This week, the Colorado Springs Gazette editorial board rightly highlighted the deficiencies of Secretary of State Jenna Griswold, while at the same time defending home town favorite Wayne Williams in the wake of his surprising, and undeserved, November defeat.
Calling Griswold an “amateur salsa dancer who lacks the qualifications for the job,” who “functioned as a partisan hack from day one” on the job as Secretary of State, the Gazette held nothing back in its criticism – personal or professional.
The story stayed on the offensive, chronicling her lackadaisical trek through the campaign and speculating that Griswold perhaps never expected to actually win. From not voting in past elections, to offering up dance moves at a debate, the Gazette didn’t mince words: “in challenging Williams for his job, Griswold treated it like a joke.”
While this behavior was surprising conduct for someone seeking high office, what launched this editorial was Griswold’s step into uncharted territory: using her position to loudly rebuke the actions of a state legislature 1,000 miles away about an issue that has nothing to do with Secretary of State duties.
Griswold’s Daily Kos approach to the office that Williams brought such dignity to was a bit too much for the Gazette to let go unnoticed. Griswold was elected to run fair elections and facilitate business filings, among other non-partisan things, and their editorial was a jarring reminder of how bitterly politicized angry Democrats have made the most ordinary things.