Sitting state lawmakers won't return to Statehouse

Bruce, Borodkin among legislators losing their seats

By Ed Sealover, Rocky Mountain News

Published August 13, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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Rollie Heath

Photo by Brian Lehmann © The Rocky

Joyce Foster reacts at her campaign party after hearing she held a commanding lead over state Rep. Alice Borodkin in District 35. Foster won the Democratic primary.

Glenn Vaad

Douglas Bruce

Mark Waller

Controversial Rep. Douglas Bruce didn't get a return ticket to the state Capitol.

Attorney Mark Waller scored a victory in the Republican House District 15 primary to knock Bruce out of the legislature.

The political newcomer capitalized on a rare wave of anti-Bruce sentiment in El Paso County, which gave birth to the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights author's political career.

Bruce's race drew the most attention in a primary full of closely watched legislative contests, including Joyce Foster's upending of Rep. Alice Borodkin in an open Denver Senate seat and former gubernatorial candidate Rollie Heath's apparent capture of a Boulder Senate seat.

Top Republican leaders in the House and many of Bruce's fellow El Paso County lawmakers endorsed Waller after Bruce, appointed to fill a vacant seat, had one of the most controversial legislative careers in memory.

He was censured for kicking a Rocky photographer, gaveled off the floor for calling migrant workers "illiterate peasants" and yanked off a committee for not supporting a resolution honoring veterans.

Bruce, who did not return a call seeking comment, responded by accusing the political establishment of trying to push him out of office.

His primary campaign questioned Waller's voting history, his commitment to conservative principles and even his identity (Mark is Waller's middle name).

Waller fashioned himself as someone who would vote like a Republican but would actually reach out to others to get things done.

"I think sticking to the message was a big deal," Waller said. "The one thing we weren't willing to do was to take this negative."

Rep. Jim Kerr, R-Littleton may have put it best. "I think Mark Waller has 'de-Bruced' House District 15," he said.

Foster, a former Denver City Council president, blew out feisty Rep. Alice Borodkin, to win the Democratic primary for the open Senate District 35 seat.

Borodkin accused Foster of having a conflict of interest because Foster's son is a Capitol lobbyist, while Foster tried to emphasize a career spent working across divides.

In the end, Foster, like Waller, speculated that her positive campaign led to her victory, in which she pulled more than twice as many votes as Borodkin.

"I'm a a little embarrassed," the 75-year-old Borodkin said. "I didn't expect to be that far behind."

Heath has healthy lead

Rollie Heath, the 2002 Democratic gubernatorial nominee, appeared to be on his way to winning the party's primary for the open Senate District 18 seat. With all mail-in ballots counted, he held a strong lead over University of Colorado Regent Cindy Carlisle.

In a surprisingly close races, first-term GOP state Rep. Glenn Vaad held onto the nomination for his rural Weld County seat by a slim margin over contractor Marc Yingling, who did not even set up a Web site.

The Colorado Alliance for a Secure America, a group of illegal immigration opponents, attacked Vaad for one of his legislative votes.

In other races:

* Deputy Attorney General Beth McCann easily beat party activist Matt Bergles in the race to succeed term-limited Democratic Rep. Rosemary Marshall. Marshall had endorsed Bergles.

* Educator Lois Court edged party activist Liz Adams in the Democratic primary to succeed term-limited House Speaker Andrew Romanoff.

Joshua Sharf rolled to victory over Rima Sinclair by more than a 2-to-1 ratio in the Republican primary for the same Denver-area seat.

sealovere@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5438. Staff writer Lynn Bartels contributed to this report.

• August 13, 2008

  7:12 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  SL10 writes:

  Bye bye Bruce. lol.

• August 13, 2008

  5:25 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  EdwardGRobinson writes:

  1946: at the demise of the '1000-year Reich', Quote :
  "... ironic how a thousand years passed by so quickly"

  January-August 2008: in light of a house loophole guaranteeing up to eight years before DB's terms would expire:
  " ... ironic how eight years just flew by"

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