Tag: Ken Salazar

Colorado senator Ken Salazar's replacement, Denver schools superintendant Michael Bennet, has been named by Gov. Ritter. But it sounds like Salazar, soon to be Interior Secretary, is having trouble handing over the reins to his successor:

Salazar said Sunday he would like to provide recommendations on filling two vacancies in U.S. District court in Denver as well as picking a new U.S. attorney and marshal before stepping down later this month.

Shouldn't those be Michael Bennet's choices? It's highly unlikely any of those appointments will be made before Salazar's confirmation hearings. Not only that:

Before leaving, Salazar said he'd also like to pass eight bills dealing mainly with wilderness and conservation issues. One would define bans on mining, timber harvesting and new roads and constructions in Rocky Mountain National Park. Another would establish the Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area.

Someone needs to tell Sen. Salazar it's time to move on.

President-elect Barack Obama will hold a news conference today and name Colorado Senator Ken Salazar as Secretary of Interior and former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack as Agriculture Secretary.

Colorado Governor Bill Ritter will name Salazar's Senate replacement. Tonight the local news is reporting the top names are Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper and Reps. Diana DeGette, Ed Perlmutter and John Salazar. One clue may be Ritter's statement today:

Wwe are mindful that there is a great deal of work to be done at the very beginning of Congress, the very early parts of January, so we'll take all that into consideration.

That signals to me he will pick someone already in Congress. Also important: Who is a proven fund-raiser. The 2010 election isn't far away and Republicans will make a strong attempt to get the Senate seat back. [More...]

Bump and update: Our local news is reporting Sen. Salazar has been offered and accepted the cabinet position of Secretary of the Interior.

The speculation now turns to who Gov. Ritter will name to replace him. Top names mentioned: Reps. Ed Perlmutter and Diana DeGette , Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper and Colorado House speaker Andrew Romanoff. My choices: Diana DeGette, followed by Ed Perlmutter. [More...]

Via Colorado Lib:

On The Chris Matthews Show this morning, one of the 12 regulars opined that Hillary Clinton's best choice for a runningmate would be Colorado Senator Ken Salazar.

Jason Bane provides his analysis over at 5280's Elevated Voices. The show transcript is here.