Governor Hickenlooper announced his pick for Lieutenant Governor today and it’s exactly what he promised – someone from the business community and a woman. The new Lieutenant Governor, assuming the Colorado State Senate approves her, will be Donna Lynne, the head of Kaiser Permanente in Colorado, the Northwest, and Hawaii. She also has served as an executive in the New York Mayor’s office and as the head of an employer health care organization. Her resume is, without question, impressive.

Lynne’s background should give her a good perspective on the health care situation here in Colorado – maybe we could even get an audit of Colorado’s version of Obamacare, Connect for Health Colorado. Please? Or maybe not, since Kaiser has found such success through the exchange.

Like Hickenlooper, Lynne’s resume reads like a moderate, but make no mistake, she is a Democrat. All one has to do is look at her donations to understand. Her Open Secrets donations show nearly $40,000 in political donations, almost all to Democrats, over the past decade or so. Embattled U.S. Senator Michael Bennet was the top recipient of her generosity, raking in $10,200 over the past few years. Former U.S. Senator Mark Udall also received $6,100 from Lynne. President Obama and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton received $3,500 and $2,950, respectively. Then, female at-risk legislators Rep. Tammy Duckworth, and Sens. Patty Murray, Kirsten Gillibrand, and Mary Landrieu each received $1,000.

Her TRACER report shows another $30,000 in Democratic donations at the state level. The largest recipient of her funds was Colorado Commits to Kids, the group pushing the billion dollar tax increase, which received a $10,000 check from Lynne. Lynne also maxed out to Hickenlooper each election.

With nearly $70,000 going to Democratic causes, it would appear that Lynne’s investments have paid off in prestige, but not actual financial returns. Let’s remember that the Lt. Governor only earns $68,500 per year.