Mayor Hickenlooper rejects Democratic superdelegate role

He says he must be neutral; Pena likely choice

By David Montero, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Mayor John Hickenlooper withdrew his name Wednesday from consideration to be an at-large superdelegate to the Democratic National Convention, saying he wanted to remain neutral as head of the host city.

It turned out to be a pretty easy call for the mayor.

"It was never a high priority," Hickenlooper said. "It seemed like it might be useful, but I'm committed to being impartial and, by not choosing someone, that seemed counter to actually being a delegate."

Hickenlooper was to square off against former Denver Mayor Federico Pena on Saturday at the state party convention for the at-large position, but with the mayor bowing out, it paves the way for Pena to grab that uncommitted slot.

Colorado Democratic Party Chairwoman Pat Waak also said it came in time before they printed more than 5,000 ballots with both names on it.

The mayor hasn't committed to either Sen. Barack Obama or Sen. Hillary Clinton, but Pena is a national co-chairman for Obama and would arrive at the convention promising to support the Illinois senator.

Pena said Hickenlooper called him Wednesday morning to tell him of his decision.

"The mayor was very gracious," he said. "As two good Democrats, there is a way forward, and I very much appreciate this thoughtfulness and graciousness in the matter. The important thing is the mayor should be present at the convention, and he has credentials for that. Recognizing that and also saying he needed to remain neutral as the mayor of the host city, he said he didn't need to be a delegate."

The at-large slot gives Colorado 15 superdelegates - only five of whom remain uncommitted.

Obama took the state's superdelegate lead 5-4 over Clinton when former Colorado Gov. Roy Romer endorsed Obama on Tuesday. With Pena now getting that at-large spot, it gives Obama six superdelegates in Colorado.

Superdelegates are the elected officials and party leaders who are free to vote for the candidate they think has the best chance of winning in November.

Hickenlooper, who will be out of town this weekend, said he is already credentialed for the convention Aug. 25-28 and that he would have plenty to do as the mayor of the host city. He also said he hadn't had much time to think about the at-large position.

"I've been focused on other things," he said. He also pointed out that he didn't seek out the at-large position but was instead nominated for it.

Pena, who was a former Cabinet member to President Bill Clinton, also was nominated by Obama supporters.

Waak said she never expected it to come down to a battle between the two on Saturday, adding that she wasn't surprised by Hickenlooper's decision.

Bloggers named

Democratic National Committee head Howard Dean on Wednesday named the bloggers that will be credentialed to cover the party's convention in Denver Aug. 25-28.

* In Colorado, the winner is SquareState.net. They will be part of the DemConvention State Blogger Corps covering the four-day convention at the Pepsi Center.

* The committee organizing the convention previously announced that bloggers would get unprecedented access to the gathering.

* Bloggers will be seated with their respective delegations during the convention, and highlights from their blogs also will be featured on www.Dem Convention.com.

• May 14, 2008

  4:23 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  lencho_elias writes:

  Pena and Obama... hell ya!~!

  Take that whitey...

• May 14, 2008

  4:29 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  Froward69 writes:

  hey!! take that rethugs... lencho_elias, no need to show your racial bias... we are all Democrats.

• May 14, 2008

  9:20 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  Gene writes:

  That's why they call him Chickenlooper.

• May 14, 2008

  10:24 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  SteveM writes:

  Does anyone see kind of a creepy parallel between the Democratic Primary wins by the good Senator from Illinois and those won by the current President of the United States in one or both elections? Is Senator Obama the Red State Blue Candidate? If so, I wonder what that tells us?

• May 15, 2008

  8:15 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  samsmargolis writes:

  Let's see if I have this right:

  In the not-so-distant past...
  - Pena already announced his support for Obama.
  - Democratic Party wants Hillary to give up the race, pressure on.
  - Hickenlooper announces cash shortfall for DNC donations.

  In the here-and-now...
  - Hickenlooper throws out lame "host city" excuse giving Pena the superdelegate seat.
  - Obama gets another superdelegate.
  - Hickenlooper likely to get cover for DNC cash shortfall for his martyrdom.

  Nothing to see here, folks. Move along, please. Nothing suspicious at all - business as usual....please, move along.