Bruce elicits mixed feelings

DENVER - Though there are two candidates for the newly open House District 15 seat — and possibly more to come — the one question being asked by many members of the committee that will choose the area’s newest legislator is simply: “Douglas Bruce or not Douglas Bruce?”

The El Paso County commissioner and author of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights casts possibly the biggest political shadow in a conservative area. His fiscal and social views can be obscured by a combative and often alienating persona that makes some people dislike Bruce even as they agree with him.

This quandary is likely to be the central debate when about 140 Republican leaders gather this month to choose a successor to Rep. Bill Cadman. Political newcomer Steve Hasbrouck has also announced that he wants the seat, but all of the talk right now seems to be about Bruce.

Once Cadman’s appointment to the Senate is approved by the secretary of state, the committee has 10 days to set a meeting to choose a successor.

“I’m really torn at this point,” said Jim Cook, a member of the vacancy committee. “Doug

Bruce is a really smart man, and there’s probably nobody who knows the constitution and the way government ought to be working more than Doug does.

“But he is so arrogant and so abrasive when he’s right that I am really concerned about him becoming a lightning rod for the next campaign, that the Democrats will be able to point to Doug Bruce and some of his ac- tions and say: ‘You see, all of the Republicans are like this.’”

Sen. Ron May resigned his seat Oct. 31, and Cadman was chosen Saturday to fill it. Republicans now must fill his seat representing northern and eastern Colorado Springs for a term that extends through the end of 2008.

Hasbrouck, owner of the Muffler Emporium, announced his candidacy first but was overshadowed within hours by Bruce. While Bruce says he has commitments from about 90 of the vacancy committee members, Hasbrouck said he is trying to communicate with much of the committee. No committee member interviewed by The Gazette for this story had spoken to Hasbrouck as of Thursday.

Some committee members are unabashed Bruce supporters. Emerson Bowman praised Bruce’s fiscal conservatism and said Bruce had dealt truthfully with him since his 2004 election to the County Commission.

Committee member Mel Waters said no one questions where Bruce stands on issues.

“He’s a guy who says what he’s going to do and then does it,” said Waters, who, like Bowman, has committed to backing Bruce. “People may not like what he says, but hey, that’s how it works. Our country needs more people who stand for principles.”

But the way Bruce stands for his beliefs, often alienating Republicans as well as Democrats, gives other potential backers pause. He has been on the losing end of many 4-1 votes on an all-GOP County Commission, and when he was up for election, 13 party officials risked losing their positions by backing an independent write-in candidate over Bruce in the general election.

Committee member Lydia Brown said she is waiting to see who else might throw a hat into the ring, knowing that Bruce can get things done but “can also get in the way.”

“There probably are plenty of people who would like an alternative,” Brown said. “But there are plenty of us who, unless we see somebody else come in, know what we have in Doug.”

Hasbrouck said his strategy involved getting to speak with a lot of the delegates at the Senate District 10 gathering Saturday. All of House District 15 is within the Senate district, so many of the participants from this weekend will be back for the next vote.

Still, his rather quiet candidacy led to efforts to recruit others into the race.

Former Colorado Springs School District 11 board candidate Reginald Perry spoke to a number of people and reportedly would have been a formidable opponent for Bruce. But Perry and his wife have two young children, and he said serving in the Legislature would take him away from them too much.

Real estate broker Kevin Butcher, who ran for a Colorado Springs City Council seat in 2001, also was approached about a run against Bruce. Butcher declined, citing family needs and a lack of desire to reenter the political world.

All of this should lead to an interesting vote. Longtime party activist and vacancy committee member Kit Roupe, who declined to discuss her preference among candidates, noted that in rare instances, people can start the day without being candidates and find themselves holding office by the end of it.

“They could be named from the floor, and they could win without even registering with the secretary of state,” she said.

If Bruce wins, a vacancy committee will meet to fill his County Commission seat.