Forty Years Ago This Week: The Colorado Association of Public Employees had filed suit in the Denver District Court challenging sections of the State Personnel System Act, and Judge Gilbert Alexander responded with a ruling that portions of the act were, in fact, unconstitutional. 

Alexander said in his ruling that the law, which had been passed by the legislature the previous year, violated certain rights spelled out in the Constitution and caselaw, including “provisions for competitive appointment and promotion, authority of the state personnel board, preferential treatment for veterans, regulation of the limitation of temporary appointments and guarantee of due process for all state employees.”

Alexander noted that this was the first time that Denver District Court had declared a legislative act unconstitutional, making his ruling a historic move, and one that sent a clear message.

“The constitution is plain, clear and unambiguous, and any attempts to change rights must follow the same process by which those rights were granted,” Alexander said.

CAPE attorney James Gilsdorf said that protecting the rights of over 13,000 state employees was the organization’s utmost priority.

“I expect that the State Department of Personnel will appeal the district court’s ruling to the State Supreme Court,” Gilsdorf said.

In other news, Denver Metro area Democrats announced they were about to invest nearly $10,000 in candidate development for the 1982 election through their Candidate Development Committee.

A Denver Democratic Party spokesman told The Colorado Statesman that the party was expecting over 100 interested Democrats to attend one of three workshops scheduled for November, January and March.

Gary Nordlinger of Nordlinger Associates, a Washington D.C. based consulting firm, said that the workshops would consist of two full days where potential candidates would receive 36 hours of instruction in addition to an opening session with current elected officials. 

Twenty Years Ago: Senate President Stan Matsunaka, D-Loveland, officially announced his candidacy for governor, seeking to secure the Democratic nomination to challenge incumbent Bill Owens. Matsunaka’s three-day statewide tour began in his hometown of Fort Morgan and concluded at the state Capitol.

Joined by Former state Senate Minority Leader Mike Feely and Senate President Pro Term Ed Perlmutter, D-Golden, Matsunaka outlined his agenda for “restoring progress to Coloradans.”

“Three years ago Colorado led the nation in promise and opportunities,” Matsunaka said. “Today we’re in danger of losing both. For three years the Owens administration has put profits before people and politics before solutions. The results speak for themselves. We’re fifteen years behind in transportation investment and lightyears behind in vision. The solution is to replace political self-interest with political courage. That’s why I’m running for governor.”

Matsunaka’s great-grandparents had immigrated to Colorado in the early 20th century and faced a “mountain of hardships,” he said, which forced them to develop courage and independence.

He said courage was the theme of his campaign and added that Colorado had once before set a great example during World War II when Gov. Ralph Carr spoke out against the Japanese internment camps, in which were some of Matsunaka’s relatives.

“Carr’s stand cost him his career, but his courage made him an inspiration. He left a legacy for all of us that I fear is lost in the governor’s office today,” Matsunaka said. “It’s not about who’s right and who’s wrong, but about what’s best for Colorado.”

Perlmutter said that Matsunaka, “knows Colorado from the plains to the mountains and has a vision for Colorado that will take us forward, not backward like the Republicans have.” 

While Perlmutter said his support was fully behind Matsunaka he didn’t minimize the uphill battle ahead of the campaign. 

“It’s a longshot, his chances,” Perlmutter said. “I’d give him odds of 100 to one, but this guy overcomes.”

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 Gazette.