Rosemary Rodriguez, chairwoman of the federal Election Assistance Commission, announced today that she is resigning from her post at the end of this week and returning to Colorado to serve as state director for U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet.
The former Denver City Councilwoman, who has been a commissioner for nearly two years, is a well-known Democrat in the state, especially in the metro area. She was president of the Denver City Council when Bennet served as Mayor John Hickenlooper’s chief of staff.
Rodriguez could not be immediately reached this afternoon. In a statement on the commission’s website, however, she thanked her staff and touted their accomplishments.
“In just a few years, we have adopted voting-system guidelines, built a voting-system certification program from the ground up, provided training materials for election officials, conducted research on a host of issues, and provided voter resources in six languages,” she said.
Many of Rodriguez’s supporters criticized Gov. Bill Ritter last month for not considering her as a candidate for Secretary of State. In addition to her experience as commissioner, she served five years overseeing city elections as Denver’s Clerk & Recorder.
