Denver Mayor-elect Michael Hancock, left, and Greg Lopez, Colorado district director of the U.S. Small Business Administration, during a business roundtable in 2011 as Hancock met with business leaders before taking office. (Craig F. Walker/ The Denver Post)
Greg Lopez, the former director of the Small Business Administration in Colorado, announced Monday he plans to run for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate.
Lopez said he’s not worried that other Republicans, including U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman of Aurora and state Sen. Ellen Roberts of Durango, have already said “no” to challenging Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet next year.
Part of his appeal, Lopez said, is “I don’t reflect the misconception of what the Republican candidate looks like.”
He’s bilingual. His Democratic friends have told him they would back him publicly and financially if he ran for office. And he served on the Denver Hispanic Chamber of Commerce board for 10 years, including a year as interim president.
Greg Lopez in 2008 was named the new district manager for Colorado’s U.S. Small Business Administration. (Denver Post file photo)
“I think Colorado deserves a U.S. senator who is connected to the small-business community, understands how Main Street works and how to create jobs and will be a strong advocate for whatap in the best interest of the country,” he said.
“I believe that Colorado is uniquely positioned to make a huge difference in how our country starts moving in the right direction.”
Lopez resigned from the U.S. Small Business Administration in April 2014.
“I’m turning 50 this year and re-assessing my career, where I’ve been and what might be my last hurrah and what opportunities might be out there,” . “I’ve been with the agency for six years, so itap a good time to move on.”
But he told The Denver Post on Monday he left because of clashes with his bosses in Washington over the Veterans Administration hospital project in Aurora . He said he was trying to help 21 small-business owners who were due $41 million on the project get paid.
“My leadership called and said I should not be involved in that aspect,” Lopez said. “What I’ve learned from being inside the federal government is that if you you don’t march to the beat of the drum they will come after you and I just think thatap wrong. In America, people should be willing to do the right thing and fight for it.”
He said he didn’t want to bring up the VA situation when he left his job because he “didn’t want to cause more issues for the SBA and the small business owners.”
Lopez said he worked with Coffman’s office on the VA project, which was estimated to cost about $630 million but ballooned to $1.73 billion Aurora project. into the cost overruns.
Coffman cited why he plans to seek re-election in the 6th Congressional District rather than challenge Bennet in 2016.
Sen. Roberts, in deciding not to run, said the was the major factor.
U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet . (Getty))
Lopez said he’s not worried about having to raise money, although Bennet in the first quarter. Bennet’s next fundraising report is due by July
“I’m not afraid to ask for money, for financial support,” Lopez said.
“I’ve learned in my career ‘no’ is a ‘no’ but that doesn’t mean forever. If you weren’t able to raise money itap because you haven’t been able to articulate what you are able to achieve.”
Lopez pointed out that when he was 27 and running for mayor of Parker against three other candidates he was told he’d never win. He served as mayor for four years, beginning in 1992.
Lopez’s victory as mayor, as reported by the Rocky Mountain News:
Greg Lopez, who took a year off to enjoy raising his son, woke up to a new responsibility Wednesday after Parker voters elected him mayor.
Lopez emerged from a contentious four-person race to edge out incumbent Ann Waterman, who lost her bid for a second term by 33 votes.
“To be honest, I think it had to do with the mudslinging,” said Lopez, a 27-year-old financial consultant who said he tried to steer clear of the fray. “We knew that somebody would bring it all out and it didn’t have to be us.”
So far, the most high-profile Republican n, an El Paso County Commissioner. Another El Paso County Republican whose name has been mentioned to challenge Bennet .
Lopez and his wife Lisa live in Elizabeth and operate GNL Concepts, a consulting firm. He’s an Air Force veteran.
