Both candidates running to become secretary of state agree the office, which is in charge of ensuring elections are trouble-free, should be nonpartisan.
But they disagree over who is best suited to keep the office free of politics.
Vying in the race are state Treasurer Mike Coffman, a Republican, and Senate Majority Leader Ken Gordon, a Democrat.
Usually a low-key campaign, the race has attracted attention because of litigation over the actions of the current secretary of state, Gigi Dennis. She is not on the ballot.
In August, Dennis issued new rules that required small-donor committees and other organizations, which primarily benefit Democratic candidates, to get written permission from their members before using dues for political activities.
Those rules were struck down, but the parties remain at odds over what groups the court decision exempted from the rules.
Coffman, a Marine Corps Reserve major, said he parted with the Republican Party by agreeing that Dennis overstepped her authority in issuing the rule.
He said that although he agrees the members should give their consent before small-donor committees make the contributions, he believes the legislature is the appropriate body to clarify the issue. He also thought Dennis issued her rule too close to an election, making her seem partisan.
“It’s very important to be the person who is Marine Corps tough, who doesn’t yield to the pressures that come into that office in a partisan way,” said Coffman, who recently did a seven-month tour with the Marines in Iraq to help with elections there.
Gordon said he has shown he can reach across the aisle. He said that as Senate majority leader, he rejected calls by other Democrats that the bill that became Referendum C have only Democrat sponsors. The measure, approved last year by the voters, allows the state to keep an estimated $4.9 billion in tax refunds over five years.
“I think people would say I ran the floor of the Senate in a fair way,” Gordon said.
He said he also defied his party by unsuccessfully pushing for Republicans to be the vice chairs on legislative committees.
Coffman, who opposed Referendum C, said that if he’s elected secretary of state, he would have a bipartisan task force lead an investigation of all vote systems in use in Colorado.
He also would push for legislation requiring a photo identification card before an individual can vote, would transfer the policing of bingo parlors out of the secretary of state’s office and beef up the office’s ability to review spending of nonprofits.
Gordon said he would work to make it easier for the public to receive campaign finance information. He said he also would push for ways to take partisanship out of redistricting. He said he isn’t opposed to requiring photo IDs for voting if the state will provide such IDs for free to those who don’t have them – a stance similar to Coffman’s.
Staff writer Christopher N. Osher can be reached at 303-954-1747 or cosher@denverpost.com.
Mike Coffman
Party Affiliation: Republican
Age: 51
Career: Colorado state treasurer, 1999-current; state House of Representatives, 1989-1994; state Senate, 1995-1998; retired from the military with service in U.S. Army, Army Reserve, U.S. Marine Corps, and Marine Corps Reserve.
Education: B.A., political science, University of Colorado
Family: Wife, Cynthia.
Ken Gordon
Party Affiliation: Democrat
Age: 56
Career: State Senate, 2000-current, where he is majority leader; state House of Representatives, 1992-2000; state public defender, 1976-1980.
Education, B.A., University of Michigan; J.D., Boston University School of Law
Family: Two children, Ben and Windflower.
