The Democratic Party had high hopes for its young Secretary of State candidate last year, so much so that they cleared the primary field for him so he could focus on defeating Wayne Williams, the former El Paso County Clerk and Recorder, who ultimately won in spite of Libertarian and American Constitution Party candidates peeling off nearly eight percent of the vote.
Neguse must have impressed some people in spite of the loss, as yesterday the governor announced that Neguse would take over the role of Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies. This means he will serve as the top regulator of all the state regulators – this has to be an absolute dream job for a big government Democrat.
Unlike some non-traditional candidates for other somewhat technical roles in state and local government, we feel that Neguse at least meets the minimum professional qualifications for his new role. He served a six year term as Colorado Regent, and covered regulatory issues as an associate (this means he theoretically did some of the actual heavy lifting) at Holland and Hart, according to the firm’s website.
As for what the future holds for Neguse, we’re not sure. He had a pretty generous set up for the Secretary of State race, and could not close the deal on Governor Hickenlooper’s coattails, however short they may have been, to beat a county clerk from Colorado Springs. Those opportunities only come around every so often.