Ritter appoints Russell George to head CDOT

I learned last night from Colorado Confidential that Governor Bill Ritter has appointed Russell George to head CDOT. It wasn't the news I was hoping for.

1. George headed the Department of Natural Resources for Bill Owens. Last November, the voters of Colorado demanded change, not a rehash of the Owens administration.

2. George has a reputation for compromise. But his compromises seem to end up with the oil and gas industry getting what it wants. For instance, oil and gas interests wanted to drill the Roan Plateau. Environmentalists wanted to stop them. A drilling plan was given the go-ahead last September. George shrugged and said, "We got it as good as we could."

3. George didn't want the job. (CoCo's article quotes Bill Ritter, "I wouldn't take 'no' as an answer... I kept reminding Russell he is a public servant and Colorado needed him in this position.") The appointment was necessary to pacify complaints from the Western Slope.

So to quiet a few angry voices, Ritter made an uninspiring appointment of someone with uncertain commitment to the job at hand.

I didn't post the news until this morning because I wanted to see if the Post's story on the appointment told me anything that changed my opinion.

George does have an impressive resume. And the move illustrates Ritter's determination to govern from the middle. So I'm crossing my fingers and waiting for further evidence. Colorado badly needs an innovative, comprehensive 21st Century transportation system based on clean burning technology. I can only hope that George is the best person to get us there.

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."