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

Forty Years Ago This Week: With President-elect Ronald Reagan’s inauguration mere weeks away, candidates were lining up to promote themselves for a slew of prized political appointments – chief among them: a regional Department of the Treasury job as director of the Denver Mint.

Paying a comfortable $44,500 a year, the position attracted a number of highly placed Republicans. Former National Committeewoman Joanne Gray said she’d applied for the slot and had “a lot of support.”

In her campaign for the slot, Gray had written to or spoken with all the former Colorado Republican Party chairmen to let them know she was interested, and had even managed to chat with Bill Brock who had chaired the Republican National Committee during her tenure as a committee member.

But Gray’s greatest challenge to securing nomination was possibly herself. She supported Democrat Gerald Ford in 1976 “because he was the incumbent.” She did not begin actively supporting Reagan until 1980.

Gossip around town also named Mindy Meikeljohn, Jefferson County Republican Party chair, as a possible candidate for the regional Treasury gig. Meikeljohn told The Colorado Statesman that if the Denver Mint job were to become available, “I wouldn’t turn it down.”

“I only want to be considered after Joanne,” Meikeljohn said. “I’m supporting her now for it.”

Gray reciprocated, telling reporters, “I’d rather see Mindy have the job if I don’t get it.”

Although applicants could be drawn from any of the region’s six states, Gray said Sen. Bill Armstrong would certainly play a large role in the selection process.

“I’ve talked to him,” Gray said. “I got good feedback from him. Bill’s a good friend and he remembers friendships.”

Fifteen Years Ago: In his eighth and final state-of-the-state address to the usual joint session of the Colorado General Assembly, Gov. Bill Owens outlined his full and broad-reaching plan for 2006. After thanking the 1,100 members of Colorado’s National Guard who were deployed to the Gulf Coast in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and the 400 members of the Air and Army National Guard who were deployed in support of the War on Terror, Owens said he looked forward to working closely with both parties.

But if the parties were at all lulled into thinking that Owens would be easing out of office, he reminded the members gathered in the state House chamber that he would not hesitate to use his veto pen, which he had employed no less than 47 times in the previous legislative session.

Owens’s agenda included the promotion of emerging technologies, job creation incentives, tracking student achievement in college and the success of underserved students in higher eduction.

“We need to make it easier for the State Board of Education and the Colorado Commission on Higher Education to collaborate in solving education problems. I support legislation allowing them to share student data,” Owens said in his address.

As his final item Owens named his support for requiring voter identification.

“Voter fraud threatens the integrity of our election system,” Owens said. “It’s a threat we can’t ignore here in Colorado … That’s why I favor the common sense step of requiring voter identification. A safer, fairer system will protect the voting rights for all Coloradans.”

Senate Minority Leader Andrew McElhany, R-Colorado Springs, voiced his support for the governor.

“He challenged the legislature to be a part of his vision to accomplish positive change for the people of Colorado,” McElhany said. “The Senate Republicans wholeheartedly accept his challenge. I was encouraged to know the governor is ready to use his veto pen as he did last year in record numbers.”

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.