Borrowing from President-elect Barack Obama’s campaign for change and “American Idol,” Gov. Bill Ritter is taking e-mails from anyone in the public who wants to weigh in on naming a replacement for Sen. Ken Salazar, who was nominated as interior secretary Wednesday.
How much influence the e-mails sent to ments@state.co.us may have on Ritter’s decision-making process is unclear. But the clock is ticking.
“I will act as quickly as possible to name a successor for Sen. Salazar,” Ritter said Wednesday. “I take this responsibility seriously, and my most important requirement is to pick the person who can best serve all of the people of Colorado in the U.S. Senate.”
The first-term governor, who has made clear he is not in the running for the soon-to-be-open seat, said there is no official list of contenders. And unlike decisions he has made in the past, he will not put together a commission to make recommendations or winnow the field.
“People that I’m thinking about or that others are recommending to me are individuals that I know and know very well,” he said. “We’re not going to take a great deal of time.”
The field of potential appointees includes Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper; former U.S. Attorney Tom Strickland; U.S. Reps. Ed Perlmutter and Diana DeGette; and outgoing House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, among others.
Diana DeGette expressed interest in the seat Thursday, saying she would have to think twice before giving up her seniority in the House.
She cast herself as more moderate than critics bill her.
“I take it personally when people just dismiss me saying, ‘She’s too liberal for statewide office in Colorado,’ ” DeGette said in a meeting with The Denver Post editorial board.
As political observers around the state gauge the candidates, the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations in Colorado has called those seeking Ritter’s appointment to schedule meetings.
“It’s no different than what any person in this whole state is doing and that is having conversations with people who might be our next U.S. senator,” said Phil Hayes, the AFL-CIO’s governmental director in Colorado.
At least one potential appointee, Perlmutter, has declined.
“This is the governor’s decision to make, and Ed’s record . . . is well known and open for everyone to see,” said Perlmutter adviser Scott Chase.
Reporters Christopher N. Osher, Jessica Fender and Tim Hoover contributed to this report.
