Kernels of Truth: Joan, CD-2 and the Next Speaker

by: Jason Bane Thu May 03, 2007 at 10:20 AM MDT

It’s time for another bowl of "Kernels of Truth." Here’s what’s popping this week: Will Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald Step Down? Senate Chief of Staff Leaving Who’s the Next House Speaker? The Lamborn Effect The news begins after the jump…

Jason Bane :: Kernels of Truth: Joan, CD-2 and the Next Speaker

FITZ-GERALD STILL PRESIDENT The State Capitol has been abuzz in the last few weeks with rumors that Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald will step down from her leadership role in order to concentrate on her 2008 bid for congress in CD-2. As the rumors go, Sen. Peter Groff would be poised to take over as the new Senate president. "I’ve heard it from a couple of different people," says a Democratic legislator who asked to remain anonymous speaking about potential leadership changes. "That’s the way I’ve heard it – that she’s going to step down as president to focus on the congressional campaign." "There are rumors about that, but I haven’t heard it from Joan," says Sen. Chris Romer (D-Denver). "I suspect that it would be very difficult for her to run for congress as President of the Senate." Citing her pending congressional campaign, Fitz-Gerald announced earlier this year that she was stepping down as head of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if she gave up her leadership duties in the state Senate. But reached by phone last night at the State Capitol, Fitz-Gerald said she has no plans to step aside. "No, I’m not stepping down after the session," says Fitz-Gerald. "Right now I’m thinking that I have the summer ahead of me, and the leadership role doesn’t take as much time during the summer." Fitz-Gerald says that she will be focusing on raising money for her congressional run once the legislative session ends next week, and she will also sit down and discuss the Senate with Groff. But she says that she has no plans to give up her role as Senate President, even though the rigors of a congressional race might make it tough to juggle both roles. "I really don’t know [if I’ll have to step down as senate president]. I haven’t given that a lot of thought," she says. "It depends on the intensity of the congressional campaign. I’m going to judge things as they come up, but I don’t fully know what’s ahead of me right now." Even so, there are some Democratic legislators who don’t expect Fitz-Gerald to remain at the helm for too long. "Between now and August of 2008 I would expect that she would step down," says Romer. And if Fitz-Gerald does step down, he says, "I think Peter [Groff] would make a great Senate President, and I would support him." As President Pro Tem and a close supporter of Fitz-Gerald, Groff may be ideally placed to take over. But as one Democratic legislator says, "Peter seems like a good idea to me, but he might not be unopposed." In the meantime, Fitz-Gerald says there are no plans in place to formally kickoff her bid for congress, either. "That can wait," she says of a kickoff announcement. "There’s too much work to be done between now and then. I imagine we will get to that perhaps in June." MARY ALICE MOVING ON Fitz-Gerald may not be giving up her leadership role in the state Senate, but longtime advisor Mary Alice Mandarich told me yesterday that she would indeed be leaving after the current legislative session. Mandarich currently serves as the chief of staff for the Senate Democrats, and her last day - after five legislative sessions – will come on the final day of the 2007 legislative session. Mandarich won’t be out of work for long, however. She’ll be taking an active role in Fitz-Gerald’s congressional campaign, though she says it’s too soon to assign her any sort of title. "We haven’t gotten that far yet," she says of defining her role in the congressional campaign. "I’ll be doing something on the campaign." Mandarich directed the gubernatorial campaign of Gail Schoettler in 1998 (which Republican Bill Owens won in a close race), so she’s no stranger to the rigors of a high-profile campaign. While she was coy about her official role, most observers assume that Mandarich will take on a significant leadership position in the campaign. "She’s going to be very active," says Fitz-Gerald, echoing Mandarich’s statement about her future with the campaign. "She’s really done a yeoman’s job down at the state legislature, and right now she’s going to take some time to relax." "SPEAKING" OF LEADERS… If Fitz-Gerald steps down as Senate President it will create a new top dog in the state Senate, but it won’t be the only chamber where new leaders could soon emerge. If Democrats are able to maintain control of the state House in 2008, they’ll have to elect an entire new slate of officials to lead the way. House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, Speaker Pro Tempore Cheri Jahn, Majority Leader Alice Madden and Assistant Majority Leader Michael Garcia are all term-limited, so the top job of Speaker will be up for grabs. One Democratic legislator, who asked to remain anonymous speaking about potential leadership changes, would handicap the potential field in this order: 1. Rep. Bernie Buescher 2. Rep. Jack Pommer 3. Rep. Mike Cerbo 4. Rep. Dorothy Butcher (the current House Majority Whip) As chair of the Joint Budget Committee and a well-liked member of the legislature, Buescher would seem to be an obvious choice as the next House Speaker. But that’s only if he wins his own bid for re-election in 2008. "Bernie’s challenge, quite frankly, is that he will always have an incredibly hard time keeping that seat,’ says the source. "In a sense, it means electing a speaker who has a built-in handicap, although you could make the case that being Speaker helps him when he’s running for re-election." Leadership positions are often filled by legislators from "safe" districts. None of the current slate of officials – Romanoff, Madden, Jahn or Garcia – have been at risk of losing their bid for re-election for several cycles. Buescher is always a top target of Republicans because of his conservative Grand Junction district, while Cerbo’s seat in Denver will likely never see a serious Republican challenger. THE LAMBORN EFFECT Fitz-Gerald will likely face a tough primary in her bid for congress in CD-2, with Democrats Jared Polis and Will Shafroth representing at least two of her possible opponents. The seat is currently held by Rep. Mark Udall, who is leaving to run for U.S. Senate, and for the last several years it has been an easy seat for Democrats to hold. Whoever wins the Democratic primary should be able to fend off a Republican challenger, but that may depend on the situation. Republicans haven’t traditionally put up a tough candidate in CD-2 because Udall was a shoo-in for re-election, but I’m told they could try to field a strong candidate in 2008 in hopes that the Democratic primary will get as nasty as the 2006 Republican primary in CD-5. Doug Lamborn emerged from a bitter six-way primary last summer as a damaged candidate, which created an opening for Democrat Jay Fawcett to draw more votes than any Democrat in years in that Colorado Springs district. If the same scenario repeats itself in 2008, albeit from a Democratic perspective, a tough Republican candidate could be in position to steal the seat. That’s it for now. For tips, rumors, gossip or just to chat, drop me a line at jbane@coloradoconfidential.com.

Tags: Joan Fitz-Gerald, mary alice mandarich, Bernie Buescher, mike cerbo, dorothy butcher, jack pommer, campaigns, (All Tags)

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