New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson said Monday he was “disappointed” that former Denver Mayor Federico Peña last week endorsed U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., for the Democratic nomination for president.
“I was disappointed,” said Richardson, adding, “we were colleagues in the (Clinton administration) Cabinet. It would have been nice to get a heads-up.”
Richardson was U.S. ambassador to the United Nations before succeeding Peña as secretary of energy in 1998. He made a brief campaign visit to Denver on Monday, where he pledged to find federal funds for Front Range mass transit if elected president.
“Bill’s a friend of mine,” Peña said when told about Richardson’s comment. “There are a number of presidential candidates who are friends of mine.”
Peña said that he had called Richardson’s campaign manager and “told him that I was going to support Sen. Obama.”
Peña, who is a managing director of Vestar Capital Partners in Denver, was named a national co-chairman of Obama’s campaign.
“It’s not a reflection on anyone else,” Peña said of his endorsement.
During his stop at the Hyatt Regency at the Colorado Convention Center in downtown Denver, Richardson took note of Denver’s traffic and said he would help if given the chance.
“We will have a federal partnership,” said Richardson. “I will be a partner in your construction” of light rail and commuter rail.
In campaign appearances around the country, including Los Angeles and Las Vegas, Richardson has said light rail should be a priority in federal transportation funding.
Metro Denver’s Regional Transportation District is struggling to deal with a $1.5 billion shortfall on its ambitious FasTracks transit expansion, with plans to add at least six new rail lines in the area by 2016. Metro Denver voters approved a $4.7 billion FasTracks plan in 2004, but costs have since ballooned to $6.2 billion.
RTD is seeking more then $1 billion from the federal government to build FasTracks, up from $900 million in the original plan.
One of Richardson’s key backers in Colorado is Cole Finegan, the former chief of staff for Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper.
Finegan is managing partner of the Denver office of Hogan & Hartson.
His law firm was recently hired by RTD for $450 an hour to handle negotiations with a private company involved in the planned $1 billion redevelopment of the Union Station area, which will be the hub of FasTracks.
Finegan, who was listed as a co-host for the Richardson campaign’s $1,000-a-plate luncheon fundraiser at the Hyatt, said he has known Richardson for many years. “He’s a decisionmaker,” said Finegan.
Denver Post staff writer Jeffrey Leib contributed to this report.
Stephen Keating is editor of .
