With 20 applicants vying to replace outgoing Colorado Secretary of State Mike Coffman, the liberal advocacy group ProgressNowAction is allowing people to vote on who they believe should land the post.
Our pick, as we've revealed before, is Denver attorney Scott Gessler, who is described by PNA as a "Leading Republican election lawyer in the firm of Hackstaff Gessler LLC; currently serves on the Election Reform Commission; expertise in voting rights; undergrad at Yale, JD at Michigan, MBA at Northwestern." Take a screen shot, as this is probably the first and last time that PNA or its head guy Michael Huttner will ever say anything nice about Gessler, who has received a surprising 108 votes.
Sadly, the likelihood that Gov. Bill Ritter, a Democrat, and the panel he has convened to help him make the decision, will pick Gessler is nil. Gessler, who has made a regular habit of turning Ritter's backroom deals with Big Labor interests into courtroom litigation, is a true bull dog who picks truth over political allies.
Interestingly enough, Sen. Ken Gordon is ahead in the poll with 2,721 votes. The reason behind Gordon's lead is nothing more than good old fashioned voter outreach in action. He emailed supporters and sent out a news release directing people to PNA's Web site and asking for their vote. The Rocky Mountain News reported that Gordon concluded his e-mail by writing, "I'm sure the governor won't make his choice entirely by a poll like this, but it can't hurt to show I have support."
But, who knows? Maybe Blue Ribbon Ritter will rely on the advice of yet another panel - that being the voices at PNA. So vote.
1. State Sen. Ken Gordon (D-Denver) - 2,721
2. Speaker of the House Andrew Romanoff (D-Denver) - 866
3. Federal Election Assistance Commission Chairwoman Rosemary Rodriguez - 227
4. State Rep. Bernie Buescher (D-Grand Junction) - 192
5. Colorado Democratic Party Executive Director Sherry Jackson from Denver - 132
6. GOP Attorney Scott Gessler - 108
7. TV talk show host Aaron Harber - 89
8. 2004 5th Congressional District Democratic nominee Jay Fawcett - 58
9. Public Integrity Project Executive Director Claudia Kuhns - 47
10. Policy analyst for the Department of State's Business Division Scott Primeau - 27
11. Gilpin County Clerk and Recorder Jessica Lovingier from Black Hawk - 26
12. Denver Democratic Party Secretary Dan Willis - 22
13. 2000 and 2002 Democratic Secretary of State nominee Anthony Martinez from Conejos - 20
14. 2008 state House District 6 Democratic candidate Josh Hanfling from Denver - 19
15. Art Institute of Colorado adjunct professor from Fort Morgan Cary McMinnra - 6
16. Rancher Energy Corp. President/CEO John Works - 5
17. Littleton attorney John Clough - 3
T-18. Littleton financial analyst Theresa Smith - 1
T-18. U.S. Geological Survey research scientist James Tindall - 1
19. Information Services, Inc. Vice President of Operations Joseph Poche - 0