State Treasurer Mike Coffman’s decision to take a leave of absence and return to active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps has triggered a game of musical chairs in the capitol. We hope the interests of Colorado citizens don’t get overlooked as that game proceeds.
Coffman is now undergoing a two-month combat refresher course before heading for a seven-month tour in Iraq to assist that nation’s civil authorities in building their new government. The Gulf War veteran deserves the nation’s thanks for undertaking this hazardous chore.
Coffman’s move will trigger at least three and possibly four changes in the state’s political lineup. The first shift came last week when Gov. Bill Owens appointed Republican Senate Minority Leader Mark Hillman of Burlington to a nine-month stint as acting treasurer. Hillman will fill the seat until March, when Coffman will resume the duties to which he was elected in 2002.
Hillman quit his Senate seat to take the brief appointment, a lamentable decision that bows to his 2006 election ambitions. He’s an immensely talented official who is term-limited and seems to figure that this stand-in role may give him a leg up over other GOP aspirants for the treasurer’s post. We regret his move – both because Hillman has served well as GOP Senate leader, and because we have doubts about his possible successors.
As minority leader and a practical conservative, Hillman took a constructive approach toward the legislative process and eschewed partisanship for its own sake. He opposed the fiscal plan that became Referendum C on the Nov. 1 ballot but encouraged fellow Republicans to take an active role in shaping it. The chief Senate sponsor, Steve Johnson, is a Republican, and eight of the 17 GOP senators ultimately voted in favor. (In contrast, House GOP Leader Joe Stengel asked his caucus not to co-sponsor the measure – then attacked it for lacking Republican input.) We hope Hillman’s successor in leadership will continue his practical efforts on behalf of Colorado voters.
The new minority leader won’t be picked until a GOP vacancy committee fills Hillman’s eastern plains Senate seat. Republican state Reps. Diane Hoppe of Sterling and Greg Brophy of Wray were considered potential replacements, though appointing either would trigger yet another vacancy in a House seat. Hoppe said Saturday she wouldn’t seek the Senate post and will retire from the legislature when her term ends in 2006. Brophy is best known for his ill-considered attempt to impeach a Denver judge because he disliked his ruling in a child custody case.
Republicans who remember the shellacking they took in 2004 because of their hard-right image would do well to find a more pragmatic public servant to carry on Hillman’s work.
