2004 State House Election Numbers...

[Joebert]

Hey there,

In House District 51 (Loveland), the SOS's site shows Welker with 100% of the vote.

He ran unopposed, but as somebody who knows they voted "Not Him", I didn't like seeing the 100%.

I expected to be told to go jump in a lake when I pointed that out.

I got this as a response:

"Thank you for your inquiry. Apparently there is a problem with the HTML file on the web I need to address. Attached is the certification of the 2004 General Election. Here you will find that the write-in candidate for HD 51 received 3,797 votes. I appreciate you bringing this to our attention.

If you have further questions or concerns please feel free to contact me. "

I'm impressed with the quick and helpful response.

The numbers mean he only got 86% of the vote running unopposed. I've asked the Larimer County and State Democratic Parties to let me know if they're going to bother running somebody against him in 2006. We'll find out someday.

[DaveinMD]

1. people need to step up and run

candidate recruitment isn't always easy. It takes a ton of commitment to run for office.

[Joebert]

2. I am trying to read up on what it would take to run.

Questions unresolved:

- What does it pay?
- Would I lose my current job if I won the election? (i.e. would my employer decide that it's a conflict of interest?)
- What are the pre-reqs?
- As someone with no political background, I'd think it would be better to see how it works before trying. But then again, if that means some moron is going to go unopposed...

More reading to do...

[DaveinMD]

3. various

I'm not sure what the pay is in Colorado. It is a part time legislature. I would think the pay would be around 40 thousand.

The second issue would depend on the type of job you have.

Pre-reqs are for the voters to decide. Most successful candidates have some community involvement before they actually run.

I would suggest contacting your local party to get involved and then go from there.