Democrats vowed to take back former state Senator John Morse’s seat almost immediately after he lost it. Too bad for them, the man, Sen. Bernie Herpin, who replaced him has demonstrated himself to be quite the skilled legislator. So much so that The Colorado County Clerks Association, who are gathered together for a few days, just voted him the Colorado legislator of the year. As Joey Bunch at The Denver Post reports:
State Sen. Bernie Herpin didn’t waste any time making a name for himself in Denver. Elected in the wake of the recall of Sen. John Morse last September. Herpin on Monday was chosen Legislator of the Year by the Colorado County Clerks Association.
According to a press release from Herpin’s re-election team, he won the prize “because of his ability to lead and reach across party lines to get things done in Denver.”
As a legislature mostly built on bipartisanship and bonhomie (hence, the need for extremists like Morse, who forced his personal agenda on the state, to be booted out), Herpin’s commitment to working across the aisle should be rewarded with another term. Over the past few years, Gov. John Hickenlooper’s failed leadership led to some nasty partisan battles; hopefully more legislators like Herpin can step up and fill the bipartisan leadership void Hickenlooper has let fester in our state.