Democratic State Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald is barred from running for re-election because of term limits, according to a ruling released Tuesday by the state’s Republican Attorney General John Suthers.
Suthers concluded that Fitz- Gerald will have served two full terms in the Senate and is not eligible to run for re-election.
Fitz-Gerald called the ruling politically motivated and vowed to fight it.
“I never asked for the attorney general’s ruling,” Fitz-Gerald said. “Now we’ve got contradictory rulings, so I guess I’ll have to go to court on my dime.”
Fitz-Gerald, of Jefferson County, took office on Jan. 10, 2001, after winning an election to complete the final two years of the four-year term of Sen. Tony Grampsas, who died. She was re- elected in 2002 and sworn in for a four-year term in January 2003.
Earlier this year, Fitz-Gerald asked former Secretary of State Donetta Davidson to rule whether her first two years were considered a full term.
Davidson, a Republican, said Fitz-Gerald could run again. But in June, she asked Suthers to review the matter.
“I believe the secretary of state was under pressure from the Republican Party to turn it over to the Republican attorney general,” Fitz-Gerald said.
Davidson and Suthers used different methods to calculate “one-half of a term,” the measure used in the state constitution.
Davidson counted the number of days. But Suthers determined that two full legislative sessions count as half a term, which means that Fitz-Gerald took office at the beginning of the third year of the four-year term.
Fitz-Gerald is a powerful Democrat who led her party’s charge into legislative leadership in 2004. She is also considered a potential gubernatorial candidate.
Dana Williams, spokeswoman for Secretary of State Gigi Dennis, who replaced Davidson, said the secretary of state supports Suthers’ decision and will enforce it.
Staff writer Mark P. Couch can be reached at 303-820-1794 or mcouch@denverpost.com.
