A few weeks after the Rocky Mountain News shut its doors forever in 2009, more than 600 Republicans gathered for the state party’s annual Centennial Dinner. 

Lamenting the historic significance of the loss of one of Colorado’s great daily newspapers, the state chairman noted the presence that evening of former Rocky political reporter Lynn Bartels who had been quickly snatched up by its surviving, former newspaper rival. 

What followed was not polite applause. It was a loud and sustained standing ovation by hundreds of the most partisan Republicans in Colorado.   

And it was as much for Lynn Bartels as it was for the Rocky Mountain News. 

I feel so fortunate to have known and dealt with so many true journalistic legends who covered Colorado politics and campaigns over so many years who are now gone. 

I think of Gene Amole, Charlie Roos and Peter Blake of the Rocky Mountain News; Fred Brown and Chuck Green of the Denver Post; Tom McAvoy of the Pueblo Chieftain; and Carl Hilliard of the Associated Press.  And so many others. 

The common thread with all these late, great journalists was their love of reporting on Colorado politics and their appreciation and respect for the imperfect men and women who ran for and served in public office. 

With her untimely passing, add another name to that roll call of legends. 

Lynn Bartels loved the sweeping drama of politics and campaigns.  She appreciated and respected not only those who offered themselves as candidates; she knew it was the hundreds of people who work on campaigns, from the campaign managers and press secretaries to the block workers and party activists who sustained and invigorated Colorado’s political process. 

Lynn had a special connection to people who passionately work on campaigns.  

No matter how opportunistic, grandstanding, exploitive, elusive, paranoid, smug, arrogant or righteously indignant a campaign manager or press secretary could be — and that was on a good day! — she always remembered that these people were ultimately motivated by what Theodore Roosevelt called “the great devotions, the great enthusiasms of a worthy cause.” 

Lynn’s idea of a good time was traveling around the state with a candidate.  And that is why she knew the difference between the town of Las Animas and Las Animas County.  Or the town of Moffat and Moffat County. She knew that Saguache County was not pronounced “Saga Hatchee.”  Or Huerfano County was not “Hoo-er-fano.” 

I will miss the lunches that Lynn and two of my favorite Democratic counterparts, Mary Alice Mandarich and Alan Salazar and I would have at the old Benny’s Mexican Restaurant and wish I had transcripts of those discussions that could only be released after all of us are gone. 

Alan and I were young staff members in the 1980s for U.S. Rep. Tim Wirth and U.S. Sen. Bill Armstrong, respectively, and Mary Alice was campaign manager for Lt. Gov. Gail Schoettler when I managed state Treasurer Bill Owens’ campaign for governor in 1998 in one of the closest and hardest fought gubernatorial elections in Colorado history. 

Because she was always talking to her hundreds of friends and contacts in both parties, Lynn seemed to know that something was going to happen before the candidates and campaigns did. 

In late 2003, national Republican leaders were urging former U.S. Rep. John Thune to run against Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota. Thune had lost to the other senator in 2002 and Daschle would ostensibly be much more formidable in 2004. 

Lynn, a South Dakota native whose parents were strong Daschle supporters, was convinced I would manage Thune’s campaign even before I ever spoke with him.   After discussions with his family over the Christmas holiday, Thune decided to jump in the race right after New Year’s Day. 

I knew the first phone call I needed to make after landing in Sioux Falls was to Lynn Bartels to confirm her suspicions.  But waiting for me on the ground was a voicemail saying “I know you’re in South Dakota. Call me.”  Of course, she already knew. 

All of us already miss her so much, but we all feel so fortunate to have known her. 

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 unseat