Forty Years Ago This Week: Candidate for Denver mayor Dale Tooley was seemingly broadsided by criticism from another candidate whom he was not running against. Mike Licht, who was in his own race for Denver auditor, fired back at Tooley, which afforded him the opportunity chide his opponent, the incumbent auditor, in the process. At issue was an idea Tooley had floated to create an “inspector general” to investigating the misuse of funds in city departments.

“The idea is commendable but not necessary,” Licht said. “If the current auditor, Chuck Byrne, was doing his job to protect the taxpayers’ money, a new position to ferret out corruption and wrongdoing in other departments wouldn’t be needed.”

At a news conference Licht argued that Denver’s city charter expressly made it the auditor’s job to serve “as watchdog of the taxpayers’ money. It gives him the responsibility to guard and protect against waste, loss or illegal practices. Byrne has abdicated his responsibilities.”

A “failure” to notice that parking revenues at Stapleton Airport were being lost and to take responsibility for the oversight along with uncovered embezzlement in the city’s treasurer’s office were yet more reasons, Licht said, why Byrne should be voted out of office.

Licht continued to unload, detailing how he had approached Byrne at a Republican women’s function to discuss a public debate.

“His response,” Licht said was to turn around and walk away just as he has been walking away from the responsibilities of the auditor’s office these past four years.”

Days after Licht’s news conference, Byrne – who had yet to say whether he was running for the office again – announced that he would run for another term and said that the auditor’s department would not be held responsible for irregularities and embezzlements in several city departments.

“The expenditures are approved by the auditor, under city charter,” Byrne explained, “but revenues are controlled by the mayor. The irregularities occurred in departments over which the auditor has no direct control.”

Bryne, who’d also represented Denver in the state house, detailed his plans if he was reelected including; developing a cash management system with the treasurer’s office to improve the city’s investment procedures and to fully computerize and modernize the city’s personnel files and payroll system.

Regarding Licht’s demand for a public debate, Byrne passed it off. “He’s never discussed it with me. I don’t know what there is to debate. It’s a ploy used by every candidate who’s not well known. Since he doesn’t have a record, what would we have to debate but my record? Furthermore, debate over policy issues should be left to the mayor’s race.”

Thirty Years Ago: U.S. Rep Pat Schroeder, today oft labeled as a woman decades ahead of her time, was honored by the Colorado Democratic Party at the annual Jefferson-Jackson Day dinner. Schroeder had just begun her 21st year as Denver’s congressional representative.

Three years prior in 1990, the New York Times had written about U.S. Rep. Pat Schroeder saying, “… her searing wit can vaporize an opponent in the 15 seconds suitable for a soundbite: it was she who labeled Reagan “the Teflon President” and defense contractors “the welfare queens of the 80s.”

Of her many what she termed ‘out of time’ concerns were a bloated defense budget, family and children issues, and the deficit while most of Congress was debating the communist threat from the USSR. Schroeder was the first to open a local office for constituency services, first to open the National Press Club’s annual dinner and was responsible for opening the Brown Palace Club to women. She was also the very first to discuss the need for a federal family leave policy.

Schroeder often called her work “day-to-day” and it had taken eleven sessions of this gritty work to get the full attention of Washington’s political elite.

When Schroeder had first announced her bid to become one of Colorado’s U.S. representatives in 1972, a Denver newspaper had run the headline: “Denver Housewife Announces for Congress.”

That housewife was also a graduate from Harvard Law School and a licensed pilot.

After winning the election with 52% of the vote, surprising most of the Democratic Party, Schroeder received a phone call from lawyer and feminist leader Bella Abzug, who said the congresswoman-elect who had two young children would never be able to do it.

The Denver housewife went on to serve Colorado in the the U.S. House of Representatives from 1973 to January 3, 1997.

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.