The Colorado House of Representatives elected Alec Garnett, D-Denver, as the speaker of the House by a party line vote of 41-24, with some in the majority party accusing Republicans of forcing an “unprecedented” roll call vote by putting forward their own candidate.

“Madam Speaker, what we’re seeing today is an inexcusable sign of bad faith,” said Majority Leader Daneya Esgar, D-Pueblo, addressing outgoing speaker KC Becker, D-Boulder. “Our institutions run on camaraderie, decorum and mutual respect. These values are upheld and embodied by our speakers, who serve not as leaders of their own caucuses, but leaders for the body as a whole.”

Esgar’s comments came after the Republican caucus put forward Minority Leader Hugh McKean, R-Loveland, as a candidate for speaker opposite Garnett. Rep. Tim Geitner, R-Colorado Springs, made the nomination and Rep. Janice Rich, R-Grand Junction, seconded it.

While the practice is the norm in Congress, Becker observed: “I’ve got to tell you, all of this is unprecedented … This entire thing is unprecedented.”

Esgar condemned the move in stronger terms, saying, “It is a shame that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are choosing to upend a bipartisan tradition, years and years in the making, for the sake of scoring political points. Of course the minority will not succeed in the blocking the speakership of my good friend, Alec Garnett. They will only succeed in doing real, lasting damage to this institution.”

Rep. Dave Williams, R-Colorado Springs, objected to the “impugning of our character in the minority” by pointing out that the GOP has a different vision for the state and the nomination of McKean simply served to “provide that contrast.”

Garnett brushed off the episode after taking the speaker’s chair.

“It’s kind of fun to be the first speaker elected through roll call on the floor of this House,” he quipped. “Let’s look on the bright side.”

McKean followed Garnett’s opening remarks by pointing out, “we all want a choice,” and complimented the speaker on his bipartisanship. 

Former Sen. Cheri Jahn of Wheat Ridge, a Democrat-turned-independent who also served eight years in the House, said the only similar incident she witnessed was in 2005, when Sen. Norma Anderson, R-Lakewood, nominated another Democratic legislator for the presidency of the Senate to challenge preferred candidate Joan Fitz-Gerald, D-Coal Creek Canyon.

“I’ve never seen that happen in the House,” she observed. “Right now, I think it is divisive. I think it’s not starting out on the right foot as trying to work together.”