Blake: Ah, the special perks of that glamour post

Published July 29, 2006 at midnight

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Being a county clerk and recorder in Colorado is, in one peculiar way, almost as good as being a member of Congress.

That's because the law allows you to mail out, at taxpayer expense, "newsletters" and other voter information with your picture on it and your name in big type.

Congress has a manual bulging with regulations concerning how many pictures members can include per newsletter, how large they can be, and how many times per page they can use their names or the pronoun "I."

But there are no regulations governing the practice by the county clerks. To be sure, most of them are still more diffident about self-promotion than the average congressman, who was born with his own silver horn in his mouth for tooting.

On the other hand, the clerks can mail out their pieces closer to the election than Congress can.

A few years ago, there was a legislative attempt in Colorado to prohibit the use of names and photos on materials from the offices of elected officials, but it died aborning.

The clerks' self-promotion has not elicited many complaints over the years, but the Arapahoe County Democrats have chosen to protest County Clerk Nancy Doty's recent purple mailer.

The two-sided flyer includes her picture and (four times) her name. There is a personal greeting from her as well as information about registration deadlines, election dates, early-voting locations, the new county voting machines, and the four locations where Arapahoe residents can register to vote, register their autos and obtain a marriage license.

Doty, a Republican, was elected in the wake of Tracy Baker's recall in February 2004, and is standing for a full four-year term this fall.

Mark Hampton, first vice chair of the county Democrats, claimed it resembles campaign material. "We think it's a shame that our tax dollars are going to Nancy Doty's campaign literature instead of to schools or a reliable absentee ballot system," he said.

"I did it last year too," said Doty in her own defense, "and there were no complaints."

Besides, she noted, "nowhere does it say I'm a candidate."

For the record, the Democratic candidate for Arapahoe clerk is Kathleen Conway.

Carole Murray, the Douglas County clerk and head of the statewide clerks' association, also sent out a mailer recently, as she does annually.

"It's just one of those things you do in an election year," she said. Election mailings are "one reason the county clerk is the best-known county official. . . It's part of the reality of being an incumbent."

To be sure, Murray is term-limited and can't run again this fall.

Term limits in Denver: Does the term-limits law actually protect incumbents from early challenges?

That's the theory of one local lawyer who doesn't want his name used, being in a politically sensitive job.

"One of the unintended consequences of term-limits laws is that people just bide their time waiting for the last term to end," he said.

We'll soon find out if he's right.

It may not be as true in Denver since the council members, auditor and mayor are now limited to three four-year terms, not two, under a change approved by voters in 2003. Waiting for 12 years instead of eight may be too much for ambitious political types.

Ten of Denver's 13 City Council members were first elected in 2003.

Two others must leave in 2007 having served only two terms. That's because the charter change was specifically drafted to prevent those already in office from taking advantage of it.

The two now in their last term in office are Kathleen MacKenzie (District 7) and Elbra Wedgeworth (District 8). They were first elected in 1999.

Wedgeworth noted there are at least two names out there who might seek her job: Former legislator and mayoral candidate Penfield Tate, and Will Alston, formerly a chamber of commerce executive. But other names are likely to emerge over the next few months.

Wedgeworth isn't certain what she'll do after leaving office but isn't worried about it. She worked as a staffer for the City Council, the auditor's office and for Mayor Wellington Webb before running for office herself, but is still too young to retire.

"I've had a great career for a kid from Curtis Park," she said.

There are at least eight candidates for MacKenzie's seat in various stages of commitment so far. They include her own aide, Julie Connor; Councilwoman Carol Boigon's aide, Shelly Watters; Dennis Smith, who ran against MacKenzie in 1999; and Andy Archuleta, a retired firefighter;

Also Chris Nevitt, founder of the Front Range Economic Strategy Center, a labor group; Jan Belle, director of the Southwest Improvement Council; Ari Harrison, a businessman; and Jake Schroeder, lead singer for the rock group Opie Gone Bad.

Term limits "make you a lame duck for a long time," MacKenzie said. "People keep asking, 'Now, when are you out?' "

Then there's Charlie Brown, District 6. He was elected in the summer of 2001 to replace Sue Casey, who resigned in mid-term. He's allowed to run twice more because his first term was less than two years.

But he won't. "Suzanne (his wife) won't allow it," he said.

Brown does intend to run for one more term next year. He has no challengers yet "but there will be," he said.

blakep@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-5119.

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