Photo credit: Adrienne Benavidez/Facebook

Democratic Sen. Jesse Ulibarri will not seek re-election and, instead, will expand his role with the Wellstone Foundation. He has endorsed Rep. Dominick Moreno to replace him in the Senate. In turn, Moreno has endorsed Adrienne Benavidez to replace him in the House. Both Moreno and Ulibarri’s districts lean heavily Democratic, so we are having a difficult time mustering interest in these developments.

What is interesting, however, is that Benavidez claimed that she was fired from Mayor Hancock’s administration (first firing for incompetence ever, maybe?) less than a month ago. Benavidez was the head of purchasing, a position in which we’re sure there is no room for shenangians. (wink!) Here is what Benavidez defensively told The Denver Post two weeks ago:

“Benavidez said Hancock met with her two days before that and told her he wanted ‘to make a change.’ She said he also cited an allegation that Benavidez embarrassed a program manager from another department in August by calling that person a name during a meeting. She denies the charge, along with other complaints she says Hancock referenced vaguely.”

Good grief, what did she do to actually get fired from Hancock’s administration? PeakNation™, you may recall a recent post about Denver City Attorney Stuart Shapiro who has been on investigative leave for quite some time – and who has collected over $200,000 for doing nothing while they investigate his case. Did she kick puppies or pinch babies?

It may be that she was asleep at the wheel. A 2014 audit of the city showed that Benavidez’s department was not closely monitoring service contracts. From Channel 7 KMGH:

“In a scathing audit released Friday morning, Gallagher said the department’s failure to effectively oversee citywide service contracts ‘puts the city at risk of paying for services that were never delivered.’

He also said, ‘There’s a bleed on tax dollars in that agency that has to be plugged up.'”

Shocking. A Democratic appointee wasting tax dollars? We can’t believe it. As a specialist in wasting tax dollars, what could go wrong in giving her a say in the state budget?