Esteemed House Speaker Terrance Carroll — his friends call him Terrance, maybe even Terry, but you can call him House speaker — wants lawmakers to be addressed by their formal titles.
It seems too many journalists and members of Gov. Bill Ritter’s staff have taken to calling lawmakers by the names their mothers gave them: Terrance, Peter, Josh, Mike, etc., and not the lofty titles bestowed upon them by voters.
So Rep. Carroll put forth a memo last week suggesting the more formal titles be used not only on the House and Senate floor, but outside the statehouse.
Perhaps at the dinner table? “Mr. Speaker, please pass the bread.”
Or at the YMCA? “Senate Minority Leader Penry, pass the ball over here!”
Or at City Grille? “Do you want fries with that, Senate President Groff?”
Only a few Americans can get by with just one name — Oprah, Cher, Blago — so it makes sense to use titles.
Besides, in these grim economic times, fancy titles can help make up for the less-than-stellar paychecks lawmakers receive and the fact politicians barely rank above lawyers and journalists on the public’s scum-o-meter.
Carroll’s memo reminds us of an old episode of “Cheers,” when bar manager Rebecca can’t afford to hand out raises so she doles out titles. Halfwit bartender Woody suddenly becomes “senior bartender,” much to his delight.
We do think journalists sometimes get too familiar with lawmakers and should address them by their titles, not their first names. But an edict of sorts wasn’t necessary.
Change the culture of the Capitol through leadership, not memos. Whip up a solution for the knots in Colorado’s budget and we’ll call you whatever you want.
Until then, lawmakers seeking to be addressed in more formal ways in their communities may want to heed a comment from one of our online readers known only as Dignon: “From now on . . . MY legislators better address me as BOSS.”
