LONGMONT — A down-on-his-luck Coloradan who got hired by a company that received stimulus funds nearly upstaged Vice President Joe Biden on Friday at an event touting the impact of the recovery program.
Duane Bartley said his wife lost her fledgling veterinarian business, he lost his job and they went bankrupt. Things were so bleak that they didn’t bother sending Christmas cards.
Then the Watkins resident, who grew up in Salida, got a call from UQM Technologies, a Weld County company considered a leading developer and manufacturer of high-performance, energy-efficient electric drive systems. The firm received $45 million in stimulus funds to build a new manufacturing facility to expand operations.
Bartley, an electrical engineer, got hired in April.
“Suffice it to say that this weekend my wife, Nicole, my daughter Jessica and I will be putting stamps on Christmas cards. It’s never too late,” he said.
“Besides, this is Colorado. It just snowed.”
That got a big laugh from the crowd of about 800, many in the green-energy field, gathered at what will be UQM’s new headquarters and manufacturing plant.
As a result of the recovery grant, UQM purchased a new facility just north of its current Frederick headquarters. This building is 10 times larger than the current site.
“There’s no question the stimulus program is a big deal for us,” said Bill Rankin, president and chief executive of UQM.
“It’s helped people getting through these very tough times,” Biden said, a point Republicans later refuted.
When the vice president walked onto the stage — nearly an hour late — he was flanked by Bartley, Gov. Bill Ritter, U.S. Rep. Betsy Markey of Fort Collins and U.S. Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo.
“We like to call northern Colorado the Silicon Valley of the West,” Markey said.
Biden concluded his speech at 1:45 p.m. by saying, “And may God protect our troops.”
The vice president then spoke at the Denver Sheraton at a fundraiser for Markey, who is seeking a second term.
He focused his speech on three administration policies supported by Markey — economic stimulus, changing the nation’s energy policy and health care, according to the Fort Collins’ Coloradoan’s Bob Moore, the pool reporter for the event.
Guests paid $150 for the reception, or $4,800 for a private photo reception with the vice president.
In her speech introducing Biden, Markey noted former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has targeted her and a fellow Colorado Democrat, U.S. Rep. John Salazar.
“While I wear it like a badge of honor that Sarah Palin doesn’t want me in Congress, I have to say it is disheartening to see her run around the country asking, ‘Well, how’s that hopey-changey thing going for you?’ ” Markey said.
“Since when did hope and change become a bad thing?”
But a spokeswoman for the National Republican Congressional Committee called Markey and Biden’s remarks “incredibly out of touch given the harsh realities that Coloradans are struggling with each day unemployment rises.”
“Clearly, neither is listening to constituents’ concerns,” spokeswoman Joanna Burgos said.
Lynn Bartels: 303-954-5327 or lbartels@denverpost.com
