OPERATION CAUCUS: Political season opens at neighborhood partisan meetings

The road to November’s election passes through Colorado Springs neighborhoods March 16 in caucuses that are part tradition, part tent revival and all politics.

The partisan meetings — 403 for El Paso County Republicans alone — will help winnow the field of Republican and Democratic candidates seeking local posts and the highest offices in the state.

Neighbors at caucuses will pick delegates to state, county and congressional district assemblies. Those delegates, in turn, will decide which candidates move on to the Aug. 10 primaries. They’ll also help hammer out party platforms.

The stakes of the caucuses are especially high for Republicans, who have several contested races in El Paso County.

In state House District 17, the Republican who gains the most support in the caucuses will take on Democratic Rep. Dennis Apuan in a race that both parties see as a bellwether for the 2010 election.

“The neat thing about caucuses is the opportunity to get together with the people in your neighborhood,” said Republican precinct leader John Macomber, who will run a caucus at Foothills Elementary School.

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The caucuses are a throwback to early America, when travel was difficult and the town meeting was king.

Colorado College political science professor Bob Loevy said that then and now, caucuses help unite political parties and help party loyalists stay connected with the process.

Colorado’s primary process melds caucuses with partisan primary elections. Loevy said the blend helps parties get more input than they would with caucuses alone.

Caucuses, with their ordered agendas and lengthy discussions, aren’t for everybody. While the only requirement to participate is party affiliation, the average caucusgoer is politically involved. Macomber described the caucus as a gathering of activists.

Republican state Sen. Dave Schultheis said the caucus bunch is his favorite crowd, tuned in and passionate about politics. The caucus lets partisans discuss issues that may not wind up in legislation but are party hot buttons, he said.

“I have always gone through the caucus because it makes you accountable to the party,” said Schultheis, who is retiring from his post after the election.

Republicans in Senate District 9 will caucus to decide whether to back Schultheis’ hand-picked successor, Rep. Kent Lambert, or a moderate outsider, retired Army officer Tom McDowell.

Dennis Apuan, the Democratic state representative who is now unopposed in his party’s primary, said the caucuses are still where he finds foot soldiers and donors for his campaign.

“I need to gather grass-roots support, and that’s where it all begins,” he said. “Out of that I find my supporters and volunteers.”

Kay Rendleman, who heads the El Paso County Republicans, said the people who step up at those neighborhood gatherings are the party’s future — the next generation of activists and candidates.

The fervor of the caucus has a downside, though, Loevy said.

By gathering like-minded partisans, the caucus crowd is more strident than the voters candidates court in the fall, he said.

“The caucuses are criticized because they pull the Republicans further to the right and the Democrats further to the left,” Loevy said.

Still, true believers like that.

“Most people defend the caucus system by saying that it makes sense for party loyalists to pick the party’s candidates, he said.”

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A caucus has one job — to pick delegates who will represent a voting precinct at county, state and congressional district assemblies.

Those delegates are entrusted with picking candidates but aren’t bound to follow their neighbor’s instructions when it comes time to vote at the assemblies.

To get to the primary ballot, candidates must win more than 30 percent of the delegates at the level where they’re making a run. Candidates who get more than 10 percent but less than 30 percent can battle onto the primary ballot with a petition drive.

A candidate for county office must pick up more than 30 percent at the county assembly for his or her party in April. Candidates running statewide must get the 30 percent at the state assembly in May. Assemblies for the 5th Congressional District in May are likely to be uneventful because Rep. Doug Lamborn has no opponents from either party.

Underdog Senate hopeful Andrew Romanoff faces a caucus fight against incumbent U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet.
“I’m sure I can pick up at least 30 percent,” he said during a stop in Colorado Springs where he was courting likely Democratic delegates.

A caucus victory guarantees top billing on primary ballots. But that’s a moral victory that has elusive value when voters go to the polls. Just ask Mike Miles, who defeated Ken Salazar in the caucus process but was soundly defeated in the Democratic primary for the Senate seat Salazar held until he was picked for a cabinet post by President Barack Obama last year.

Still, winning delegates at the state and county meetings is crucial to most candidates. Delegates form the bulwark of campaigns, and their friendship is prized by office-seekers.

After the caucuses, the names of selected delegates are announced. They become temporary rock stars.
“The delegates then get lots and lots of phone calls,” said Macomber, the Republican precinct leader.

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Courting those delegates is cheaper than going after thousands of voters.

Wayne Williams, vying to move from the El Paso County Board of Commissioners to the county’s clerk and recorder post, said 1,800 GOP caucus-picked delegates at the county assembly could decide several races.
As an example, he said, if Sheriff Terry Maketa receives more than 70 percent of the vote at the GOP county assembly, his opponent, Jake Shirk, is likely out.

“So for a lot of races, the county assembly is the race,” he said.

Facing two Republicans for the county clerk job, Williams said he’s shaking a lot of hands.

One of his opponents, Sandra Damron, said she’s doing the same.

The caucuses, she said, are all about grass-roots involvement.

“It’s an opportunity to become part of the process from the very beginning and have a voice in who the candidates will be,” she said.

