Former president of state Senate Fitz-Gerald emphasizes record

By John Aguilar, Daily Camera

Published July 22, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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Photo by Joan Fitz-Gerald

Joan Hogan married John Fitz-Gerald on July 22, 1972, in New York City.

Photo by Barry Gutierrez / The Rocky

Joan Fitz-Gerald listens to the moderator during a debate among Democratic candidates for the 2nd Congressional District at the Boulder Municipal Building on Friday.

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Bulldog.

It's a word used by both critics and supporters to describe Joan Fitz-Gerald, former state Senate president and Democratic contender for the 2nd Congressional District seat.

After following the diminutive but perpetually restless candidate around on the campaign trail for an afternoon, it becomes increasingly apparent why she gets the label.

A south Boulder resident on Fitz-Gerald's list isn't home - but her husband is. Fitz-Gerald quickly gauges the man's level of support, reminds him he can get a rebate if he repairs the solar panels on his roof, and slips in the fact that as a state senator she helped push the energy bill that put the rebate on the books.

She charges industriously up Kenwood Drive and talks with a woman for nearly 15 minutes about the state of education.

At the next house, a quick exchange reveals that both she and Boulder resident Richard Goldfarb left New York City 31 years ago to live in Colorado.

"Can I make you a yard-sign person?" Fitz-Gerald asks excitedly.

Goldfarb agrees.

And so goes Fitz-Gerald's campaign for Congress, the 60-year- old mother of two adult children employing the same determination she used to become Jefferson County's first Democratic clerk and recorder and the Colorado Senate's first woman president.

"I ran because nobody else would take on the challenge of running in a Republican district," Fitz-Gerald said of her successful 1990 run for Jeffco clerk. "It was not going to be a glory-filled race - it was going to be a lot of hard work - and yet I knew that job could be done better."

A kind of siege mentality can creep into the way Fitz-Gerald describes her political battles.

She was chastened by her loss to incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Dan Schaefer in the 1996 race for the 6th Congressional District seat, and the experience taught her important lessons in campaign organization and dealing with political attacks.

"I learned how to live as a human being and be under attack, and still go out and get your message out," she said. "That's a valuable life lesson."

Joanne Kortendick, Jefferson County's assistant county attorney, recalls being impressed by her former colleague's tenacity during the race for clerk 18 years ago.

She also remembers seeing the first signs of the no-nonsense reputation Fitz-Gerald is known for.

"She's not afraid of stepping on some toes, if she has to," Kortendick said.

It's a style that some say might prove off-putting and counterproductive, especially in a collegial and hierarchical body like the U.S. House of Representatives.

Mark Hillman, a Republican wheat farmer from Burlington who served for four years with Fitz-Gerald in the Senate, said his colleague was often confrontational.

"It seemed like she came in looking for something to be offended about," he said. "I think her leadership style could best be called abrasive."

But Hillman concedes the impression one gets of Fitz-Gerald's approach to negotiation is heavily colored by what side of the political fence one happens to be on.

"The flip side of being abrasive and acerbic is that if she is on your side, you'd say she was your bulldog," he said. "Whether you agree with her or not, or like her style or not, you'll always know where you stand with her."

What's more important, said Boulder state Rep. Claire Levy, is that Fitz-Gerald has developed a critical knowledge of the legislative process, unlike her less-experienced opponents.

Rival Jared Polis has made an issue of Fitz-Gerald's stance on the Iraq war, calling her out on two votes she cast in the state Senate in 2003 that belie her stated opposition to the conflict.

One resolution declared support for President Bush's role as commander in chief and the other commended the administration's goal of removing Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein from power. Fitz- Gerald supported both.

She said she did so because the resolutions also called for supporting the troops and Democrats didn't have the numbers in the legislature to strip out language they deemed objectionable. Fitz-Gerald said she's adamant about bringing U.S. troops home from Iraq.

She said she would love to serve on the House Energy and Commerce Committee if elected. But she stops herself short, knowing that political realities probably won't yield a plumb position like that quite so soon.

"In all humility, I will take what they give me, and I'll make it the most exciting thing I've ever done in my life," she said, and then added with a laugh, "Because that's what you do."

Joan Fitz-Gerald

* Residence: Coal Creek Canyon

* Age: 60, born in New York City

* Occupation/background: First woman to serve as Jefferson County clerk and recorder; first woman to serve as state Senate president, a position she resigned last fall to run for Congress

* Family: Husband, John; two grown sons, Matt and Patrick

* Education: Bachelor of arts, Marymount Manhattan College; briefly attended Fordham University Law

* Most pressing issue in your district: Affordable health care. People talk to me about getting lower- cost prescription drugs, getting health insurance coverage for mental- health issues, getting affordable care for elderly, infirm parents. Some tell me about how their employer-based health insurance programs have been dropped. Most dispiriting to me is talking to veterans who aren't getting adequate care.

* Major endorsements: Software entrepreneur and philanthropist Tim Gill; state House Majority Leader Alice Madden, of Boulder; more than a dozen unions; Emily's List; and the Progressive Democrats of America

* By the way: Ran the New York City marathon in 1993

* If you were stranded on a deserted island, what three things would you want with you? A good, thick book, sun block (SPF 45+) and a raft

* Favorite books: To Kill a Mockingbird, Citizen Soldiers

* Money raised: $1.5 million, including $15,000 of her own money

* Touts: Her record of success in the legislature, from tackling the budget crisis to making Colorado a leader in renewable energy

* Critics say: She's difficult to get along with and talks more about her record in the legislature than what she plans to do in Congress

* Web site: www.joanfitz-gerald.com

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