Being the Governor of Colorado sounds like a tough job, so who could blame Democratic Governor John Hickenlooper for partying across the country instead of dealing with wildfires in Fern Lake? On Friday, the final evacuees returned to their homes, but the question remains – where was our fearless leader during this time?

According to his Twitter account, he was enjoying the perks of his position with a trip to Arizona for the Western Governors’ Association meeting and then off to Washington, D.C. for the critically-important-to-his-position Kennedy Center Honors with his BFF of convenience, President Barack Obama.

On December 1, 2012, this is what he Tweeted:

According to the WGA registration, the meeting was held in Scottsdale, AZ at the Montelucia Resort and Spa, which has an entire section on its awards and accolades (because it’s that awesome).  Here are a few of the awards: Orbitz.com’s 2012 “Best of Stay”, Condé Nast Traveler (2012) Top 10 Hotels in the Southwest Region, AAA Four Diamond Award (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013), and US News & World Report (2011, 2012) Best Hotels in USA, among many others.

Reviewing the accommodations, it would appear a very basic guest room would set someone back $320 per night.  We can’t help but wonder whether the 1,100 households that the Fern Lake wildfires displaced had similar accommodations.  The resort boasts high-thread count sheets, pillow-top mattresses and turn-down service.

On Saturday, while the Guv was enjoying one of the world’s best hotels, the Fern Lake wildfire doubled in size, according to a news report from that day.

The next day, according to Twitter, the Governor jetted to Washington, D.C. to sit in Obama’s box for the Kennedy Center Honors:


The Kennedy Center Honors honors Hollywood and Washington.  According to CNN:

“The Kennedy Center Honors has long been a tradition that bridges Hollywood and Washington, and this year was no exception. Aside from the honorees, other notable attendees included actors Alec Baldwin, Jack Black and Morgan Freeman; rockers Lenny Kravitz and Jeff Beck; and such politicians as House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Thad Cochran of South Dakota and Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius.”

With a red-carpet arrival and the chance to mix and mingle with Hollywood stars, this black-tie event certainly sounds sexier than fighting wildfires in rural Colorado. We’re not going to begrudge Hick the opportunity to have a little fun, but it seems like he cared more for Colorado’s wildfire victims during the election season.  Now that his guy won, why let a wildfire stand in the way of a good time?