Dealmaking is part of the process, as candidates adopt the priorities and viewpoints of delegates and swear allegiance to platforms penned by the party they want to represent.

It makes delegates feel good but may not result in new laws, said Denver Democratic Rep. Terrance Carroll, the state House speaker. He said priorities can change.

“I wouldn’t say we’re tied to the platform,” he said.

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Candidates revere the caucuses because they are typically the cheapest route to the general election.

Candidates in contested primaries spend money on advertising and court the media. Scoring a decisive caucus victory can clear the path to the November ballot.

Caucuses are also about personal contact with voters.

Most candidates say they’ll swing by several on March 16 to make their plea directly with the people who can control their fate.

The unifying aspect of the caucuses is beloved by political parties, too.

It’s clear the parties have already worked to manage discord. Most races, including the race to replace Gov. Bill Ritter, have no Democratic primary, and only a handful of races pit Republican on Republican.

In House District 17, the Republican Party has bound candidates Kit Roupe and Mark Barker to an agreement that the candidate who wins in the caucus process will be the sole GOP opponent for state Rep. Dennis Apuan.

Roupe, an ex-GI and Republican activist, said she inked the agreement because it makes financial and partisan sense.

Barker, a lawyer, said he signed off because he trusts caucus delegates to pick what he called the “true conservative” to battle Apuan.

And in a race that the GOP sees as a key to bigger victories in November, Peggy Littleton, a member of the State Board of Education, is running for El Paso County Commissioner for District 5, which encompasses much of central Colorado Springs. She said she hopes the caucus consolidates her GOP base.

The race for District 5, currently represented by term-limited Jim Bensberg, was initially crowded.

But two Republican candidates — Patrick Carter and Ed Jones — dropped out, leaving Littleton, David Williams and William Guevara.

If Littleton wins at the caucuses or at the primary, she will face Democratic contender Mike Merrifield, an outgoing state representative.

But she’s not fighting Democrats now.

“I can win this district against a Democrat. We’re well-funded to move forward,” she said.

AT THE CAUCUSES

These are races in which multiple candidates are vying for political party nominations.

Governor’s race

While Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper has an apparently clear path to the primary to replace Gov. Bill Ritter, who announced he won’t seek a second term, Republicans must choose a standard-bearer.

The GOP front runner is a former congressman from the Western Slope, Scott McInnis. His top opponent is Denver entrepreneur Dan Maes.

U.S. Senate

When Ken Salazar left his Senate seat to become Interior secretary last year, what looked like a ho-hum re-election campaign turned into a free-for-all.

His appointed replacement, Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet, faces former state House Speaker Andrew Romanoff,  the man many thought would be appointed to the job by Ritter.

Bennet is leading in fundraising, but Romanoff thinks he has enough grass-roots support to win.

Both men are expected to battle in the August primary.

For the Republicans, former Lt. Gov. Jane Norton is the favorite but has two challengers: Weld County prosecutor Ken Buck and former Douglas County lawmaker Tom Weins.

El Paso County state lawmakers

The hottest race in the county is between two Republicans who want to take on incumbent Democratic Rep. Dennis Apuan. Kit Roupe, a Republican activist who lost to Apuan in 2008, is battling attorney Mark Barker for the GOP nomination.

For the retiring Sen. Dave Schultheis’ seat, two Republicans are vying.

State Rep. Kent Lambert is Schultheis’ hand-picked successor. Moderate Republican Tom McDowell said he’s trying to break the grip of social conservatives on the seat.

County posts

County clerk and recorder

Three candidates are vying for the GOP nomination for the El Paso Clerk and Recorder’s Office, including term-limited County Commissioner Wayne Williams; Charles E. Corry, a research scientist and computer expert; and County Treasurer Sandra Damron, who is also term-limited.

County sheriff

In his off-again, on-again race for a third term, El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa is challenged by veteran lawman Jake Shirk, Monument’s police chief.

County Commission District 5

The GOP candidates include Peggy Littleton, state Board of Education member for the 5th Congressional District and a regular at commission meetings; Bill Guevara, a former official from California; and David Williams, former UCCS student body president.

TO PARTICIPATE IN A CAUCUS:

To participate in a Republican or Democratic caucus, voters must have been affiliated with their party of choice since Jan. 19.

For information on where you can attend a caucus, head to your local party’s Web site.

For Republicans: www.gopelpaso.com.

For Democrats: www.peakdems.org.

KEY DATES FOE ELECTION 2010

March 16: Precinct Caucuses

April 10: Political parties hold county assembly meetings, where delegates pick partisan standard bearers for local races.

May 22: Political parties hold state assembly meetings where delegates pick favorites for statewide offices.

May 27: last day for candidates who shunned the caucuses to file petitions to appear on primary election ballots.

June 3: Last day for candidates selected at assembly meetings to withdraw from the August primary ballot.

July 12: Last day voters can change their party affiliation to vote in the primary and the last day voters can register and still vote in the primary.

August 10: Primary election occurs.

Nov. 2: General election held.

Source: El Paso County Clerk and Recorder