One Boomer’s opinion: Age should be a factor in selecting our leaders
John Hickenlooper has had a storied political career. But if he wins the Democratic Party’s primary, is re-elected in November, and serves a full second term, he will be 80 years old by the end. If Diana DeGette (Colorado House District 1) follows a similar path, she will be 70 when her next term expires.
As a “Boomer,” whose age falls between these two candidates, I recognize that my mental faculties are not what they were a decade ago — and that they will only decline. We have also seen the electoral consequences of ignoring this with President Joe Biden.
Of course, age should not be the only criterion that a voter uses when evaluating the suitability of a candidate, but it should be considered. Especially since the generational differences between the Boomers and everyone younger are so stark.
If the Democrats have any aspirations to be the party of the future, they will need candidates who have a similar lived experience with younger voters.
An additional problem is that people often fail to recognize their own diminished capacity. And because most House and Senate seats are “safe,” many incumbents end up with seats for life.
Politicians who hold national office, even more so than athletes, are loath to retire for the simple reason that they will instantly go from being a “somebody” to becoming a “nobody.” Quick, who was the previous Speaker of the House?
So it is up to primary voters to ease older candidates out of office if this is warranted. There are many talented younger candidates on the Democrats’ primary ballot. Perhaps you should choose one. I have.
Guy Wroble, Denver
Michael Bennet for governor
In the Democratic primary for governor, we will be casting our votes for Michael Bennet for three reasons.
First, Michael’s career is marked by experience that will be essential for our next governor. He has been a successful businessman, led the Denver public schools through a precarious period, and now serves as Colorado’s respected U.S. Senator. This experience puts him miles ahead of other candidates.
Second, his life has been one of acting with veracity and honesty, two traits that underscore his proven record of personal integrity.
Finally, he is a committed advocate for moving all regions of our state ahead. No matter the stage in his professional career, he has demonstrated time and again that making Colorado the greatest place in America to raise a family — through affordability, excellent education, and protecting our public lands — is a number-one priority.
In many ways, Michael Bennet is a “throwback” to how political leaders used to behave and must behave again if we are to navigate the onslaught of revenge that Donald Trump seeks to wreak on our beloved state.
Michael Bennet. Experience. Integrity. Commitment. He is our choice for the Democratic primary and our next governor.
Don and Jan Smith, Denver
Scott Bottoms for governor
As an independent voter, I tire of being ignored by the two monopoly parties, so when I sent out questions to the governor candidates and received only one reply, which was from Scott Bottoms, he got my vote for governor. And though I don’t agree with him on many issues, at least he’s willing to listen and engage with voters — even those of us who don’t agree with him.
Candidates who can’t or won’t engage with us are telling us that they are inefficient or too busy and important. Itap going to take innovative thinking to figure out how to engage and represent so many diverse voters, all constitutionally promised equality under the law, which includes minority rights under majority rule. If candidates don’t have the wherewithal to listen to us, then there is no way they can represent us.
Bottoms gets my vote because he is the only candidate who is respectful enough to engage with those of us whom he will represent as governor, even those of us with whom he disagrees. At least he listens before disagreeing or agreeing. These others are just talking at us.
If candidates can make themselves available for lobbyists, they can make themselves available to the rest of us. There are solutions for reaching and engaging us, but they’d have to actually listen to us in order to find out what those solutions are. It matters.
I’ve sent numerous letters and emails to Attorney General Phil Weiser over the past five years, but he can’t be bothered to respond. Five years! And I voted for him! Not making that mistake again.
Krystyn Hartman, Grand Junction
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