(Cross-Posted to DemNotes at www.DemNotes.com)

One of the best parts of being involved in this Party is seeing your friends — people who have worked hard in the trenches and who are genuinely good and decent people with their hearts in the right places — be elected to serve Colorado. I’m not talking about the folks out there who are campaigning hard and who you meet while they are campaigning, although there are some pretty amazing folks out there who fit that bill as well. No, I’m talking about the folks with whom you work in the trenches and who end up in positions to make a difference. For me, those people are folks like my State Representative, Buffie McFadyen, Rep. Morgan Carroll, and La Plata County Commissioner Joelle Riddle.

Last night, State Party Treasurer Mark Ferrandino joined that list when he was selected by the HD2 Vacancy Committee to serve in the State House.

Mark knows how to effectively fill a vacancy. In 2005, when we had a vacancy in the tough position of State Party Treasurer, Mark stepped forward and was selected to fill out the term. As a testament to his hard work and dedication, he was re-elected this year without any opposition. For a State Party officer, Mark is a quiet guy. He doesn’t demand attention. He just shows up and works hard.

I knew that from almost the first time I saw his work as Party Treasurer, but it was never made more clear to me than when I was walking for candidates last fall. As regular readers of DemNotes know, I spent about every weekend, and several weeknights, walking with Democratic candidates for the House and Senate across Colorado. Last fall, I showed up in a north metro parking lot to meet Sen. Lois Tochtrop to walk with her. Mark Ferrandino was there, too. We spent the morning knocking on doors together. I found out that he, too, spent about every possible spare moment walking with legislative candidates — unlike me, he just didn’t talk about it much. It was just something that a loyal Democrat does. I wrote about it then - you can see that post at:
http://demnotes.com/?p=190

Rep. Ferrandino deserves this selection — he is truly an unsung hero of the Colorado Democratic Party. I understand he will eventually be leaving his position as State Party Treasurer (he doesn’t have to immediately do that — it is not too uncommon for legislators around the country to serve double-duty as State Party officers). When he does leave, whoever is selected by the Central Committee to fill his position will have huge shoes to fill. But Rep. Ferrandino will continue to fight for the things that make this Party so important to the future of Colorado, and we’ll wish him well on this new chapter of his life.

Thank you, HD2 Vacancy Committee, for making such a wise choice. Rep. Ferrandino will serve you — and the people of Colorado — amazingly well!

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 20th, 2007 at 10:41 am and is filed under CDP, Elected, State Legislative Races, 2007 Legislative Session. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.