Withdrawal

Today, I end my campaign for the Democratic nomination for Colorado House District 6.

The candidates for the nomination in District 6 have a lot of talent.  After each of the four candidate forums in which I participated and also during the Denver Democratic Convention and Assembly, many voters commented that the District 6 candidates possess a wealth of talent and experience that makes choosing a candidate difficult.

I am a law professor with a small private practice as an attorney.  I am married with two children in school.  This race has become more complicated, and I find that I cannot do justice for my clients, meet my university obligations, provide enough love to my family, and adequately compete for the nomination.  I would like to spend more time with my family and less time with the campaign.  I do not have enough time.

My not having enough time, when combined with the fact that there is lots of talent in this race, points to the need for me step aside.  I thank everyone who supported and encouraged me; everyone who stuck by the rules; and everyone for whom the ideals of the Democratic Party are meaningful.

Tom Russell
St. Patrick’s Day, 2008

Endorsement

Earlier this week, I withdrew from the District 6 race. My plan was to get out of politics and catch up with my teaching and law practice.

However, as Michael Corleone said in Godfather III, "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in." A number of people have asked me about the remaining candidates. Today, I am happy to endorse Lois Court, whom I will actively support in the campaign for the Democratic nomination. I urge everyone who supported me to support and vote for Lois.

Lois Court knows that the central problem that Colorado faces today is the constitutional and fiscal mess of TABOR, Arveschoug-Bird, the Gallagher Amendment, and Amendment 23. She analyzes the problem with just the sort of wonkish depth that I admire. District 6 sends leaders to the legislature, and Lois has the knowledge and skills to help lead us out of the constitutional mess.

I believe a desire to fix the TABOR-related mess is a basic qualification for any candidate running for the Colorado legislature. It's a litmus test. The Bell Policy Center has concluded that the 2007 fiscal situation in Colorado was as good as it gets; today, we learned in the Denver Post that the state budget will be $700 million leaner than we thought. Any candidate (or legislator) who is not focusing on the fiscal and constitutional mess of TABOR-related constraints should, in my view, go into another line of work.

Second, Lois supports a single-payer solution to the problem of healthcare in Colorado. Along with my good friends at Healthcare for All Colorado, I see the existing system of private-insurance-based healthcare as fundamentally broken, and I think that a single-payer system should be our goal. Lois agrees.

Third, I am greatly concerned about consumers and injured people. In my law practice, I represent injured people in struggles with insurance companies. Colorado law has swung away from consumers and toward big businesses especially insurance companies. I know that as a legislator, Lois will support consumers.

Since I entered the race, I have gotten to know Lois Court well. We've sparred and kidded with each other. I have, of course, thought very carefully about Lois, her points of view, and the positions of the other candidates. I am very glad to recommend her as an excellent successor to Andrew Romanoff.

Best regards,

Tom Russell
21 March 2008