Democrats are giddy that they have one of their own left-wing party stalwarts challenging U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton for the 3rd Congressional District.
Gail Schwartz, the former state senator from Gunnison County, is a term-limit opponent who was term limited out of her last job and has been casting about ever since looking for new employment.
She announced Friday that she has decided she wants Tipton’s job. But, here’s what she told the Aspen Daily News in January:
The now former senator, who at one point was being recruited to challenge Rep. Scott Tipton for his U.S. Congress seat representing the Western Slope, said she does not yet know her next occupation. Schwartz said she has “several balls up in the air.”
While she does not want to jump into anything too quickly, Schwartz said she sees opportunities to work on policy development, possibly in education or renewable energy, perhaps with a consulting organization, in a political office or state agency, or with a nonprofit group.
It looks like those job offers weren’t pouring in as she expected, so she’s hitting the campaign trail for a new job that is not term-limited.
Here’s what Schwartz has to offer the Western Slope — she has a 100 percent rating from liberal groups including Conservation Colorado, Colorado Voters for Animals, Planned Parenthood, and theAARP. She has a zero percent rating from the American Conservative Union, and Colorado Union of Taxpayers.
She’s an all or nothing kind of liberal Democrat, exactly what voters on the Western Slope aren’t exactly going to rally ‘round.
Schwartz’s campaign literature shows she is primarily focused on two things; siding with environmentalists against westerners, and federal spending that comes hand in hand with more federal standards for education.
She is committed to preserving Colorado’s majestic environment, while protecting its water, natural resources, and agricultural economy.
Which one of these things just doesn’t belong? In Washington, protecting farmers and ranchers does not go hand-in-hand with “protecting” the environment — those two factors have become mutually exclusive.
Schwartz might be too naive to understand that, but Western Slope voters are not.