The lighter side of the Capitol, usually.

Meet Joaquin.

Joaquin is  the alter-ego of Rep. Alex Valdez of Denver, who points out he’s a Gemini, so it works.

Joaquin occasionally shows up in the House chambers; he’s a part of the back two rows of the Dems’ side of the House, traditionally a place where one can, on occasion, find mischief. Also in those back two rows are Reps. Kerry Tipper of Lakewood and Monica Duran of Wheat Ridge.

And no, Rep. Matt Gray of Broomfield does NOT sit in those particular rows, just in case you are wondering. 

Sometimes, Joaquin gets into it, and has little temper tantrums, according to Duran. After one incident, in which Joaquin was told to behave in no.uncertain.terms, Valdez showed up the next day with a basket of gluten-free treats for Duran (who is allergic to gluten). The topic of that behavior is unknown, but it must have been a doozy.

Tuesday, Joaquin started off in a good mood, but it didn’t last. The first photo taken of him in his outfit, intended to honor the resistance in Ukraine, resulted in some mischief from Tipper. Capitol M promised not to use the photo because it would have put Joaquin in a less than happy mood and we.don’t.want.that. So in order to keep Joaquin in good spirits and peace in the back two rows, a second photo, which you see above, was taken.

Changing of the guard

As of this writing, there will be at least 22 new lawmakers in the state House come 2023. Of the current crew, six are departing due to term-limits and the other 16 are either not running again or running for the state Senate or for Congress. In the Senate, nine lawmakers won’t be back next year: five are term-limited and four others are either not returning or running for something else. 

That means the potential loss, not only of institutional knowledge, for what that’s worth, but of traditions. We’ve seen it before  – the occasional practical joke of sewing someone’s coat sleeves shut was almost lost to time, until someone brought it back last year (with Gray as the target. It was SO.MUCH.FUN).

Among the term-limited in the House, Rep. Patrick Neville of Castle Rock is known for his booming voice, which he puts to use every morning when Speaker Alec Garnett asks for a vote of approval for the daily House Journal. You can’t miss that “NO!” from Neville, who leads the chorus of “no” votes, and which the Speaker appears not to hear, since he always says the “yes” votes prevail. 

Not to worry that the tradition will be lost: Rep. Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez of Denver has been practicing, and according to some, may be even better at it. Capitol M now wonders if a contest is in order.

Senate President Steve Fenberg is off to a strong start, if his first jokes are any indication

The Senate Monday welcomed its newest member, Sen. Nick Hinrichsen of Pueblo, who replaced Sen. Leroy Garcia, now off to the nation’s Capitol and a Pentagon job. 

The credential committee – Sens. Dominick Moreno, Kerry Donovan and Chris Holbert – made a show of meeting and preparing its report, with Holbert doing an interesting job of looking at the documents to see if there was any mischief afoot.

There was, but not from the credential committee. Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg of Sterling was participating remotely and forgot to mute his microphone. Apparently he was having a billing problem with someone and left them, and anyone else listening in, a message to call him back. 

Following the laughter, and a request to Sonnenberg to mute himself, Fenberg noted the credential committee had “verified the hanging chads and signatures; hand-counted, without a Dominion Voting System,” and even confirmed Hinrichsen’s long-form birth certificate. 

A return to normal. Not saying whether this is a good thing or a bad thing.

With the relaxation of COVID restrictions, Tuesday, Capitol M saw something she hasn’t seen in two years: the lobby outside the House chamber, with the lobbyists gathering (and apparently happy about it, too).

Welcome back

Back from an absence due to COVID is David Oppenheim, the governor’s chief lobbyist.

“I don’t recommend it,” Oppenheim, who still looks a little pale, said of his COVID experience.

Glad you’re back in the saddle.