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Perlmutter charts course that's middle-of-the-road

Chris Barge, Rocky Mountain News

Published July 24, 2006 at midnight

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Ed Perlmutter got a speeding ticket in February after dropping his youngest daughter off at Wheat Ridge High School.

The basically single father of three daughters was hurrying home to pick up something he'd need for a day of campaigning.

When the officer approached Perlmutter's window, he must have gotten a glimpse into what life was like for the Democratic candidate in the hotly contested 7th Congressional District.

These days, thanks to his daughters who are all home for the summer, forgotten tubes of lipstick litter Perlmutter's car along with distinctly female magazines such as US Weekly and Vogue.

Perlmutter and his wife, Deana, are separated "but working on things," he said. His wife, like each of his daughters, is volunteering with his campaign.

For Perlmutter, politics is in the family.

His first television advertisement featured his oldest daughter, Alexis, who has epilepsy. Perlmutter says one of the main reasons he's running for Congress is to push for expanded stem cell research, which he says could help cure his daughter.

Other top priorities would include ending the conflict in Iraq, balancing the budget and expanding renewable energy, he said.

Born in Denver in 1953, Perlmutter's parents moved the family to the Wheat Ridge/Golden area when he was two months old.

His interest in politics bloomed early as a kid helping his father canvass local neighborhoods for various campaigns.

The Democratic party appealed to him because he said it embraced cooperation and helping others. The Republican party seemed to favor more of an "everyone for himself" philosophy, he said.

A product of Jefferson High School in Edgewater, he attended the University of Colorado in Boulder. He worked his way through CU law school with part-time construction jobs. He was elected president of his class twice before graduating in 1978.

He married Deana in 1980. Their daughters are ages 15, 19 and 25.

Though Perlmutter's campaign materials de-emphasize his job as a lawyer, he is a director at the Denver law firm of Berenbaum, Weinshienk and Eason, where he specializes in bankruptcy law.

If Perlmutter wins the primary, Rick O'Donnell, the lone Republican in the race, is sure to remind voters regularly of his opponent's day job. But Denise Maes, a partner at Perlmutter's law firm, said his profession is a positive for a politician.

Honest, caring and full of integrity, Perlmutter is a smart man and a cunning advocate who never presumes that there will be a loser at the end of a conflict, Maes said.

"His sense of justice is to make sure everyone gets a piece of the pie," she said.

Perlmutter was elected to the state Senate in District 20 in 1994, becoming the first Democrat to take the seat in nearly 30 years.

In 2000, he helped Democrats wrestle control of the state Senate from Republicans for the first time since John F. Kennedy was president.

Despite his efforts to strengthen his own party, Perlmutter managed to retain a reputation for crafting bipartisan legislation.

"I fight when I have to fight, but my preference is to work with people," he said.

Dottie Wham, a Republican who served with Perlmutter through 2000, said he is an effective agent of compromise.

At times, however, he got sidetracked by details, she said. "He has that kind of a mind. He's always inquiring," she said. "And he would sometimes inquire too far."

Perlmutter was elected to the post of Senate president pro tem in 2001 and left the Senate because of term limits in 2002.

That year, Colorado was granted a seventh seat in the U.S. Congress, and Perlmutter thought hard about running. He passed on the opportunity then and in 2004, but kept his political feet wet by being co-chairman of John Kerry's presidential campaign in Colorado.

He said having time at home with his family was more important at the time. He coached his youngest daughter Zoey's softball team and helped lead a campaign to raise the mill levy to improve Jeffco Public Schools. He volunteered with the PTA and at Applewood Community Church.

Last year, however, when Rep. Bob Beauprez, a Republican, announced he'd leave the congressional seat to run for governor, Perlmutter jumped in.

His abilities to examine issues and make rational decisions are among the reasons he'd make a great congressman, he and his supporters say.

"What excites me is bringing the course of this country more on track, back to the middle," he said.

Ed Perlmutter

Age: 53

Born: Denver

Education: Bachelor's degree, University of Colorado; J.D., CU School of Law.

Experience:

• Colorado state senator, 1995-2003, District 20 in Wheat Ridge/Golden.

• Helped lead Democratic takeover of the Senate in 2000;

• Was co-chairman of John Kerry's Colorado presidential campaign;

• He's a director of the law firm of Berenbaum, Weinshienk and Eason, specializing in business reorganizations and commercial litigation.