Forty Years Ago This Week: As the Denver mayoral race built toward crescendo, several high-profile members of the Republican Party seemed to be divided over how to handle a race with no registered Republicans running for the seat.

“Myself and the Colorado Republicans are officially staying out of the race,” said Colorado Republican Party Chairman Howard “Bo” Callaway. “Mainly because there are no Republican candidates running and thus no Republican interest.”

But Callaway’s predecessor, former state GOP Chairman Carl Williams had deviated from the party line, both endorsing and donating money to Dale Tooley’s mayoral campaign. The political action committee for the Colorado Chamber of Commerce had also endorsed Tooley.

Despite the fact that the Colorado Republican Party was a member of the Chamber, Callaway wouldn’t be drawn.

“[He] had a right to do it,” Callaway acquiesced.

On the Democratic Party side, U.S. Rep. Pat Schroeder, CD-1, refused to show any personal feelings on the mayoral race.

“Let the people decide who can lead into the ’80s,” Schroeder said. “Besides, a lot of my friends are running.”

The congresswoman did say that incumbent Mayor Bill McNichols had “worked hard and brought a lot to Denver.”

Schroeder did give her thoughts on the problems likely to face large cities in the coming years; predicting that federal money would be in short supply and cities would be forced to compete against each other for fewer and fewer resources.

“In the 1970s, energy was in Colorado’s backyard and the state didn’t have to compete as aggressively as it does now,” Schroeder said. “Denver has gotten more than its fair share of federal funds in the past and in terms of housing and mass transit the city has fared very well.”

Thirty Years Ago: After a long legislative session, and only a week left to go, House Speaker Chuck Berry, R-Colorado Springs, told The Colorado Statesman that he was pleased with the work done on the most knotty problem in 1993; financing public schools.

“I’m relatively satisfied, given the despair everyone expressed back in November,” Berry said.

Before the start of the session the conventional wisdom had it that the legislature would have to axe no less than 10%, or $270 million, from school funding.

“Legislators were able, thanks to the improving Colorado economy, to first add $200 million to the bill, then another $5 million for low spending schools,” Berry said. “I think the school finance act turned out pretty well.”

While cities like Colorado Springs and others in the “urban-suburban” school finance category, just barely made their goal of funding for each student, Berry believed this wasn’t enough.

“There are still inequalities between Denver metro school districts and the urban-suburban. The urban-suburban receive $200 less per pupil.”

But Senate Education Committee Chairman Al Meiklejohn, R-Arvada, was not nearly as pleased as Berry.

“It’s better than it might have been,” Meiklejohn said, “but it’s a long way from being good. The schools are still being cut. And it’s a real cut – not just a cut in the rate of growth.”

Sen. Dennis Gallagher, D-Denver, agreed with Meiklejohn, “It’s better than it started out,” Gallagher said. “I’m reminded of how Robert F. Kennedy put it ‘We can do so much better.'”

While her colleagues in both houses expressed cool acceptance Sen. Dottie Wham, R-Denver, was furious.

“I hate it,” Wham said of HB 93-1304. “I hate it for two reasons. First, I really felt that we should no do the $5 million distribution to the so-called low-spending districts. That should have been left alone until we got total information. I’m not convinced they’re the ones in the worst need.”

“Secondly,” Wham said, “The $5 million was money the Senate initially put into the Long Bill for pay raises for state employees. I was not in favor of using that money for school purposes.”

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.