t think anyone knows his views on anything except education. This is surprising,” Ciruli said…

New York Times:

From the start as schools superintendent, Mr. Bennet did not behave like a traditional educator. He liked to ride the bus with students on the first day of class and made it a point to be the public face of the district in public meetings with parents over some of its most wrenching decisions, like school closings. But he also came armed with a weighty Rolodex full of highly placed friends to personally lobby city officials, state legislators and others for what the Denver schools needed.

“Having a fresh set of eyes for the issues D.P.S. faced, but also being able to call the right people and get the right people involved – both were very important to his success,” said the Speaker-elect of the Colorado House of Representatives, Terrance D. Carroll, a Democrat whose district is in Denver.

Politico:

Coloradans responded to the news Friday that Gov. Bill Ritter (D) had appointed Denver Public Schools Superintendent Michael Bennet as their new senator with a collective “huh?”

“No one really expected this,” said one House aide from Colorado.

“Michael Bennet? Seriously?” said Seth Masket, an assistant political science professor at the University of Denver and an expert in local politics, after a reporter broke the news.

Colorado Pols, a popular political website in the state, put it more bluntly in a blog entry: “What the hell?!?”

…Masket said Bennet will “have to educate his constituents really quickly about who he is and quickly attach himself to issues important to the state.”

Appointed senators, he said, have “a tough road ahead,” when they run for election. “Less than half of them win,” he said.

Washington Times:

“The general assumption among the observant class is that there’s tremendous bad blood between Ritter and Hickenlooper,” Mr. Ciruli said.

At the same time, Mr. Hickenlooper is likely to throw his support behind Mr. Bennet because the two are friends — Mr. Bennet served for two years as the mayor’s chief of staff, and Mr. Hickenlooper enthusiastically backed him for the schools post.

Mr. Hickenlooper declined Friday to comment on the selection, noting that the governor had not yet made the announcement official…

Los Angeles Times

Bennet was viewed as a dark horse candidate in a field of Colorado Democratic luminaries. Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, for whom Bennet previously worked as chief of staff, Colorado House Speaker Andrew Romanoff and U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette all vied for the post.

Bennet, who has won broad praise for implementing merit pay for Denver teachers and keeping the district’s budget in line, would have to run for election in 2010 to keep the seat. Political analysts said that makes his selection a big risk.

“He has no name identification. He’s not well-known in Denver,” said Floyd Ciruli, a Denver pollster. “The Republicans are now probably pretty ecstatic.”

More Rocky Mountain News:

Among Romanoff’s supporters was Progressive 15, a coalition of 15 mostly rural counties in northeast Colorado.

The group had written a letter to Ritter on Romanoff’s behalf.

“We are disappointed,” said Cathy Shull, executive director of Progressive 15.

Bennet is such an unknown in rural Colorado that members initially thought Ritter had appointed one of Republican Sen. Wayne Allard’s former staffers, also named Michael Bennett, although it is spelled differently… [Pols emphasis]

Democrat Wally Stealey, a legend in Pueblo politics, said he called the governor’s office recently and asked who was being considered.

The reply: Romanoff. Hickenlooper. Congressmen John Salazar and Ed Perlmutter. Former Senate candidate Tom Strickland.

“Michael Bennet was never on the list,” Stealey said.

He said he fielded calls all day Friday from angry Democrats.

“We’re in total shock,” Stealey said. “We don’t think he can win the next election. We think he is the wealthy man’s candidate.”

Other Democrats hailed the choice…