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http://www.denverpost.com/localpolitics/ci_2881229 U.S. elections post
to be filled by Secretary of State Davidson By Karen E. Crummy President Bush said
Thursday he intends to appoint Colorado Secretary of State Donetta Davidson,
who has been criticized for state election blunders, to the four-member federal
Election Assistance Commission. If confirmed by the
U.S. Senate, Davidson, who is expected to make $143,000 annually, would serve
the remainder of a four-year term expiring Dec. 12, 2007. Davidson was out of
town Thursday and could not be reached for comment. "She is
thrilled," said her spokeswoman, Dana Williams. "When she gets back
... she plans to prepare for the Senate confirmation." Davidson's
departure gives Gov. Bill Owens the opportunity to appoint a strong Republican
to the remainder of her term. "It wouldn't
be in the best interests of the state ... to keep that position open for a
year," said spokesman Mark Salley. "But it's too early to speculate
who the governor may appoint to the vacancy created by Donetta's expected
resignation." Term limits would
have kept Davidson from running again, but a new appointee presents the GOP
with the advantage of having an incumbent in the November 2006 election. That
could shut the door on the aspirations of Mike Coffman, who has taken a leave
from his state treasurer post to serve a seven-month tour of duty in Iraq. He
has said he is considering a 2006 run for secretary of state. But Owens could
appoint a temp. "There is a
good chance the governor will appoint a place- keeper to fill out the term and
hold it for Mike Coffman to run," GOP consultant Katy Atkinson said. There is a feeling
of loyalty toward Coffman, Atkinson said, because he pulled out of the
governor's race, leaving the Republican field less crowded for U.S. Rep. Bob
Beauprez. "A lot of
people have given Coffman a second look because of that," she said. The federal
commission, only 2 years old, handles many state election issues whose handling
Davidson has been criticized for in the past. Along with encouraging the use of
statewide manuals to train election judges, it gives states funding to train
poll workers and recommends an open, public process for verifying
"provisional" or emergency ballots. Davidson, appointed
in 1999 to replace the late Vikki Buckley, waited until nearly half of
Colorado's 16,000 election judges were trained last fall before issuing a
uniform rule manual. She also was
criticized after the names of 6,000 state parolees and prisoners popped up on
voter-registration rolls and as many as 68,000 state voters - including
Davidson - were registered more than once. Staff writer Karen E. Crummy can be reached at 303-820-1594 or kcrummy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx. |