InnerView

Hickenlooper: Trip to Israel was ‘the most remarkable of my life’

5/6/2013
By Jody Hope Strogoff
The Colorado Statesman

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper recently returned from a week in Israel where he traveled with Denver businessman Larry Mizel and three other private citizens. This was the first time that Hickenlooper has been to Israel. Although the trip abroad was personal versus state business, the Governor agreed to share some of his experiences with The Colorado Statesman in an interview at his Capitol office on April 30. The following transcript has been edited lightly for clarity.

Tom Cronin and Bob Loevy on the color purple

12/21/2012
By Jody Hope Strogoff and Ernest Luning
The Colorado Statesman

Colorado College political science professors Thomas Cronin and Robert Loevy are so confident that Colorado is a solidly “purple” state — decidedly up for grabs despite big wins by Democrats this year and by Republicans in the last election — that they went to the mat when it came time to design their most recent book’s cover.

GOP, Dem chairs analyze elections

11/30/2012
By Jody Hope Strogoff and Ernest Luning
The Colorado Statesman

Three weeks after President Barack Obama won Colorado and Democrats took back control of the state House by a wide margin, state Democratic Party Chairman Rick Palacio and state Republican Party Chairman Ryan Call joined The Colorado Statesman for a wide-ranging discussion about the election and the future of both parties in a state both say they expect to remain up for grabs.

InnerView: State Chairs Ryan Call and Rick Palacio

6/15/2012
By Jody Hope Strogoff and Ernest Luning
The Colorado Statesman

State Democratic Party chairman Rick Palacio and his Republican counterpart Ryan Call have a lot in common. Both are Colorado natives with lengthy political resumés, and both worked their way up through the party structure with relative speed. Palacio, who emerged from a crowded contest to helm the Democrats last year at age 36, was the youngest state party chair in memory. He lost that distinction a few weeks later when Call, who is a few months younger, managed the same feat on the Republican side.

InnerView: Amy Stephens

3/23/2012
By Jody Hope Strogoff and Ernest Luning
The Colorado Statesman

Stephens, Looper engaged in brutal battle

A Statesman InnerView with the GOP candidates in Colorado Springs’ contentious HD 19 primary

InnerView: Marsha Looper

3/23/2012
By Jody Hope Strogoff and Ernest Luning
The Colorado Statesman

Colorado Statesman (CS:) How are things going?

Marsha Looper (ML): I believe, in spite of all of the challenges that we’ve had to deal with this year, I think the session’s going well. We’re passionate about our issues and that’s why we’re all here, is to represent the issues that are important to our district. And so, I’m sure that the rest of the session will be just as exciting, and I look forward to it. Yeah.

InnerView with Brandon Shaffer

1/23/2012
By Jody Hope Strogoff and Ernest Luning
The Colorado Statesman

Senate President Brandon Shaffer says he doesn’t expect ideological differences — or his own congressional campaign — to get in the way of the Legislature’s ability to have a productive session this year. Amid calls for bipartisanship and agreement that jobs and the economy are the Legislature’s top priorities this session, Shaffer says the session has a “good tone and a good collaborative feel going,” and that he’s already working with Senate Republicans to advance legislation.

InnerView with Frank McNulty

1/16/2012
By Jody Hope Strogoff and Ernest Luning
The Colorado Statesman

House Speaker Frank McNulty says GOP lawmakers are excited about the 2012 legislative session and expect a constructive 120 days despite friction with Democrats over a reapportionment process that ended up pitting several Republicans against each other.

InnerView with Mark Ferrandino

1/9/2012
By Jody Hope Strogoff and Ernest Luning
The Colorado Statesman

As the Colorado General Assembly prepares to gavel into session this week, the leader of the House Democrats predicts that lawmakers will be able to tackle a range of thorny problems facing the state, despite any lingering anger among Republicans — who hold a one-vote majority in the chamber — over a Democratic-driven legislative reapportionment decision GOP leaders have called “vindictive.” In part because so many legislators won’t be returning next year, says House Minority Leader Mark Ferrandino, D-Denver, the bitter partisan atmosphere could still yield a productive session as lawmakers consider their legacies.

InnerView with Jim Nicholson

1/9/2012
By Jody Hope Strogoff
The Colorado Statesman

Jim Nicholson, well known in the state, was elected a national committeeman from Colorado to the Republican National Committee (RNC) in 1986. He became vice-chairman of the RNC in 1993, and four years later he was elected Chairman. Under his leadership, the Republican party began to rebound from the disastrous losses of 1996. In 2000, the Republican party won the presidency, a majority in the Congress, and a majority of governorships and state legislatures — a feat not accomplished in nearly fifty years.