Republicans threatened a rare official challenge of the Senate president Thursday morning, then backed off later in the day, postponing until next week a caucus meeting to consider their options.
The threatened procedural challenge, which could result in essentially a no-confidence vote on Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald’s leadership, was described by lawmakers of both parties as the “nuclear option” of parliamentary procedure in the Colorado General Assembly.
The last time it happened was when Senate Democrats reacted to Republicans’ move to change the state’s congressional boundaries to favor their party in 2003.
This time, it stems from a Republican attempt to force a recorded vote on an anti-illegal- immigration proposal that Democrats already killed in committee.
Democrats voted Thursday in support of an illegal-immigration bill sponsored by Castle Rock Republican Sen. Tom Wiens, but that gesture didn’t sap Republicans’ desire for the contested vote, said Senate Minority Leader Andy McElhany of Colorado Springs.
“That’s essentially what you do when you’re in the minority, is force votes that define the differences between the two parties,” he said.
McElhany and other Republicans became upset when Fitz- Gerald indicated she considered a proposed amendment by Sen. Greg Brophy, R-Wray, to be out of order.
Brophy was pushing for an amendment barring workers’ compensation insurance for illegal immigrants.
“He never got a fair hearing,” McElhany complained Thursday.
One senior Republican in the Senate, Sen. Ron Teck of Grand Junction, said he did not support a challenge of Fitz-Gerald.
“It’s just something you don’t do,” said the term-limited Teck. “You may disagree with a ruling, but there are some things you want to honor, and the authority of the chair is one of them.”
Fitz-Gerald, whose party enjoys an 18-17 majority over Republicans in the Senate, does not fear the vote, she said. But she has warned McElhany that the Senate’s tradition of courtesy would be endangered by a challenge, she said.
Staff writer Jim Hughes can be reached at 303-820-1244 or jhughes@denverpost.com.
