by Rachael Wright

Thirty-Five Years Ago This Week: “I have to believe the powers that be got on the phone to the media and said we don’t want Sargent,” said Republican state treasurer candidate Dick Sargent after his narrow loss to incumbent Gail Schoettler. “One of the biggest factors was Gov. Roy Romer. It would seem logical.”

Sargent also blamed the state’s daily newspapers: The Rocky Mountain News, The Pueblo Chieftain, and The Denver Post.

Sargent was particularly frustrated by the Post’s Assistant Editorial Page Editor Bob Ewegen, who had interviewed him and then wrote the Post’s endorsement in favor of Schoettler.

“Bob Ewegen misconstrued everything I said and printed outright misstatements of truth in the endorsement,” Sargent told The Colorado Statesman.

In response, Ewegen said, “I understood Dick perfectly. I just didn’t buy what he was saying.”

Earlier in the week, The Post published an editorial by Ewegen, who said that he respected Sargent personally and liked that he campaigned in areas that aren’t traditionally GOP. But as far as Romer paying off The Post to endorse Schoettler, “He’s done some pretty dumb things in his life, but nothing quite that dumb.”

When Sargent said that instead of being interviewed by the entire editorial board of The Rocky Mountain News he “got some guy who had been there five months and who, I heard, asked Schoettler how long her opponent had been in office.”

Sargent alleged that he was also told by several members of the Rocky’s staff that the decision to endorse Schoettler had been made before Sargent was ever even interviewed. As for The Chieftain, “the editorial board refused to even meet with me even after several call from my campaign staff.”

Sargent concluded his remarks to The Statesman, “When every newspaper supported only one candidate for state treasurer, that’s got to tell you something.”

Twenty-Five Years Ago: “For the first time there are more caucus members than I have children,” said Sen. Bill Thiebaut, D-Pubelo.

The father of 15 was celebrating the first time in 40 years that the Democrats would have a majority in the State Senate. The election picked up three seats, landing the Democrats at a slim 18-17 majority.

Thiebaut was named majority leader in an uncontested vote and Sen. Stan Matsunaka, D-Loveland, was elected as president of the senate. 

As Democrats had been so long out of power, they decided to enlist the aid of a Transition Team, headed by Al Yates, president of Colorado State University. 

Matsunaka said he hoped that the 12-member transition team would give advice on key issues like education, growth and transportation. In addition they would also help screen candidates for key staff positions and line up advocates for the Democratic agenda, with a strong focus on education.

The sole Republican on the transition team was former state senator Al Meikeljohn, R-Arvada, who was added by Yates for his “commitment to education” and who served as Chairman of the Senate Education Committee during his legislative career.

Another small Democratic victory was the wager Sen. Ed Perlmutter, D-Golden, made with Rocky Mountain News journalist John Sanko. Perlmutter predicted that the Democrats would regain control of the Senate but Sanko said “the likelihood of that happening was akin to when pigs fly.”

Sanko presented Perlmutter with his winnings in an envelope decorated with clouds and pigs and wrote, “Enclosed: entire proceeds from the meager retirement account … ripped mercilessly from him as the result of an illegal wager with a ruthless and heartless legal counsellor who had inside information on the ability of Democrats to accomplish something unattainable and impossible over the past 40 years … and creating untold future hardships for the Republican Party and the Republican governor of the great state of Colorado, so help me God.”

Rachael Wright is the author of several novels including The Twins of Strathnaver, with degrees in Political Science and History from Colorado Mesa University, and is a contributing columnist to Colorado Politics, the Colorado Springs Gazette and the Denver Gazette.