A weekly look at the lighter side, or something, of what goes on at the state Capitol.

He did what?…Gov. John Hickenlooper didn’t participate in a caucus on Tuesday night.

The governor explained he was double-booked and failed to remember that Caucus Night was on the horizon. But he also said that since voters approved a ballot measure allowing unaffiliated voters to participate in primaries, it’s taken away some of the importance of the caucus. It’s just another part of the process now, Hickenlooper said.

Anatomy of a signature…In observing one of the governor’s signing ceremonies this week, Capitol M got curious about the number of pens he uses to sign a bill. It was displayed in droves Wednesday when Hickenlooper signed 10 bills into law, including several signing ceremonies in which the pens were being given away.

The governor is blessed with a longish name – 12 letters in his last name alone – so that affords him the opportunity to use a lot of pens when the situation demands it. He said he thinks the most he’s ever used is eight.

How he does it: one pen for John, another for W. Several more for Hickenlooper, depending on how many he has to hand out. Another for the date and time.

In Wednesday’s ceremony, he finished signing a bill and then realized one more person needed a pen. So he added “Jr.” to the signature line. Mission accomplished and pen-holders happy.

Quote of the week…”I’m just a simple country boy, not even a country lawyer. So you get past two syllables, I struggle.” Senate President Pro tem Jerry Sonnenberg of Sterling, who struggled to pronounce “mesothelioma” during a committee hearing on a bill he’s sponsoring to speed up asbestos claims. He gave up and called it cancer. This one’s for you, Senator.

https://youtu.be/CofDxLDpCoI

It’s all about Douglas Bruce, round two…That would be former lawmaker, tax activist and convicted felon (on tax evasion) Douglas Bruce. The Colorado Springs Republican was featured Wednesday night on the TBS show Full Frontal with Samantha Bee. The show seemed obsessed with tagging Bruce as a former lawmaker, although he served barely a year in office. He was appointed to his House District 15 seat by a vacancy committee in November, 2007. He was sworn in Jan. 14, 2008 and was gone when the 2009 session started on Jan. 7, 2009.

Bruce became the first lawmaker in state history to be censured by the House, which took place just 10 days after he was sworn in. The censure was in response to his kicking a Rocky Mountain News photographer on the day of his swearing-in. The signal that Bruce’s brief time in the House would come to a quick end came just five months later, when he lost a June primary to Mark Waller.

Bruce, the father of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, was also the subject of a well-regarded podcast last November by Colorado Public Radio, known as The Taxman.

Quote of the week, part two…comes from Sen. Vicki Marble of Fort Collins.

Thursday morning, seven Democratic women senators took to the microphone to point out that Thursday was International Women’s Day. As part of their remarks, they called upon Senate President Kevin Grantham to introduce a Senate Democrats-sponsored resolution that calls for the expulsion of Sen. Randy Baumgardner of Hot Sulphur Springs. Baumgardner has been accused of sexual harassment, an allegation found credible by an investigator from the Employer’s Council. Baumgardner was allowed to choose his punishment – losing the chairmanship of the Senate Transportation Committee – although he retained the chairmanship of the Capital Development Committee as well as staying as vice-chair of the Senate Agriculture, Natural Resources and Energy Committee.

Once the Democrats finished, Marble added her own take on International Women’s Day, noting the number of women in positions of power in state government, including the lieutenant governor, members of the governor’s cabinet, and women lawmakers who lead committees.

Marble’s 2018 session has included dealing with an ethics complaint tied to a town hall she hosted last year at a Broomfield restaurant that was secretly paid for by Extraction Oil & Gas. A ruling on that violation is expected next month.

A few minutes after she lauded the women in power, Marble noted that the General Assembly is nearing the end of its first 60 days and wanted to draw her colleagues’ attention to a social event marking that milestone.

“Hopefully the next 60 days will go just as well,” she said.