A weekly dive into the pages of Colorado Politics’ predecessor, The Colorado Statesman, which started in 1898:

Forty Years Ago This Week: Amid numerous general election races, thoughts were already fast forwarding ahead to the 1982 gubernatorial race – over two full years down the road, and the talk was coming from a political neophyte who said he’d already picked up some support in a bar.

Democrat Gov. Dick Lamm hadn’t announced whether he’d seek re-election, but a 30-year-old newspaperman from Salida, Edward Kenneth Quillen III, said he was strongly considering a run for the Republican nomination.

“Lamm ran as a Republican the last time around,” Quillen said. “He kept campaigning that Colorado had more jobs, more prosperity, more people … than ever before, all this under his administration. I could have sworn that I was reading Love propaganda. I believe Lamm’s success in that election indicated the people of Colorado actually want a Republican governor, no matter what his party affiliation.”

Quillen had never held elected office but touted that his strong views on Colorado industry made up for the lack of a voting record.

Quillen argued that it was inconceivable that Amax, the world’s largest mining industry, had to bow to the demands of Colorado politicians, like Crested Butte Mayor William Mitchell who successfully stopped a billion-dollar molybdenum mine on Mount Emmons.

“We have to remove the restraints on mining. If the environmentalists feel like the mountains are being destroyed, I sympathize with them,” Quillen said, “but they should turn their attention to the real monster, the skiing industry.”

Quillen alleged that since 1960 the ski industry had destroyed more of Colorado’s mountains than any mine, clogging the winter highways, and destroying habitat for wildlife.

“I will campaign to eliminate the ski industry on environmental grounds, although there are sound political reasons too,” Quillen argued. “Look at how many back-packing, granola chomping, trendy liberals the ski areas have brought to the state.”

Quillen also proposed eliminating the state income tax, applying a 95% tax on real-estate speculation instead, and turning water control over to local districts.

He also advocated for uranium mining and milling, nuclear weapon production, atomic tests and nerve gas experimental and storage stations.

“If having dangerous facilities causes the population to drop 85% as the turkeys chicken out and go back to Connecticut, Illinois, Texas and New Jersey, we shall solve many problems,” Quillen said.

Admittedly, Quillen said, he didn’t have much support, “only some people I met in a bar” but was optimistic that as the word got out about his policies, Coloradans would flock to his campaign.

“All true Coloradans will be on my side, just like all true Americans were on Sam Zakhem’s side,” Quillen concluded.

In other news of the week, the second highest ranking member on the House Interior Committee, U.S. Rep. Phil Burton, D-CA, praised his Colorado Republican colleague, Jim Johnson, CD-4, for pushing through legislation designating four historic western trails as part of the National Historic Trails System.

Johnson said the truth was he’d always been fascinated with trails and American frontier history and wanted to be a cowboy when he was young.

Johnson decided not to run for another congressional term and had toyed with the idea of running for president of Colorado State University, but his name was absent from the list of six finalists who were considered for the position

Thirty Years Ago: State Senator Terry Considine, R-Englewood, the mind behind Amendment 5, which sought to limit the terms of political officeholders on the state and federal levels, was featured in the Wall Street Journal and several other national publications as interest in the cause grew.

Considine travelled to California to take part in a seminar with Ralph Nader on limiting terms, and Colorado gossip had it that Considine was posturing himself as the national spokesman for the cause with his eye on higher office down the road.

Considine demurred. “I’m just one person and my focus is on Colorado,” he said to Colorado Statesman reporters. “I just want to be a good rancher, a good citizen and stay in Colorado.”

Rachael Wright is the author of the Captain Savva Mystery series, with degrees in Political Science and History from Colorado Mesa University, and is a contributing writer to Colorado Politics and The Colorado Springs Gazette.