Yet another vacancy committee of political party insiders has replaced Coloradans’s votes and selected the third new state senator to serve in the legislative session that began (checks calendar) this week.
For those keeping score, that brings the total number of Republican legislators elected by vacancy committees instead of special elections to replace suddenly resigning lawmakers to four.
Democrats still have at least one House member to replace in the coming days, and that will bring the number of their lawmakers seated by party insiders instead of voters to 22.
It’s a scandal that must be stopped. Unfortunately, those in charge of making it stop are the ones abusing the system — state lawmakers.
Democrat State Sen. Chris Hansen was replaced on Wednesday because he had already lined up a lucrative job on the Western Slope but continued running for reelection to the Senate anyway.
Democrat party insiders replaced him with Matthew Ball, Denver policy director. But another vacancy was almost created by two current Democrat House members who just won election but tossed their hats in the ring to replace Hansen.
Hold onto the railings, cause the roller coaster is about to get bumpy.
Sean Camacho, who just beat radical progressive Elisabeth Epps for a Denver House seat in November and had yet to serve a single day yet as a lawmaker, tried to get a promotion Wednesday by running for Hansen’s seat at the vacancy committee meeting.
State Rep. Steven Woodrow also tried to replace Hansen. If either had succeeded that would have created yet another vacancy for Democrats to fill.
And that’s exactly what happened when Democrat State Rep. Iman Jodeh was picked by a vacancy committee on Monday to replace Sen. Janet Buckner of Aurora. Another Democrat vacancy committee will have to pick a new state representative to fill Jodeh’s House seat.
What Democrats gain by playing this game is exploiting a loophole in the term limits law that restricts senators to only eight years in office. That’s two terms.
But these new senators won’t face their first election to that seat until two years from now, which gives them the power of incumbency to get reelected with the possibility of serving up to 10 years instead of eight.
It’s that edge in seniority that keeps Democrats from making any attempt to fix Colorado’s broken system of democracy in the state legislature.
The only real solution is to join the rest of democracy nationwide and hold special elections to replace resigning lawmakers. Colorado is one of only four states nationwide that rejects special elections, preferring the party boss method of democracy.
Or, Democrats could try holding their lawmakers accountable and demand pledges to fulfill their terms before electing them in the first place. Those who break their promises should not be elected to higher office.
That’s how democracy works in theory. We urge Democrats to give it a try.
Republicans should lead by example, and make those same promises before it becomes a problem on the right as well.
Republicans have already had one vacancy committee replacement this year; State Sen. Keith Van Winkle who resigned to accept an appointment by Gov. Polis as a Douglas County commissioner. He was replaced last week with CU Regent John Carson, whose replacement will be picked by Polis.
The previous legislature had almost one-third of its members first “elected” via the party boss vacancy committee process.
The current session is just getting started and already has 26 lawmakers who were not first elected by the voters of their district.
Do better, Colorado.