Littwin: Will Hickenlooper take a do-over?

By Mike Littwin, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published November 5, 2005 at midnight

Text size

More News Columns & Blogs

I don't want to say we should make this a rule, more like a guideline.

But anyone willing to jump out of an airplane to get a referendum passed - and who survives the fall - ought to be considered for some kind of special dispensation.

In the case of Jumpin' John Hickenlooper, who has repeatedly said he would not run for governor, that would mean a chance to perform a gubernatorial do-over.

The question is, will he take the leap?

What I know is, the world shifted on Tuesday when Referendum C passed. You can still feel the tectonic plates - not to mention Bob Beauprez's teeth - rattling.

It wasn't just Hickenlooper who did an extraordinary thing. There were the voters themselves - who made a real investment in the future. Not in a slogan about the future, but in the real future.

When you vote to take $3.7 billion out of your pockets, that is more than just upping the ante. That's the electoral equivalent of going all-in.

(And, no, I'm not forgetting Ref D, although about 5 percent of pro-C voters obviously did.)

It's fairly clear why Ref C passed. People looked around and noticed that they were living in a state that had somehow become an underachiever.

This wasn't simply about a TABOR glitch and a budget crisis. There were self-esteem issues.

This was about a state underfunding higher ed, a state that wasn't prepared to do the right thing on Medicaid, a state that won't even commit to require full-day kindergarten.

The vote took it a step further. A vote for Ref C also meant that people believed Colorado could do better.

And that's where Hickenlooper comes in. Because it has to matter, in the post-Ref C world, which side of history you're on.

Bill Owens, Republican governor, understood that. Hank Brown, Republican CU president and former U.S. senator, understood that.

There was a responsible position to take. And then there was the position taken by the two Republican candidates for governor.

Both were on the wrong side of history, including Both Ways Bob Beauprez, who was accused of being on, well, both sides.

Marc Holtzman, in making Ref C a campaign issue, joined forces with Jon Caldara and the other anti-government types. Beauprez also officially opposed Ref C, but not - as Jon Stewart would put it - so much.

Beauprez, the heavy favorite in the race, either couldn't bring himself to loudly oppose Bill Owens or maybe, as Holtzman alleged, he didn't really think Ref C was such a bad idea.

The opportunity is for someone who believes Ref C is a good idea.

Whatever House Minority Leader Joe Stengel says - and he probably wouldn't pass the CPA boards either - this is still a Republican-majority state. Ref C wouldn't have passed without Owens in front. It got strong backing in many rural counties. The Denver suburbs virtually split.

But where Stengel could be right is that Democrats' chances have significantly improved since Tuesday.

I should mention Bill Ritter at this point. The former Denver DA is, of course, to this point the lone Democrat running for governor. He also favored Ref C .

He's also anti-abortion, which makes him vulnerable if there's a primary. And he's also Bill Ritter, which means, for many voters, they have to pause to remember who he is.

In other words, he's not Ken Salazar, who would love to run for governor but would look ridiculous if he left the Senate after a year.

And he's not John Hickenlooper.

There was always a chance for someone to challenge Ritter. But now it's the way to bet.

The rumor is that Andrew Romanoff is tempted to enter the race. The House speaker is 39 - and looks younger. But he's also bright and funny and the one who introduced the idea that turned into Ref C - and then helped forge the compromise that made it possible.

He made it to every Rotary Club across the state - as did several legislators of both parties - and belonged in the victory photo alongside Owens.

But he's not Hickenlooper either - and wouldn't run if Hickenlooper did.

If there's a model for Democrats, it's a businessman who has actually run things, a liberal who doesn't go out of his way to mention he's a liberal. No one can explain why Hickenlooper's approval numbers are quite so high. But everyone is counting.

And if Republicans try to define him by too-liberal stances on gay marriage or illegal immigration, Hickenlooper has already defined himself in Denver and in the suburbs.

He likes being mayor, but it isn't as if he has his photo up at the airport. If he wants to accomplish things, he would get a chance, in the post-Katrina world, to show government can do more than get Brownie his heckuva wardrobe.

Of course, Hickenlooper is supposed to be the non-politician politician, who risks just being another politician politician by leaving one office too soon and grabbing for the next.

But if there's something to historical imperative, this would be Hickenlooper's time. It may be his only chance if he wants to be governor. And there's the certainty that he can't remain as popular as he is now. No one does. Ask George W. Bush's pollster. Democrats sense that 2006 could be their time.

I'm told Hickenlooper is tempted. We know he's not risk averse.

He has a terrible fear of heights, and yet he jumped out of that airplane - twice.

He didn't even need to be pushed.

littwinm@rockymountainnews.com

Subscribe to the Rocky Mountain News