Gov. "Blue Ribbon" Bill Ritter Vows Own Decision On Salazar Replacement By Asking For Your Input

Yesterday, it looked like Gov. Ritter was finally up to the task of making his own decision on who to appoint for open Senate seat left by Sen. Salazar's appointment to Obama's cabinet:

"In the coming days, I will work thoughtfully, deliberately and quickly to identify a successor," Gov. Ritter said. "With the economy in crisis and many other important issues facing the next Congress and the new Obama administration, Colorado must have the best talent at the U.S. Capitol."

But this is Gov. Ritter we're talking about, so of course there will have to be outside input--from all of us:

Gov. Bill Ritter (D-Colorado) wants to hear from you on the topic of who he should select to replace Sen. Ken Salazar (D-Colorado). Salazar will be resigning his seat shortly to become the country's next Secretary of the Interior. Colorado law gives Ritter the sole power to select a replacement senator who will then be up for election in 2010.
. . .
The e-mail address for people who want to send in their suggestions is: ussenate.comments@state.co.us.

"He wants to be able to see what people are saying and thinking," said Ritter's communications director, Evan Dreyer, in a telephone interview with 9NEWS. "This is an important position at a very important time in our state's history and in our nation's history. The economic challenges alone are daunting and it's important to Governor Ritter that all people, all across Colorado, have an opportunity to provide their thoughts and opinions."

Governors have been given the power to appoint replacements to the Senate, unlike the need for special elections in open Congressional districts (which we could see if either Rep. Ed Perlmutter or Rep. John Salazar are tapped for Sen. Salazar's seat). The governor will obviously be appointing a Democrat, so who should non-Democrats favor in the short-term going into the 2010 election? In other words, who is the weakest Dem candidate in the field?

Leave your suggestions in the comments.

Official: Salazar At Interior

With an ambitious set of goals:

Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar today was nominated to be Interior secretary by President-elect Barack Obama today.

"I look forward to serving as a strong voice for the West and the nation," Salazar said in his acceptance speech.

"I look forward to serving as we take the moon shot on energy independence," he said.

Salazar said as Interior Secretary he would also, "make sure we make wise use our natural resources, including coal, oil and natural gas."

"I look forward to investing in our nation's young people by implementing Barack Obama's youth programs," Salazar said.

Obama noted that one of the priorities for Salazar's tenure would be improved relations between Washington and tribal nations.

"We need more of a nation-to-nation relationship," Obama said. "Ken and I will work to together to make sure tribal nations have a voice in this administration."

Color fellow RMA blogger Steven Nielson unimpressed on that last goal. We can also expect that "wise use" of natural resources, including the vast quantities of Colorado oil shale, will probably mean "unused"--as the numerous articles discussing Salazar's appointment point repeatedly to his opposition of oil shale exploration and production.

The Rocky posted odds on the most likely replacements--including Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, Rep. Ed Perlmutter (CD-7), and former Colorado House Speaker Andrew Romanoff.

The GOP sees an opening in 2010 with the Salazar departure, but will still need to figure out who exactly remains viable on the extremely short Republican bench for both Salazar's Senate seat and a run against Gov. Bill Ritter, and how to avoid the type of ineffective campaigning seen most prominently in Bob Beauprez's failed gubernatorial bid in 2006.

Sen. Ken Salazar In At Interior?; **Update: Salazar Accepts

**Update--Denver Post reports that Salazar has accepted the offer, and speculates on the Dems that could line up to replace him:

Names floated as possible successors include Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper; U.S. Reps. John Salazar, Ed Perlmutter and Diana DeGette; Denver Public Schools Superintendent Michael Bennet; outgoing state House Speaker Andrew Romanoff; and former U.S. Attorney Tom Strickland, among others.

A Hickenlooper, DeGette, or Romanoff appointment would mean no trouble for the Democrats, given the skew of Denver, CD-1 or, in Romanoff's case, no seat in question. Appointing Ken's brother John or Perlmutter would open up CD-3 or CD-7 to a hotly contested race. Bennet is less well-known, and Strickland is a two-time Senate loser (to outgoing Sen. Wayne Allard, 1996 and 2002).

Pols offers its own Salazar replacement analysis, arguing the case for Perlmutter or Romanoff.

---

Earlier:
Question mark because he hasn't been publicly offered the position and hasn't, it appears from the sources, formally accepted the offer yet.

From the Rocky:

Sen. Ken Salazar has been offered the position of Interior Secretary in President-elect Barack Obama's cabinet and could accept it within a matter of days, sources told the Rocky Mountain News on Monday.

Salazar has long been considered a leading candidate for Interior Secretary, based in part on his past work leading the state Department of Natural Resources.

On Monday, three Democratic sources who spoke on condition of anonymity said that Salazar had been offered the job, and there were conflicting accounts about whether he had yet officially accepted the position.

Although one source said an announcement was a "done deal," two others said he was still wrestling with a difficult decision as of Monday night.

"He's a very thoughtful guy, and this is a big decision," one source said. "It's a great opportunity, but so is being in the Senate."

Fellow RMAer Rocky Mountain Right has been following the rollercoaster yes-he-is-no-he-isn't for Sen. Salazar's potential appointment to Barack Obama's cabinet.

Was Salazar worried about a possibly difficult primary and general election in 2010?

Should he take up Obama's offer, we should expect Gov. "Blue Ribbon" Bill Ritter to create yet another panel/committee and ask for applications from any and all to be Salazar's replacement. Question to Democrats--is Ritter really capable of making any decision without the assistance of others? You know, actually "governing"?

This also makes the 2010 election a virtual open seat. The competition for the GOP side just ratcheted up a notch, now that the Dems will be without a true incumbent. Looks like another expensive Senate race--and an extra seat for the Dems to defend without the Obama effect to help the ticket.

Secretary Ken--bad for oil shale.