Bill Owens for Senate?

A Bill Owens for Senate campaign is a possibility I mentioned months ago and which Mike Littwin considered in yesterday's Rocky:

[I]f Udall wins, you could see two Democratic senators in Colorado for maybe the next 20 years. So, you make the call. And you know where it has to go - to [Colorado GOP head Dick] Wadhams' old boss, Bill Owens.

Good advice, if the Colorado GOP decides it would rather not self destruct.

UPDATE: ColoradoPols has more from The New York Sun:

In sum, Mr. McInnis was the Colorado Republican Party's best shot at holding the line in 2008. However, he seems to have been forced out of the race by social conservatives who, in a state that is home to Evangelical leader James Dobson and his Focus on the Family, want a "traditional" Republican (i.e., one of them) to be their nominee.

Bill Ritter institutes anti-cronyist, pro-taxpayer policy

Today's Rocky Mountain News reports:

Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter has instituted a "use-it-or-lose-it" vacation and sick leave policy for his top appointees.

"These rules are fair and they protect taxpayer dollars," Ritter said in a news release.

The policy comes after an outcry over practices by Ritter's predecessor, Republican Gov. Bill Owens.

Owens initially had a similar use-it-or-lose-it policy when he took office in 1999. But that changed effective July 1, 2004, when Owens allowed Cabinet directors and other appointees to accrue unlimited vacation and sick leave, so they would have hefty final paychecks.

More on the Owens Cronyist Retention Program

Yesterday the Post reported that Bill Owens illegally guaranteed 23 of his cronies jobs in the Bill Ritter administration. The Rocky swiftly covered Owens' denial. (My thread on the exchange here.)

Today, the Post responded with a pair of stories. In the first, the paper reported Owens' attempt to blame the situation on a rogue staffer:

Owens said the decision to alter the contracts - in violation of state law and personnel rules - was made by Jeff Wells, his executive director of personnel and administration. "Had we known how this would be perceived, my administration certainly would have vetted it and might have reached a different conclusion," Owens said in a telephone interview.

But Diane Carman used her column to blast the GOP's culture of cronyism:

When it comes to feeding at the public trough, few have been as brazen as Bill Owens' cronies. Then again, few public officials have been as creative as the former governor about devising ways to funnel taxpayers' money to pals without enduring the tedious business of equal employment opportunity rules or public scrutiny.

The sweet job protection program for 23 Owens appointees that was revealed Wednesday by Post reporter Mark Couch is only the latest chapter in an eight-year saga of flagrant disregard for state personnel laws and utter contempt for the civil service system.

Bill Ritter has put a stop to the Cronyist Retention Program. But it bears underlining: The GOP of today has abandoned the principles of small government and increased competition.

Cross-posted at SquareState.

Post: Owens promised cronies jobs in Ritter administration

You must be kidding me:

In their final annual employment contracts, at least 23 appointed senior managers in the Owens administration got a promise that they could return to other state management positions at the highest-possible salaries for those jobs. The manager-protection program appears to violate state personnel rules by guaranteeing jobs to senior political appointees.

The contracts, valued at nearly $2.8 million this year, would tie Gov. Bill Ritter's hands in forming his own team by limiting the number of job openings his department heads could fill and by ensuring that Republican political appointees survive in a Democratic administration.

Cross-posted at SquareState.

UPDATE: The Rocky Mountain News reports that Owens has denied The Denver Post's accusation:

A story in the Denver Post this morning said the Owens adminstration gave 23 employees job protection when he left office, and that the practice appeared to violate state personnel rules. Owens said it is ludicrous to suggest that the 23 employees involved were originally hired as part of some patronage scheme.

Bill Ritter tackles the state budget

Bill Owens left behind a plan that calls for 1,000 new state employees, and grows the budget by far more than state law allows.

A former prosecutor, Governor Bill Ritter believes that he can save some money by reducing corrections costs. From The Denver Post:

Ritter said reducing fast-growing prison costs would give the state more money for other programs such as higher education and human services, which are vulnerable to budget cuts... Ritter also promised close scrutiny of the budget proposal he inherited from Republican Gov. Bill Owens and state agency heads... Ritter said he has already warned his department heads not to expect too much. "Our communication with our directors is that there is not new money," Ritter said.

The governor's mansion is a lousy place to make friends

John F. Kennedy once said that the White House is a lousy place to make friends. And the same goes for the Colorado Governor's mansion. So it should come as no surprise that Governor-elect Bill Ritter's appointments have included early supporters and experienced legislators.

Still, some on the Western Slope are complaining that, despite the presence of Prowers County Commissioner John Stulp and Manitou Springs Mayor Marcy Morrison, Denver is over-represented in the Ritter administration. The Rocky quotes Republican Senator-elect Josh Penry:

"The final verdict is still out, but at this point it looks more like the Cabinet of the governor of Denver than the governor of Colorado."

Did Penry read my post "Bill Ritter not just the governor of Denver"?

Colorado Confidential reports that some wanted Ritter to re-appoint Bill Owens' Department of Natural Resources director Russell George instead of nominating Harris Sherman. But Ritter can hardly be faulted for wanting fresh ideas for a department with a lackluster record. Colorado Confidential's story quotes Duke Cox, chairman of the Grand Valley Citizens Alliance:

"There needs to be some changes made in DNR - especially concerning the Colorado Oil and Gas Commission - and one couldn't expect Russell George to fire some people that he had worked with these past years."

