Over the years Colorado has had constitutional officers who have been honey badgers, relentless in their political machinations, and absentee figure heads, biding their time before they can bid for higher office.
This year, voters have good options, somewhere between those two extremes.
We suggest: for attorney general, George Brauchler; for secretary of state, Wayne Williams; and for treasurer, Dave Young.
These are pragmatic leaders who will operate the state’s law firm, election division and bank with efficiency and efficacy.
George Brauchler is exceptionally well-qualified to lead the Office of the Attorney General.
The office has 302 attorneys, 196 other employees and an $83 million budget. Brauchler manages a similar operation in Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert and Lincoln counties as the district attorney for the 18th Judicial District.
He’s a colonel with the Colorado Army National Guard where he serves as a legal adviser to NORAD, and he served as the chief of military justice for Fort Carson Army base in Colorado Springs.
Brauchler became a household name when he decided to pursue the death penalty for James Holmes who was ultimately sentenced to life in prison for killing 12 people and injuring dozens at an Aurora movie theater in 2012.
The prosecutor has taken his fair share of heat for that decision, including from this editorial board. But Brauchler’s rule-of-law argument for why he chose to pursue death, is ironically, precisely what we like about Brauchler for the AG’s office.
“I don’t pick and choose the laws,” Brauchler told us. Since lawmakers had put the death penalty on the books, Brauchler felt obligated to give fair consideration to using the statute as applicable in the case.
Brauchler will take the same approach as attorney general, he assures us, advising state agencies and the governor about what the law actually says, not what he personally wants the law to accomplish.
We have concerns about his opponent Phil Weiser’s commitment to the same. Weiser is also qualified for the office, contrary to the ads running against him.
But Weiser has broadcast to the public and this board that he would be an activist attorney general putting the pursuit of policy outcomes first.
In contrast, Brauchler will be an honest arbiter of our laws whether he likes them or not.
For secretary of state, we urge Colorado voters to return Wayne Williams to office.
Williams is a true public servant who impressed in El Paso County as the clerk and recorder. His handling of Election Day 2012 when the county election headquarters was evacuated during the Waldo Canyon fire is now part of election lore.
Williams has also impressed us as secretary of state. He found creative ways to incentivize counties to invest in new, secure voting equipment that maintain paper ballots — a prescient move made long before Russia ever tried to hack the electronic voting systems in other states. Coloradans can now be confident in secure elections.
Williams is criticized by his opponent Jena Griswold, a first-time candidate with a promising future, for opposing the 2013 voting reform package that allowed same-day voter registration and required ballots be mailed to every voter.
But many of the technical details Williams raised in opposition to the bill six years ago, have been implemented through subsequent legislative “fixes.”
Williams has also lowered fees that are charged on businesses that register with his agency. Those fees fund his entire office. Williams’ office is a bastion of transparency.
We’ll admit we were surprised that he used his discretionary fund to, early in his first-term in office, buy a tuxedo and outlandishly expensive boots and a cowboy hat for the State Fair junior livestock sale known as the Denver Rustlers. It was an error in judgement, but also well-within the legal uses of a discretionary fund established for our constitutional officers.
Finally, this editorial board endorses Dave Young for treasurer.
Young is a true public servant who dedicated his early career to teaching — admirably tackling middle school math in Greeley for 23 years.
Most recently he has served eight years in the Colorado legislature, including a stint on the Joint Budget Committee where he worked as a bipartisan group of six lawmakers to craft the state’s nearly $30 billion discretionary budget every year. That role ensures that Young is intimately familiar with the workings of Colorado’s budget, a critical skill for a position that will put Young in charge of the state’s banking. He’s got a great handle on how the office runs and where improvements are needed.
He proposes getting temporary staff to help break the log-jam that exists in the unclaimed property division. That should help make sure the Great Colorado Payback returns Coloradan’s property quickly.
As a former teacher, Young knows how critical it is that this state offer competitive wages and attractive retirement packages through the state’s struggling pension, but he also understands the impact the pension has on the state budget.
Young faces Brian Watson, a commercial real-estate investor who has built up considerable net-worth for his Lo-Do-based business.
We have no doubt Watson would run an efficient ship, but we were concerned he wasn’t willing to step aside from his private business while he serves the public as treasurer.
Young is ready and willing to serve the state exclusively.
To send a letter to the editor about this article, submit online or check out our guidelines for how to submit by email or mail.
To send a letter to the editor about this article, submit online or check out our guidelines for how to submit by email or mail.
