Democratic Governors Association Meeting in Aspen
This year was a cause for great celebration. This is the third year for the DGA to hold its meeting in Aspen, and we have advanced the number of Democratic governors from 22 to 28. It was especially exciting because Colorado was added to that number.
Participants this year included Gov. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas, Gov. Brian Schweitzer of Montana, Gov. Brad Henry of Oklahoma, Gov. Jim Doyle of Wisconsin, Gov. Dave Freudenthal of Wyoming, Gov. Chet Culver of Iowa, and of course, our own Gov. Bill Ritter. Jay Nixon, the Attorney General of Missouri, attended since he is planning to run for governor in a couple of years. Gov. Ted Strickland of Ohio had to cancel out at the last moment because of the flooding in his state.
Friday evening’s reception also included two Colorado mayors: Mick Ireland newly elected in Aspen and John Hickenlooper of Denver. Mayor Hickenlooper had earlier in the day been at the Aspen Institute and in another meeting with Gov. Ritter. Mayor Ireland was a featured speaker at the renewable energy fair at Cooper’s Mall. After the policy discussions on Saturday I toured the fair with Sen. Gail Schwartz. The technology around alternative energy is growing.
But on Saturday morning, the Governors discussed “financial services” and “energy” in the morning forum. The financial services segment, chaired by Gov. Sebelius, was very much oriented toward defaults on mortgages. Barbara Fox from Freddie Mac and Denise Harrod of Compucredit did a great job of laying out the challenges. For those who have not seen it, there is an excellent article in Time magazine this week. It is of particular interest to my husband and me because Weld County has one of the largest rates of default in the state.
The second segment on energy was chaired by Gov. Ritter. A number of organizations representing the energy industry talked about the challenges for finding solutions to the energy crunch and moving toward energy independence. It was exciting to realize that Colorado has moved way ahead of other states in promoting energy alternatives. However, the Governors expressed some frustration with the pace at which Congress is moving on these issues. While there is much that each state can do, many initiatives need Federal action.
In the evening, we had the breath-taking views of Aspen from the home of Michael Goldberg. There was also an opportunity to talk with the Governors and various participants individually. Then we heard once again from Govs. Ritter and Sibelius.
This morning Gov. Howard Dean joined us all for brunch at the home of the Steve and Ellen Susman. Gov. Dean talked mostly about the 50 State Partnershp Program and all the work that is being done to support the governors and other officials by building a grassroots network.
One note that was not talked about publicly, but I did catch Saturday night. The Florida Democratic Party was chastised by the DNC Rules and ByLaws Committee for moving its primary up into January. They have 30 days to correct this or loss all their delegates to the Democratic National Convention next summer. Stay tuned for more 2008 madness.
Pat Waak