Angie Paccione Announces She is No Longer a Candidate for Congress

[brooklynite]

Statement by Angie Paccione - September 26, 2007 11:00 AM MDT

Good Morning.

There are no words adequate enough to describe the privilege I’ve had representing the people of Fort Collins as their State Representative and as the Democratic candidate for the people of the 4th Congressional District. In 2000, when there was no democratic candidate on the ballot for the 4th CD, I was motivated to enter politics to fill the void in leadership. At that time I offered my service as the voice of the people in representative government. I am forever changed, forever grateful, and forever indebted to the people for the opportunity they gave me to serve them.

I have a passion to serve people by doing whatever I can to unleash their greatness. This is what has always compelled me. I used my skills as an athlete to serve our country in international competition, I used my academic talent to serve our youth as an educator, and I used my political position to serve the people I represented by giving them hope, making the system work for them, and empowering them to participate in politics as well.

Since September of 2005 I have been on a mission to win the 4th Congressional district because I believe and many others do as well, that I would be a better, more effective representative for the people of this district. As an elected official I have always focused on what’s right, not on who’s right. That has allowed me to reach across political divides and partisan politics to get things done for the people of our great state. I am proud of the work I was able to do…as a lead sponsor of legislation and as a co-sponsor. I have always been accessible to my constituents, I have always been responsive to their concerns, and I have always worked with members of both political parties.

Last night I had the privilege of speaking to hundreds of high school students and their parents. I told them what I have been telling young people for nearly three decades… to have the courage to say "yes" to opportunity. Today I am here to do the very thing I encourage others to do…to say yes to an amazing opportunity that has presented itself to me. Since January, I have been working with Pathways to Leadership Inc., a company that gives businesses a competitive advantage over others by helping them unleash the greatness in their employees, teams, and organization. This is a company that changes the results people and organizations deliver - because it changes the lives of the people in the organization.

I thought that I might be able to work with Pathways to Leadership and campaign for Congress at the same time. However, the opportunities with Pathways have grown and I must say "yes" to those opportunities. In addition to locations in the US, my work with Pathways will be taking me to Australia, Switzerland, Mexico, and Italy in the very near future. In those travels, I will be working with businessmen and women who are motivated to improve their leadership skills and the wellness culture in their workplace.

This is a tremendous opportunity for me and I have wrestled with my decision for a number of weeks now. The campaign is very strong, the support is broad-based, and I still believe I am the best candidate to win the seat. However, I am motivated by a passion to serve and my opportunity with Pathways gives me the ability to serve immediately. I could spend the next 14 months campaigning for the opportunity to make a difference or I could spend the next 14 months actually making a difference in the lives of others.

So, today I am announcing that I am ending my campaign for congress in the 4th district.
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Hmm...

Angie called me personally three weeks ago to ask for money for her Congressional Campaign. Where did this come from? Bad quarterly takings?

[madamesilverspurs]

1. We're all stunned,

and more than a little disappointed. Angie was running strong. She came into this race with 86% name recognition, and was considered to be such a sufficient threat that the incumbent, Marilyn Musgrave, has been scampering around displaying her new and improved personna, that of someone who all of a sudden acts like she cares about people. There is speculation that Angie's being tossed under the bus began when Sen. Ken Salazar (whose campaign benefitted greatly from Paccione's very vocal support) threw his endorsement to one of his former staffers, about whom most people say, "Who???" Ms. Musgrave is probably dancing in glee at this turn of events. As for CD-4, there are a whole lot of Democrats and unaffiliated voters in a state of anger, disbelief and great disappointment. The last thing needed was political machinations that cost us the candidate that could finally oust the embarrassing Musgrave. For as much as we admire Angie Paccione and wish her the very best in her new endeavor, we will miss the stellar representation could have had. We are NOT happy.

[Writer]

2. Let me lay some of these rumors to rest.

That "staffer" you're referring to is Betsy Markey, who is a brilliant choice for the Dem candidate for CO-04. There was nothing surreptitious here - there were no behind the scenes crafting of Dem candidates. It was simply that Angie was not raising the money she was raising after Betsy entered the race. In this early stage that can make or break a campaign.

And Betsy has APPEAL - that is, appeal to not only the electorate in Larimer County, but in the eastern section of the district which is where Angie suffered in '06.

I know Angie had name recognition and that there was a lot of emotion surrounding her near win, but I can assure you that Betsy will not disappoint you.

Musgrave needs to start packing. She'll be moving back to Fort Morgan next November.

[madamesilverspurs]

3. No rumors.

There was no suggestion that anything surreptitious took place. It was all pretty blatant. Having met, spoken with and listened to Markey I agree that she is eminently qualified. As are other potential candidates who concluded that Paccione had the best shot at winning. Paccione weathered every slime attack from Musgrave; there's nothing left to twist out of shape, they used it all up. Musgrave would have had to resort to pure fiction (which, admittedly, she has already demonstrated a willingness to do) to go against Paccione again. That's why she's trying to foist off this new and improved Snow White tripe.

Paccione also managed to energize a great many voters who had been discouraged and disinterested. She helped to bring a lot of "new boots on the ground" to the electoral effort in a traditionally Republican district, and Markey stands to benefit from that. When we went to the Fourth of July parade, we were delighted to hear people in the crowd calling out to Paccione as she walked with the Democrats, and people were scrambling to shake her hand; conversely, no one had any idea who Markey was.

But don't assume that Democrats are universally pleased with Markey. Given the endorsement from her former boss, Sen. Salazar (who many view as a major disappointment by virtue of his voting record in the Senate), she's already lost some support. Many of those who are irked with Salazar are throwing their support to Eidsness, the former Reagan appointee who changes party affiliation as often as other people change their socks. Right now, Eidsness shows 15:1 odds, so he really isn't a significant threat like he would have been in a 3-person contest in the primary. When comes next November, the Democrats will have worked hard. But the sad thing is this: whereas people worked for Paccione because they believed that she would give the district solid, honest, and vigorous representation, they'll work for Markey because they despise the embarrassment of Musgrave.