| Rep. Bernie Buescher, D-Grand Junction
Relevant Experience: former chairman of the Joint Budget Committee; former executive director of the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing; attorney. |
| John Clough, Littleton |
| Jay Fawcett, Colorado Springs
Relevant Experience: Democratic nominee in the 5th Congressional District, 2006; Founder of Western Strategies and Associates; retired Lt. Colonel, U.S. Air Force. |
| Scott Gessler, R-Denver
Relevant Experience: Leading Republican election lawyer in the firm of Hackstaff Gessler; currently serves on the Election Reform Commission; expertise in voting rights; undergrad at Yale, JD at Michigan, MBA at Northwestern. |
| Sen. Ken Gordon, D-Denver
Relevant Experience: Colorado Senate Majority Leader, term-limited in January; sponsor of 37 bills related to election law; Democratic nominee for secretary of state’s office in 2006; heads the Colorado Election Reform Commission. |
| Josh Hanfling, Denver
Relevant Experience: Founded various businesses, including most recently the AMMA Group, and also is a partner at Campo de Fiori, an Italian restaurant; candidate in House District 6 Democratic primary, in 2008; involved in myriad philanthropic causes; one of the Colorado Statesman’s “50 for the Future.” |
| Aaron Harber, D-Lafayette
Relevant Experience: Host of the well-respected “Aaron Harber Show;” background in technology, as president of the Silicon Valley computer-aided software engineering firm TeamOne Systems; undergraduate degree from Princeton, master’s degree from Kennedy School of Government at Harvard; ran for secretary of state in 1982, and again in 1990 as the Democratic nominee. |
| Sherry Jackson, D-Denver
Relevant Experience: Executive director of the Colorado Democratic Party; former Denver County clerk and recorder. |
| Claudia Kuhns, Denver
Relevant Experience: Was the chief researcher and investigator for Conroy v. Dennis, the 2006 case in which voting activists successfully sued for the state’s electronic voting equipment to be retested; frequently quoted opponent of current Secretary of State Mike Coffman. |
| Jessica Lovingier
Relevant Experience: Gilpin County Clerk; in 1993, at the age of 29, became the youngest elected clerk in state history. |
| Anthony Martinez, D-Conejos
Relevant Experience: Democratic nominee for secretary of state in 2000 and 2002; a long-time member of the Air Force, Martinez has served on a team responsible for setting up elections in Afghanistan. |
| Cary McMinnra, Fort Morgan
Relevant Experience: Adjunct professor at Art Institute of Colorado; also an architect and farmer. |
| Joseph Poche, Cherry Hills Village
Relevant Experience: Vice president of operations, Physicians Management Information Services, Inc. |
| Scott Primeau, Denver
Relevant Experience: Policy analyst for the Department of State’s Business Division since 2003. |
| Rosemary Rodriguez, D-Washington, D.C.
Relevant Experience: Chair of the federal Election Assistance Commission, which oversees implementation of the 2002 Help America Vote Act across the country. In other words, she holds arguably the most important election-related job in the country, but wants to move back to Denver. Also, Rodriguez served on the Denver City Council for four years, and was Denver County clerk and recorder before that. |
| Rep. Andrew Romanoff, D-Denver
Relevant Experience: Colorado speaker of the House, term-limited in January; sponsored bills to strengthen campaign finance laws, restrict gifts to public officials and candidates, and to create an address confidentiality program for victims of domestic violence. |
| Theresa Smith, Littleton
Relevant Experience: Financial analyst for Kaiser Permanente; longtime nurse. |
| James Tindall, Denver
Relevant Experience: Works for the U.S. Department of Interior. |
| Dan Willis, D-Denver
Relevant Experience: Secretary of the Denver Democratic Party; has held several temp positions in the secretary of state’s office and the Denver County Clerk and Recorder’s office. Ran for the Denver Election Commission in 1999, placing fifth in field of nine. |
| John Works, Denver
Relevant Experience: Founder of Rancher Energy Corp., an oil and gas company; former investment banker; lawyer. |