Russell George – a former speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives and head of the Department of Natural Resources – will head the state Department of Transportation.
“I have long admired Russ George’s leadership style and his unmatched list of accomplishments,” Gov. Bill Ritter said in a statement announcing the appointment.
The appointment may also appease critics who chided Ritter for not appointing any Cabinet members from the Western Slope.
Saturday’s announcement was made in Rifle, George’s hometown.
“Statewide, Russell is respected as a consensus builder and very thoughtful leader across the aisle and across the divide,” said Reeves Brown, executive director of Club 20, a Western Slope advocacy group.
Ritter said George, a Republican, will start immediately on the new Colorado Transportation Finance and Implementation Panel.
The panel’s aim is to identify long-term solutions to Colorado’s declining transportation revenue sources.
The appointment is the final executive director position in the Ritter administration. The nomination still requires Senate approval.
Earlier in the day, Ritter told ranchers near La Junta that he is working to get federal disaster-relief funds for livestock killed in two recent southeast Colorado blizzards.
To get those funds, Ritter said, he may need the help of Colorado’s two U.S. senators, Republican Wayne Allard and Democrat Ken Salazar.
The federal Department of Agriculture disaster funds have been depleted by recent ice storms and other disasters around the country, said John Stulp, Colorado’s new agriculture commissioner.
“Most likely it will be a percent of reimbursement, whether it’s 10 cents, 20 cents or 50 cents on the dollar,” Stulp said. About 10,000 livestock were killed by the storms, according to the state Department of Agriculture.
Some ranchers may not have lost many livestock, but they have spent their entire winter hay budget for their animals in the last two months, said Kevin Karney, an Otero County commissioner and rancher.
The Colorado Cattlemen’s Association has received about $7,000 in private donations, said Jim Rogers, president of the Bent/Prowers Cattle and Horse Growers Association, an affiliate of the state group that covers a five-county region in southeast Colorado. The groups are scrambling to coordinate other aid offers, Rogers said.
The Federal Emergency Management Administration on Friday said it had declared a snow emergency in 14 counties for the Dec. 18 blizzard and six counties for the Dec. 28 storm, so they could apply for federal funds to pay for some snow removal costs.
Staff writer Carlos Illescas can be reached at 303-954-1175 or cillescas@denverpost.com.
About Russell George
Born: May 28, 1946, in Rifle.
Education: Graduated from Rifle High School, 1964; bachelor’s degree in economics, Colorado State University, 1968 (Boettcher Scholar); Harvard Law School, 1971.
Career: Executive director, state Department of Natural Resources, 2004-07; director, Colorado Division of Wildlife, 2000-04; speaker, Colorado House of Representatives, 1999-2000; state representative (Republican), representing northwest Colorado, 1992-2000. Formerly a VISTA volunteer with the Crow Tribe in Montana and a municipal judge in Rifle.
Family: Married to Neal Ellen George, who teaches elementary special education in Rifle; four grown sons, Russell, Charles, Thomas and Andrew.
Sources: Denver Post archives, governor’s office
