Blake: Opportunities to Ponder

Published February 28, 2007 at midnight

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Republican strategist Jacque Ponder spent almost a decade running either Rep. Tom Tancredo's campaigns or his congressional office.

But now she's Secretary of State Mike Coffman's chief administrative officer.

That's led to speculation she might help run Coffman's campaign for Congress on the off chance that Tancredo gives up his seat in order to run for president. After all, nobody knows the district better.

Maybe she would. But Coffman notes that he didn't hire Ponder away from Tancredo. She left his office last fall, having grown tired of the commute between Denver and Washington. Coffman snapped her up when he learned she was available, and highly praises her management skills.

She was originally hired to become director-in-waiting of the licensing division, since incumbent Mike Shea, a national guardsman, will leave for a second tour in Iraq this spring. But when administrative chief Brian Anderson took a job with the state transportation department, Coffman picked her to replace him.

Ponder's political experience includes running Ronald Reagan's presidential campaigns in Colorado during the 1980s, and in 1992 she helped Dick Wadhams organize Terry Considine's Senate campaign. Considine ended up losing to then-Democrat Ben Nighthorse Campbell.

Although Tancredo insists he's seriously looking at the presidential race, he has left open the option of running for his seat again next year. And unless there's some huge disaster perpetrated by illegal immigrants, propelling him back into the national spotlight, re-election is his probable goal.

Coffman was elected to a four-year term in November - the only Republican to win a major open statewide seat - but he refuses to rule out the possibility of running for something else in midterm. It could be for Tancredo's seat, if it falls open, and it might even be for the GOP Senate nomination.

"You never say never - as I've learned," he said Tuesday.

Not that Coffman would be alone in either race. Former U.S. Reps. Scott McInnis and Bob Schaffer are already likely to run for the Senate; a 6th Congressional District primary would draw a full house of GOP candidates.

One of the names tossed about is that of state Sen. Tom Wiens of Castle Rock, who hasn't forgotten he lost a congressional race a quarter century ago in the 3rd District to Democrat Ray Kogovsek.

Also mentioned is Rep. David Balmer of Centennial. He too has run and lost a congressional race. But it was in North Carolina in 1994. He lost a runoff after he got caught padding his résumé. He has since worked hard to live down the incident, and is known as a successful fund-raiser for Republican legislative candidates.

Former Senate President John Andrews would look at the race, and so would state Sen. Nancy Spence of Centennial and former state Sen. John Evans of Parker.

All of them would be happy to point out to primary voters that if Coffman runs, he'd have to resign his job, since you can't really run your own campaign while serving as the state's chief elections officer.

And if he did resign, Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter would be entitled to pick a replacement to serve out his term. It would in all likelihood be a Democrat; after all, when Democrat Ken Salazar resigned his job as attorney general to become a U.S. senator, Gov. Bill Owens picked Republican John Suthers to succeed him.

These factors should discourage Coffman from making a congressional race in midterm even if Tancredo chooses to run for president. Coffman might never say never, but the voters might say never if they think he's overreaching.

It's also possible that Ponder, with all that campaign experience, might be prevailed upon to help another Republican candidate run in the 6th District.

blakep@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5119.

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