"Among Governor Bill Ritter's latest politically dubious moves was his decision to create a new chief operating officer gig, with a salary of $146,000, to oversee federal stimulus money. That's red meat for the GOP, and House leader Mike May chomped into it like a starving Rottweiler, declaring in a statement that "the job description for this new position is the job description for the governor of the state of Colorado. To hire someone and pay them to do your job and take the responsibility if something goes wrong is just incredible to me....

"Erik Groves, a lobbyist who represents chiropractors, stands accused of improper campaigning in the process to replace outgoing Republican minority leader Mike May (pictured) at the state capitol. Groves will testify later this week, according to the Rocky Mountain News.

The scandal led May to rescind his resignation from office in December as Republican Representatives David Balmer, of Centennial, and Frank McNulty, of Highlands Ranch, vied to replace him in the leadership role."

"DENVER — House Minority Leader Mike May, R-Parker, took a moment in his opening day speech to push for oil shale as he encouraged his peers to not abandon a “stable energy economy” in favor of a “new energy economy.”

“Colorado has real potential to lead in the field of renewable energy,” May said. “However, we are also incredibly well positioned to lead in other energy fields: oil and natural gas, clean coal, hydropower, and even potentially nuclear power and oil shale.”"

"Parker Mayor David Casiano has entered the race to succeed House Minority Leader Mike May (R-Parker) in Colorado House District 44, according to Douglas County GOP Chair Kelsey Alexander.

Casiano is the fourth candidate to seek the seat: former Colorado Mortgage Leaders Association President Chris Holbert, U.S. Rep.-elect Mike Coffman manager Dustin Zvonek, and businesswoman Polly Lawrence are also seeking to be appointed by a vacancy committee.

"House Minority Leader Mike May (R-Parker) released this statement Tuesday afternoon:

“Today I have made the difficult decision to temporarily delay my retirement from the House because of my sense of duty to the members of the Republican caucus. With the possibility that outside influences may have attempted to interfere with the leadership election, and the reality of a delayed election, I do not feel that now would be an appropriate time to leave.

"Three candidates have emerged for the House District 44 seat that Minority Leader Mike May has announced he will vacate in January.

Douglas County GOP operative Chris Holbert said he's won May's endorsement, among other Republican leaders. A consultant for trade organizations, Holbert ran campaigns for state Sen. Ted Harvey and state Senator-elect Mark Scheffel and had planned to run in 2010 when May would have faced term limits.

"Chris Holbert is “the odds-on favorite” to be appointed to succeed House Minority Leader Mike May (R-Parker) in House District 44, according to state Sen. Ted Harvey (R-Highlands Ranch).

Certainly the former president of the Colorado Mortgage Lenders Association has some very prominent backers – the most prominent being May himself.

"Dustin Zvonek, U.S. Rep.-elect Mike Coffman’s (R-Aurora) campaign manager, will seek House Minority Leader Mike May’s House District 44 seat, Zvonek said Sunday.

And Zvonek already has some heavy hitters on his side: Coffman, outgoing U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Littleton), and Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry have already endorsed him, he said. Zvonek is a former Tancredo staffer.

Colorado Mortgage Leaders Association President Chris Holbert is also in the running for the seat, Zvonek said.

"As first reported here by RMR blogger Heston's Ghost, Rep. Mike May will be stepping down from his office soon. The House Republicans will have to choose a new minority leader soon to replace May and their choice will have major implications for the future of the party. Here are some likely candidates, ranked in order of likelihood of success in their potential bids..."

"House Republican Leader Mike May, R-Parker, today announced that he will be retiring at the end of this legislative term in January.

May said the decision was a difficult one, but with the current economic situation, his business requires his complete attention.

"Assistant House Minority Leader David Balmer, R-Centennial, declined to comment Friday evening on whether he will take up the reins of his caucus in light of the announcement by recently re-elected House Minority Leader Mike May, R-Parker, that he will step down in January to tend to his business.

“Today is not a day to speculate about who will emerge as the leader of our caucus,” Balmer told Political Notebook. “Instead we need to just pay tribute to Mike May.”"