Gov. Bill Owens and first lady Frances Owens are back together after a rocky separation that political watchers say took as much of a toll on the governor’s political capital as on the family’s personal life.
The governor moved back into the family home in Centennial last week.
Reached by phone Saturday, his spokesman, Dan Hopkins, said he was surprised the good news had spread so fast.
“Bill and Frances are again sharing their home together in Centennial,” he said from a prepared statement. “They appreciate the support and encouragement of all their friends as they continue to work through this personal matter.”
The Owenses and their friends have kept quiet about the cause of the breakup since the split in September 2003.
The family is spending Mother’s Day weekend together, Hopkins said.
The Owenses’ middle child, Mark, is just home from the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio. He just completed his freshman year.
Their oldest, Monica, will graduate from Colorado State University next weekend, and their youngest, Brett, just completed eighth grade at Laredo Middle School.
When the pair split just before Labor Day in 2003, The National Review magazine had just proclaimed Owens “The Best Governor in America” on its cover.
Political insiders were talking about a future presidential bid for Colorado’s top fiscal conservative and champion of family values. Some even proffered him as a running mate for President Bush in 2004 if Dick Cheney dropped out because of failing health.
Shortly after the separation, Owens told The Denver Post he had no designs on higher office after his final term as governor ends in 2006.
Last August, some Colorado delegates to the Republican National Convention said the separation should disqualify Owens as a party leader.
“As an example of a pro-family leader, I think he needs to focus on maintaining the integrity of his marriage,” Kendal Unruh, a delegate from Castle Rock and a former board member of the Colorado Christian Coalition, said then.
Throughout the separation, the couple have remained amiable in public, as the first lady carried on official duties.
The Denver magazine 5280 recently named Frances Owens one of the state’s most powerful people, citing the split’s chilling effect on Bill Owens’ once-hot political career.
What effect, if any, the breakup and reconciliation have on would-be voters or GOP brass remains to be seen.
Republican political analyst Katy Atkinson said the first lady is a popular, important player for Team Owens.
“I think everyone is breathing a sigh of relief,” Atkinson said.
She dismissed the idea of political benefit having a part in the reconciliation.
“The governor is a human being,” Atkinson said. “I think people understand and empathize with problems in a marriage, and those who don’t are pretty small-minded.”
Former state Democratic Party chairman Chris Gates saw no room for political play – by either party – in the separation or the reconciliation.
“I think people should take it very much as a personal thing, and people should be happy for (them),” he said. “There is no person or couple in politics who won’t tell you how difficult family matters are in the public eye.”
Atkinson, meanwhile, noted that the 54-year-old Owens is still a vibrant leader with a political future at his command.
“I think if he wanted further elected office, he would always be a viable candidate,” she said.
Staff writer Joey Bunch can be reached at 303-820-1174 or jbunch@denverpost.com.