It looks like what we're seeing is less an honest dispute and more a preview of the GOP's strategy for the coming years. Let's call it, "Whine and Vote No."

Owens, Rowland get jobs they shouldn't have

Yesterday, I mentioned Bill Owens' support for Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney's 2008 bid for the Presidency. The Denver Post reports Owens has gone a step further and joined Romney's team as a senior advisor.

It seems like an odd fit. Romney has tried to position himself as a conservative alternative to John McCain. Owens has been ostracized by the GOP base for his support of Referendum C in 2005. Plus, in 2006 Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill Ritter often used Romney's healthcare plan as evidence that states could guarantee healthcare to all citizens. Owens' hand-picked successor, Bob Beauprez, didn't jump on the Romney bandwagon until much later.

I saw on SquareState that "Grand Junction NBC affiliate KKCO has hired GOP Lt. Gov. Candidate Janet Rowland to cover the state legislature"

This hire makes even less sense. Rowland said some things in 2006 that would convince any rational observer that live TV might not be a good idea for her. And her longtime involvement in partisan politics creates a major conflict of interest for KKCO.

Brownback to filibuster DeGette, Owens backs Romney, Allard loves Reagan

According to Colorado Confidential:

Kansas Senator Sam Brownback is planning to lead a "mini-filibuster" of Colorado Rep. Diana DeGette's reintroduction of a bill to expand federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.

It's likely that Brownback, who has Presidential aspirations, is staging the maneuver to re-establish his bona fides with the GOP's far right wing.

As long as I'm discussing the GOP's 2008 contenders, I may as well admit that I was listening to the Hugh Hewitt Show last night when Governor Bill Owens came perilously close to endorsing Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney's run for the Presidency. He then backtracked a bit, saying something very close to, "I'm not against McCain, but I'm for Romney."

Colorado's Senator Wayne Allard plans to introduce a super-important bill to honor a past Republican President, Ronald Reagan. Allard's bill would give Reagan's likeness a place of honor inside the Capitol, next to former President George Washington. The Rocky reports, "Similar legislation didn't move when Allard first introduced it last year, back when Congress was under Republican control."

I think it's safe to say there isn't a bill I could care less about.

Bill Owens also finds gainful employment

Like Gale Norton, Bill Owens has lined up a new job. He'll either be leading the Kucinich for President campaign or running a real estate investment firm.

Owens, Beauprez declare statewide disaster

Governor Bill Owens in the Rocky:

Gov. Bill Owens this afternoon declared a statewide disaster emergency due to blizzard conditions, and activated the Colorado National Guard.

Bob Beauprez in the Post via ColoradoPols:

"I don't mean to overly rationalize it or excuse it, but it was one of those years. There was a foul wind blowing and I stepped out in the middle of it," Beauprez said.

That was too easy. I apologize. To make up for it, I'm going to re-read Andrew Oh-Willeke's explanation of "the ground rules for the 2007 regular session of Colorado's General Assembly."

A tale of two Bills: Ritter the next Owens?

The Saturday Rocky repeated the rightwing lie that big-spending Democratic legislators are plotting to exploit their control of the governor's mansion just as soon as they can find the $5 million to repair it:

"I think Democrats' expectations are sky high," said Senate Minority Leader Andy McElhany, of Colorado Springs. "They're looking at nearly 50 years of pent-up frustrations..."

Being in charge provides the Democrats opportunities but plenty of challenges, said political consultant Katy Atkinson. "What we normally see when you have a legislature controlled by the governor's party is legislators who are downright giddy at the prospect of getting lots of their bills passed," she said.

As I wrote Friday, Democratic leaders like Andrew Romanoff sound like they're focusing on enacting Ritter's Colorado Promise agenda, not developing a list of pet projects. But over the next two years, Ritter will doubtlessly see some bills he'll wish he hadn't. And the Sunday Denver Post profile of outgoing Republican Governor Bill Owens offers a chance to look at how easily a governor's legacy can be tarnished by extremists within his own party:

The governor "was once on every conservative's short list of possible candidates for higher office," says [the Cato Institute's Stephen] Slivinski. "Now he will probably be long remembered by those same conservatives as a turncoat."

Small-government fanatics will never forgive Owens for fixing the glitch in TABOR. Family values voters still wonder about the Owens' temporary separation. And GOP insiders still gripe about Owens' political missteps. (See Coors, Pete; Traylor, Kiki; and Bob, Both Ways.) But for much of his tenure, Owens was a conservative's dream. Only after fire and recession pushed the state to the brink of financial catastrophe did he finally stand up to his party's fringes.

Contrast that with governor-elect Bill Ritter, who staked out the moderate middle during the 2006 campaign and is promising to adhere to it. From the Rocky, again:

Ritter, a self-described moderate, isn't promising the world to his party. "The governor-elect will act as a gatekeeper on good public policy and do what's right for Coloradans," said Ritter spokesman Evan Dreyer.

The dynamics of the 2006 campaign will make it hard for liberals to pick apart Ritter the way conservatives are picking apart Owens. Colorado voters are likely to get what they were promised. Nothing more, but certainly nothing less.