Restoring the office of the governor in the Colorado State Capitol to its historic glory was a worthy project despite its cost.

There is probably never a good time to spend $2.4 million on such a restoration but it is important to maintain the Capitol as the very symbol of the state that generations have built, sustained, and loved over the past 150 years.

The last time the governor’s office was renovated was in 1957 when wood paneling was placed over the ornate walls and columns that apparently dated back to the 1920s. Those walls, columns and ceilings have now been restored to their historic glory.

But that discarded wood paneling witnessed decades of history in the office of the governor. Countless discussions, debates and deliberations were led by governors within those walls.

Gov. Jared Polis showed a photo of Democratic Gov. Stephen L.R. McNichols manning a jackhammer during the 1957 renovation. McNichols was the first of nine governors who would occupy that new office over the next 69 years.

McNichols was elected in 1956 when governors only served two-year terms and he was the first governor to be elected to a newly instituted four-year term in 1958. McNichols came from a prominent Democratic family that included his father who served as Denver City Auditor for thirty years and his brother, Denver Mayor William McNichols.

McNichols appeared to be in a strong position to be reelected to another four-year term in 1962 but he was challenged by a Colorado Springs attorney who had been a World War II pilot, John Love, whose only previous political experience was unsuccessfully running for El Paso County Republican chairman. In a huge upset, Love unseated McNichols.

Gov. Love was reelected in 1966 and 1970 but resigned to serve in the Nixon Administration as the “Energy Czar” during the 1973 energy crisis. He was succeeded by Lieutenant Governor John Vanderhoof who ran for a full four-year term in 1974.  

Although Gov. Vanderhoof was running in the shadow of a very popular Gov. Love, the Watergate scandal drove Republicans into the ground in 1974. Vanderhoof was unseated by Democratic state Rep. Dick Lamm who had gained statewide prominence as the leader of the successful 1972 campaign to reject the 1976 Winter Olympics which had earlier been awarded to Colorado.

Amid the Democratic euphoria of breaking the 12-year Republican hold, Gov. Lamm’s first term was rocky. Black legislators and leaders walked out of his inauguration alleging they had been ignored when he filled his cabinet. He demanded that reporters and editors gathered at the Colorado Press Association convention “Stand up ### damn it!” when he was introduced to speak. 

But despite these early controversies, Gov. Lamm ended up a very popular chief executive who was reelected in 1978 and 1982 making himself the first governor to serve 12 years.

Lamm was succeeded by state Treasurer Roy Romer in 1986 which culminated a remarkable comeback seldom seen in Colorado politics. Romer served in the state legislature before unsuccessfully running for the U.S. Senate against incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Gordon Allott in 1966.  

He retreated to private life until Gov. Lamm appointed him state treasurer in 1977.  Gov. Romer won the 1986 election to succeed Lamm and was reelected in 1990 and 1994. Remarkably, Gov. Romer never had a Democratic majority in either legislative house and yet was considered a very effective and successful governor.

Republicans were still facing an uphill fight in 1998 after 24 years of Democratic governors. Republican State Treasurer Bill Owens ran against Romer’s lieutenant governor, who benefited from Romer’s high approval numbers.

But Owens ran on an aggressive campaign agenda to cut taxes, reform education and improve transportation and won a historically close election to become the first Republican governor to be elected in 28 years. After implementing that agenda during his first term, Gov. Owens was reelected with 66% in 2002.

Since then, Colorado has once again elected a series of Democratic governors including Gov. Bill Ritter in 2006, Gov. John Hickenlooper in 2010 and 2014, and Gov. Jared Polis in 2018 and 2022. Gov. Owens remains the only Republican governor to serve in the past 52 years.

After managing his campaign in 1998, I had the honor of serving as press secretary for Gov. Owens. Just like so many who have had the honor of working for a governor, I was in his office practically every day.

During those meetings I would sometimes think about all the previous discussions held in that historic office by Owens and his predecessors.

The morning that Owens was inaugurated in January 1999, former Gov. John Love arrived very early at the Capitol for the ceremony. I had the honor of getting us some coffee and sitting with him for a few minutes in the office where he had served for 10 years. He remarked the office had changed very little and I could not help but think he was reliving some of the critical moments that all governors experience.

If only that wood paneling could talk.

Dick Wadhams is a former Colorado Republican state chairman who managed campaigns for U.S. Sens. Hank Brown and Wayne Allard, and Gov. Bill Owens.  He was campaign manager for U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota in 2004 when Thune unseated Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle.