The Grouch in the Senate.

[coloradodem2005]

Colorado Capitol Update: The Grouch in the Senate



There is a perfectly delightful woman working in the Senate Minority office named Jill. She has the most beautiful smile. The other day I ran into her in the hall.

'You know, I think I have figured out what the evolutionary purpose of a smile is,' I told her.

'What?' she asked, smile dazzling.

'Someone who is smiling doesn't look hungry. They give the impression that they are unlikely to kill you and eat you,' I said. 'In the jungle it must have been reassuring, and even now it is quite pleasant.'

I, however, must not provoke the same response. A lobbyist told me the other day that I always appear grouchy.

I walked into Senator Isgar's office. 'The lobbyist for Victor Mine said that I always appear grouchy. I don't want people around here to have that impression of me,' I told him, 'so I called her boss and had her fired.'

'That should solve the problem,' Isgar said. 'The floggings will continue until morale improves.'

(Before you write - I didn't really call the lobbyist's boss.)

Budget Repair: The Romanoff bill (HB 1194) to fix our current budget crisis and provide resources for needed services is set for committee hearing on Wednesday at 1:30 P.M. in the House Finance Committee. The House hearing rooms are in the basement of the Capitol on the East side of the building.

Everyone is invited to the committee to testify.

If you are involved with higher education, or rely on Medicaid, or have a disabled child on a wait list for state services, or if you have children in large classes, or if you have a divorce case that has been waiting for a hearing for months, or if you are a policeman or firefighter whose pension is underfunded, or if you are a businessman who wants to have a good economic climate, or if you just want a healthy and prosperous state, come down to the Capitol to testify.

A new Attorney General for Colorado: Governor Owens has nominated John Suthers to replace Ken Salazar and fill out the remaining two years of Salazar's term. The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing this afternoon on the Suthers nomination.

Suthers was a District Attorney in El Paso County. He then ran the Department of Corrections for the Owens administration until he was appointed to be the U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado. His experience has been almost exclusively in criminal prosecution. I questioned him about his experience and commitment to environmental protection, which is an important issue to me.

A number of people testified in opposition because of the Federal prosecution, while Suthers was U.S. Attorney, of three nuns who were caught protesting against the nuclear missile facility in Northeast Colorado.

All in all I think he made a good impression and the committee sent his nomination to the floor of the Senate with a unanimous favorable recommendation.

One interesting aspect of the committee hearing was that two of the members on the committee are interested in being Attorney General some day, Shawn Mitchell and Dan Grossman. Dan's thinking has progressed to the point where he felt it would be inappropriate to vote on the Suthers nomination so he disqualified himself.

The normal term for an Attorney General is four years. Since Suthers has been nominated to finish the Salazar term, the next election for Attorney General will be in 2006. Don't be surprised if it is a Grossman-Suthers match up.

I hope you are doing well. Do not hesitate to write back with comments or questions.

Sincerely,

Ken Gordon

Majority Leader State Senate