Over the weekend, at the 2nd Congressional DistrictAssembly, Democratic candidate Jared Polis picked up enough delegates to earn aspot on the Aug. 12 primary ballot for Rep. Mark Udall's soon-to-be-vacantcongressional seat.
Polis won about 40 percent of delegates. The rest went toformer Colorado Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald, with whom Polis has beenlocked in an expensive and increasingly contentious race.
Days before the assembly, Polis stopped in El Jebelduring a campaign swing throughout the district, which stretches from theeastern plains, through his native Boulder, and into the mid-Roaring ForkValley.
Chatting with a dozen of his supporters at The UpperCrust bagel shop - and battling the whir and grind of espresso makers and bagelslicers - Polis laid out his pitch. A quick-on-his-feet speaker sporting apurple Polo turtleneck, gray slacks and velcro sneakers, the candidate relishedthe intimate back-and-forth afternoon exchange.
The heir to a greeting card fortune who has made millionsas an Internet entrepreneur, Polis does not have a typical politician'sgrooming. Now 32, he is the son of an artist and a poet ("As kids we werealways going off to protest one thing or another," he quipped) whoexcelled in the private sector and took an interest in Colorado educationissues, but is now eyeing Capitol Hill, where he believes he can affectnational change.
"I'm running for Congress because many of theproblems we now face are federal in nature," said Polis, citing the war inIraq, greenhouse gas emissions and health care among the most pressing nationalissues.
Polis is one of 11 congressional candidates to compose"A Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq," an ambitious if nebulousexit strategy for the war that now has 40-some candidates signed on to it."We must begin withdrawal immediately," Polis said of the planThursday, "but must do so in a tactically sound manner. It will take sometime before last troop is withdrawn."
Polis himself visited the Iraq war zone in November, andsaid the trip shocked his conscience. "America has 60,000 mercenariesfighting this war for us," Polis pointed out. "The perimeter of theGreen Zone is not being held by American soldiers, but corporatesoldiers."
The candidate touts his private-sector successes as proofhe could be a responsible fiscal legislator. He said he hoped to craftlegislation to roll back President Bush's tax cuts for Americans making morethan $200,000, that he would advocate cutting military spending by 15 percent,and that he supports levying extra fees and surcharges on appliances andconsumer products that are not energy efficient.
On global warming mitigation, Polis said he would fightto expand wind and solar power usage throughout the country while banning theconstruction of new coal plants. "There is no such thing as 'clean' coaltechnology," he said.
Polis has endorsed Barack Obama for president, but saidhis health care goals are more akin to Hillary Clinton's universal coverageplan. "Whether you are out of work, in work, young or old, you should becovered," Polis told the valley gaggle.
The Aug. 12 Democratic primary is expected to determinewho will take Rep. Udall's place in Congress. In addition to Sen. Fitz-Geraldand Polis, who earned spots on the ballot Saturday, Boulder-basedconservationist Will Shafroth is expected to petition into the Dem's race.
A competitive Republican candidate has yet to emerge inthe contest.
andrew@aspendailynews.com
