• Update
• National News
• World News

By GENE DAVIS

Denver Daily News Staff Writer

From the former superintendent of Denver Public Schools to a physician who practices emergency medicine, the candidates involved in Colorado’s contested primaries offer a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences. 

In conjunction with the primary ballots being mailed out last week, the Denver Daily News has put together a primary election guide featuring candidates in the most relevant races in Colorado. The guide includes a brief background on the candidates and a quote as to why voters should chose them in the primary. The primary election is on Aug. 10.

Senate Democrat candidates

Ą Andrew Romanoff was the Colorado Speaker of the House from 2005-09 and helped lead the Democrats to their first back-to-back majorities in more than 40 years. Romanoff earned a law degree at the University of Denver and has taught at the University of Colorado, the Community College of Aurora and Red Rocks Community College.

“I want voters to ask which candidate is most likely to stand up to special interests, to power brokers, to the party bosses in Washington D.C., and change this pay-to-play political culture,” he said in a statement. “I am the only candidate in this race on either side of the aisle willing to go to Washington on behalf of ordinary Coloradans who are losing so much faith Ń and for good reason Ń in this political system.”

Ą Michael Bennet was chosen by Gov. Bill Ritter to fill the Senate seat vacated by Ken Salazar, who was chosen by President Barack Obama to become Secretary of the Interior. Bennet formerly served as superintendent of Denver Public Schools and was a managing director at the Anschutz Investment Company, where he managed the restructuring of more than $3 billion in debt.

“Representing Colorado as our state’s U.S. Senator, Michael will use his understanding and leadership on complex financial and economic issues to be a voice for Colorado’s working families,” says his biography on his campaign Web site.

Senate Republican candidates

Ą Jane Norton is a Grand Junction native who was Colorado’s 46th lieutenant governor. Norton was named the first executive director for the Denver Police Foundation, which “supports individual officers and their families in times of crisis.”                                 

“Jane Norton is a conservative. Her three priorities are creating jobs, cutting out-of-control spending and keeping America free, safe and sovereign,” said a statement from Norton’s campaign. “She doesn’t just talk the talk, she walks the walk Ń she is the only candidate with a record of cutting budgets.”

Ą Ken Buck’s resume includes truck driver, high school football coach, ranch hand, school janitor, adjunct law professor, prosecutor and businessmen. In 2004, Buck was elected as the Weld County District Attorney.                                                              

“Ken entered the race for U.S. Senate by seeking the support of grassroots Coloradans, not Washington lobbyists and insiders,” said a statement from Buck’s campaign. “As senator, Ken will do what’s right for Colorado by fighting against the Washington out-of-control spending.”

Republican gubernatorial candidates

Ą Scott McInnis served five consecutive terms as a state representative and 12 years as a U.S. Congressman. McInnis was raised in Glenwood Springs; early on in his career, he served his hometown as a police officer and volunteer firefighter.                 

 “My message is that we need to cut spending, repeal job-killing tax hikes, and adopt economic policies to foster a dynamic business climate and send a strong signal that Colorado is open for business,” McInnis said in a statement. “I will stand up to the big-spending special interests and place particular focus on restoring energy jobs that have been shipped out of state, and boost the key business sectors like aerospace and tourism that have an untapped potential we must focus on over the next four years.”

Ą Dan Maes is a businessman out of Evergreen who started and sold a credit reporting agency between 2005-09. Maes also served as a police officer for two years, and did not let having an alcoholic father who died while he was still at an early age dictate the course of his life, according to his biography.                                                                      

 “2010 is a unique time for people are demanding leaders with honesty and integrity and character,” said Maes. “I would like to think that I could bring that to the people of Colorado in addition to 25 years of business development, business management and executive experience.”

Republican candidates for U.S. Congress 1 

Ą Mike Fallon has practiced emergency medicine at Exempla Lutheran emergency group in Denver and started the first of three urgent care clinics in the Denver Metro area, where he served as a physician, business manager, janitor and snow remover. In 2008, he sold his urgent care clinics and now works as a doctor in “several challenging and interesting emergency rooms throughout the region.”                                             

“As an emergency room doctor and former small business owner, I see and understand the challenges that Coloradans face,” he said in a statement. “I will fight to get Coloradans back to work, to heal our fragile economy, to rein in out-of-control government spending and to protect our access to high quality, affordable health care.”

Ą Steve Barton is a patent attorney who represents high-technology clients. He has more than 20 years of engineering experience, and ran a recent Senate campaign before dropping out and endorsing Ken Buck.                                                                                          

“I not only have a plan to repeal and rewrite health care reform Ń a real reform without the bloated IRS and new 1099 forms tracking every purchase Ń but I have a plan that would revitalize the economy, a plan that will get Denver and Colorado jobs,” he said in a statement. “My plan would also keep Colorado’s wheels turning and the nation’s lights on without the ‘necessarily skyrocketing’ electric rates promised by Obama, [Nancy] Pelosi, and her minion [Diana] DeGette.”

Republican candidates for treasurer

Ą J.J Ament is a fifth generation Coloradan who for 10 years has worked in the private sector as a financial advisor and investment banker to state treasurers and other government CFOs from all over the U.S.                                                                      

“J. J. Ament would be the first State Treasurer in over 40 years to come to the job from a professional background in finance and banking,” said a statement from Ament’s campaign. “He is also the only candidate in the Republican primary who opposes increasing taxes to balance the state budget.”

Ą  Walker Stapleton is an active real estate investor in Colorado who is also the president and CEO of SonomaWest Holdings, a small publicly traded real estate company. Stapleton serves on the board of The Denver Public Library Friends Foundation, as well as The Tipitina’s Foundation in New Orleans, which provides the city’s public schools with instruments and raises awareness about New Orleans music heritage.

“As state treasurer, I will be an unfailing advocate for taxpayers’ rights,” he says on his Web site. “We must constantly remind elected officials in both parties that there is no such thing as ‘government money.’ It is the taxpayers’ money, and we have an obligation to watch every dollar as though it was our own.”

Add a new comment... Spammers: links do not work and our site gets monitored for spam daily and your comments will be removed -- please do not spam our site!

Your Name:

Your Email:

Title:

Comments:

Please copy the characters from this image into the box below. All characters are either numbers 1-9 (not zero) or letters (upper and lowercase). If you cannot read this image, you can click it to try a different image (most browsers). Otherwise, submit the page anyway and try again.

Image Text: