Former City Councilman Ed Thomas quit Republican Marc Holtzman’s gubernatorial campaign committee Tuesday after Holtzman called Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper a “show horse” who was running a “rogue city.”
Thomas, who said he had felt Holtzman represented a “fresh voice” until he crossed the line Monday, also demanded that Holtzman apologize to the mayor and the city of Denver.
“I spent nine years of my professional life developing parts of what you describe as a ‘rogue city,”‘ Thomas wrote in a letter to Holtzman. “The gratuitous insults directed at John Hickenlooper and his administration were unfortunate and unnecessary.”
Holtzman, through his campaign manager Dick Leggitt, said he wouldn’t apologize.
“Absolutely not. Marc calls them as he sees them,” Leggitt said. “We’re in the process of starting a revolution, and we understand that some people are getting off the train as it goes down the tracks.”
Holtzman’s opinion about Hickenlooper – who is mulling a run for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination – has apparently changed in recent years. City campaign-finance records show that Holtzman contributed $1,000 to Hickenlooper’s mayoral campaign in 2003.
The Hickenlooper administration on Tuesday downplayed the need for a personal apology but was quick to defend the mayor’s constituents.
“Perhaps he owes the people of Denver an apology, but given Mayor Hickenlooper’s well- known lack of concern for his personal appearance, I think he’s feeling pretty good about being called a show horse,” said his spokeswoman, Lindy Eichenbaum Lent.
Hickenlooper, who for months has dodged questions about a potential run for governor, has only admitted that he is giving it serious thought.
“So many people have been talking to him about it, it’s impossible not to think about it,” Lent said. “But right now, he’s focused on two things: running the city and cheering the Broncos to victory.”
Holtzman ignited fireworks among Hickenlooper supporters after he said Monday night that he would be a “workhorse” if elected governor, not a “show horse” like the mayor.
The comparison has been used repeatedly in politics, most recently in Colorado during the 2002 Senate race between Tom Strickland and Wayne Allard.
During a tele-town hall meeting, Holtzman also characterized Hickenlooper’s policies as part of a liberal, “overly secularist agenda” that has permitted illegal immigrants to find sanctuary in Denver.
He was referring to the case of Raul Gomez-Garcia, a Mexican national who was stopped for three traffic violations between October 2004 and May 8, 2005, and released each time after producing a valid Mexican driver’s license. Gomez-Garcia then allegedly killed Denver Detective Donald Young and wounded Detective John Bishop.
“As governor,” Holtzman said Monday, “I will make sure state laws supersede the laws in that rogue city.”
Staff writer Karen Crummy can be reached at 303-820-1594 or kcrummy@denverpost.com.
