March 19, 2009 03:35 AM UTC

What kind of candidate should the HD3 vacancy committee elect?

• 5 Comments
• by: johne

As you know, Anne McGihon has resigned from the state house, so a vacancy committee made of up of the district’s Democratic Precinct Committee People (was there ever a worse acronym?) along with some of the executive committee of the Denver county and Arapahoe county party get to decide who the next representative will be.  

House District 3‘s voting patterns are similar to many of the other Denver districts.  It voted over 80% for Obama in the last election.  McGihon won the district with 65%.  She was unchallenged in 2006, and in 2004 won with 61% of the vote.

In other words, this is by no means a swing district where the elected official can’t be a leader on populist issues.  Denver is precisely where those leaders (like Joe Miklosi) should come from.  Joe Rice, Wes McKinley, and others can’t always vote on progressive bills as they have to represent all of their districts.  But in Denver, we should have the kind of folks who will co-sponsor a tuition equity bill (Joe), like Morgan Carroll (actually from Aurora) who fights for meaningful regulation of the insurance industry.  

What HD3 doesn’t need is a former oil and gas executive.  I mean, Cassidy’s got a great resume…for a Republican.

So who would be good for the district?

I am a candidate for the HD-3 vacancy left by Rep. McGihon.

It is a strong blue district, and it gives us an opportunity to have a clear progressive voice in the legislature. I love that we have a big enough party to include the full spectrum of Democrats that make up Colorado, but where we have constituencies ready for progressive democratic reform we need to have legislators that can knock it out of the park all day, and then fund raise for the swing districts in their ‘time off.’

We are going to have a number of good candidates, but we have to have a person who is right on policy, committed to party building, committed to the district, and who knows where we are on hundreds of bills immediately after they are selected. I am at the Capitol every day, drafting legislation, debating every bill, and working with the members. It has been my job all session to know where we are and to be ready for what is coming next.

I would have loved a couple of years to make my case, but I have a week. I am going to be on the phones and knocking all doors, reaching out to my fellow vacancy committee members. And yes, I am a vacancy committee member, a precinct committee person, a senate district vice chair. I have walked these precincts for Obama and Chris Nevitt, DeGette and Udall. I have worked finance, field, outreach, communications, advance, and management, and blogged and blogged and blogged. I suppose I have been making my case for years, and I hope that some on this list will put in a kind word for me where they can.

Appreciatively,

Aaron Silverstein

Sure, I could just say the vacancy committee of HD3 should chose Aaron because he’s a swell guy, likes puppies, and stuff like that, but it wouldn’t be a very good argument, now would it?

Cross-posted at Squarestate.net