Bill Richardson Visiting and Visiting Some Sites
(Cross-Posted to DemNotes at www.DemNotes.com)
Thursday, I was in the Denver area and had an opportunity to attend an event with New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. Then, yesterday was spent exploring both Broomfield and Colorado Springs in an attempt to better figure out where to hold our 2008 State Convention and Assembly.
(Caveat: While I certainly believe that State Party officers have the prerogative to endorse candidates for President — and many have done so in the past, including myself as State Party Secretary in 2004 — I am not endorsing any candidate at this time. Through the next year, we will see any number of our great field of Presidential candidates come through this state, and I will write on their visits when I’m in attendance. Unless I expressly indicate, such writing, whether positive or negative, should never be interpreted as an endorsement of any kind.)Bill Richardson spent Thursday and Friday in Colorado, attending events in Denver and Pueblo. I was already close to the Denver area on Thursday afternoon, so I made a point of helping welcome our neighboring Presidential candidate to Colorado. Gov. Richardson was a little late to the event in Denver, due to traffic issues. He made sure to talk about Denver’s transportation issues when he arrived.
The Governor was introduced by long-time Colorado (and national) Hispanic activist Polly Baca and Richardson’s state director, DNC Member J.W. Postal. The Governor then spoke about his long-ranging experience, particularly on foreign policy issues. One of the big concerns about the Richardson campaign in the past is that he isn’t one of the “big three” candidates who are likely to win the nomination; however, Gov. Richardson addressed those concerns head-on. He talked about how his poll numbers in the key early states continue to rise as he is seen in the debates - he said the latest New Hampshire polls now have him in double-digits in that key “first-in-the-nation” primary state.
After he spoke, the Governor made sure to go out into the audience and meet the crowd. He spent quite a while talking to every person who wanted to speak to him, paying attention to the variety of issues raised.
The Pueblo Chieftain has a write-up of his visit to Pueblo. Here’s an excerpt:
Richardson, 59, brought his suit-and-cowboy-boots campaign to Pueblo on Friday, flying in for two fundraisers hosted by local Democrats. In the Denver area on Thursday, he was working the state hard because Colorado has a presidential primary Feb. 5.
“I am the Western candidate. I am the Latino candidate. And I am the candidate with the most experience,” Richardson declared during a brief press conference at Pueblo Memorial Airport. On hand to greet him and endorse him were former U.S. Rep. Ray Kogovsek, state Sen. Abel Tapia, and state Reps. Rafael Gallegos and Buffie McFadyen, all Democrats.
“I don’t think any of the other (Democratic) candidates have a resume like Bill’s,” Kogovsek said, happy to tout his old friend’s candidacy in the minutes before Richardson’s plane arrived. “He’s got the most experience of any of them.”
Like I said, I will certainly write of other Presidential visits as I attend them. I believe Senator Obama is in Denver today (Sunday); however, I am not able to attend, as I am travelling to Crested Butte for the Gunnison Dems’ BBQ tonight.
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Yesterday was a big day for the State Party’s Site Selection Committee, which I chair. In the morning, we went on site visits in Broomfield, while we spent the afternoon in Colorado Springs, the two cities that are vying to host the 2008 Colorado Democratic Convention and Assembly.
Because the site selection process continues to unfold, and because the Committee has not yet made a decision regarding its recommendation, I really think I should avoid specifics of either visit. I can say that the Committee was impressed by what it saw from both of the bidding cities, and this will be a tough decision. Hopefully, we will have a decision within a week or so that we will announce.
In Broomfield, we first visited the Broomfield Events Center, a new, state-of-the-art facility that has all sorts of technological advances. Then, we visited the luxurious Omni Interlocken, which is proposed as the Host Hotel for the Convention. We finally visited the Broomfield Community Center, which was proposed for Friday evening meetings; however, Broomfield is still looking at some other options for Friday evening.
After a great morning with the Broomfield Democrats, we travelled south to Colorado Springs. There, we began our afternoon at the Doubletree Hotel, followed by the Sheraton. The Colorado Springs Host Committee is proposing a choice of either for the Host Hotel and Friday meetings (some of you may remember the Sheraton from our 2005 Democratic Summit). We completed the day with a full tour of the Colorado Springs World Arena, another nicely-furnished facility. There, we were joined by several local dignitaries, including 2006 Congressional candidate Jay Fawcett and El Paso County Chair John Morris.
As I mentioned, the choice is going to be a difficult one. As soon as we make the decision and make it public, I’ll post it on DemNotes.
Again, I’m off to Gunnison County tonight, where I’ll be joined by State Chair Pat Waak and Speaker Andrew Romanoff. I’ll write about that when I can!