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Group's tactic: To elect Republican, promote Democrat

By Lynn Bartels, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published October 31, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.
Updated October 31, 2008 at 12:27 a.m.

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A political committee working to get Republicans elected to the state House sent a mailing urging voters in the San Luis Valley to write in a Democratic candidate.

That's right, a Democrat.

The move is a strategic effort to give the Republican a better shot by splitting the Democratic vote. Members of both parties criticized the tactic.

Some Republicans questioned why the committee headed by Rep. David Balmer, R-Centennial, is spending its money praising a Democrat.

"This doesn't strike me as a very wise use of limited resources," said Rep. Rob Witwer, R-Genesee.

Monica Piergrossi, caucus director for the Colorado House Democrats, called the mailing "just another slimy move by Balmer."

But Balmer had his own "s" word for Democrats. He said their attack mailings against Republicans have been "sleazy."

He said the Colorado Leadership Fund, the political committee he has headed since 2005, has spent its money only on "positive" mailings.

"There's no exception," he said, although he conceded a Democrat has never been its beneficiary until now.

The House District 62 race pits Democrat Ed Vigil of Fort Garland against Republican Randy Jackson of Alamosa.

The mailer gushes about the current representative, Democrat Rafael Gallegos, who is serving his second term in the state House. Gallegos, who could not be reached for comment, did not make the ballot at the state convention in May, but now is a write-in candidate.

The GOP mailer says that while in the legislature, Gallegos "brought home real results that have made a difference."

"He has put working, middle-class families first and worked to increase health care coverage and lower gas and grocery costs," the mailer says.

Vigil, a Costilla County commissioner, said he was "totally surprised" when he saw the mailer, and even more so when it found out it was paid for by Republicans.

"I thought, 'What the heck is going on?' " he said.