Shakeup in Hickenlooper Cabinet

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper is now on the lookout for a new chief of staff after Michael Bennet was named today as the new superintendent of Denver Public Schools.

Bennet's selection isn't a major surprise and could be the first step on his own political ladder (he is rumored to be interested in making a U.S. Senate run at some point). In the meantime, his departure means that Hickenlooper will need a new chief of staff. City Attorney Cole Finegan is probably the frontrunner for the job, though Deputy Chief of Staff Sarah Kendall could also be considered.

Comments

[politicalprincess]

Kendall may go with Bennett to DPS.

[Vladimir]

Kendall -- has zero, none, nada, no chance at all of being Chief of Staff -- that one is such a non starter as to be laughable -- what kind of sources do y'all have.

[Roger D]

Cole has the inside track and I am sure will be named COS. Michelle Lucero, will be named the first hispanic woman to be City Attorney.

I agree with political princess, look for Kendall to go with Bennet.

[Scoop]

Cole is out. Mike Huttner is on the short list. With Jason Bane on the hook for Deputy.

[Anon]

now this is the kind of juicy political gossip i wish we'd hear more of from our pols.

[Peter Griffin]

Huttner and Bane?

Ha ha... Yeah and I've got a bridge to sell you.
Neither have any direct affiliation with Hickenlooper nor would the Mayor want someone as politically biased as Huttner in his COS role. Bane was Morrissey's lackey and that's about the extent of his political career.

Nice try though...

[skibum]

Nice post scoop.

[Running Shoes]

Huttner as COS would be a disaster. The guy runs the ultra left progressives which would tarnish the Mayor plus he is a weak political mind. Huttner went 0-4 on city council races so not only can he not work with the city at large he has attacked half the council don't see it happening. My money is on Cole.

[noname]

I second Peter on this one. Two white males like Huttner and Bane assuming these posts would go over like a lead balloon in this town. Not to mention the fact that Huttner goes toe-to-toe with Owens on a number of occasions. I can't see how he would help Ref. C&D pass as Cheif of Staff for Hick.

[Alan]

Pretty funny. Those of us who know Mike also know he's a little busy for this with ProgressNow.org, which is expanding rapidly, but thanks for playing.

And (ahem) Huttner supported or worked for 12 of the 13 current city council members. Good Swift Boat Vets-style fact checking there.

[Peter Griffin]

A re-post of my comments to the June 15, 2005 post "Will Hickenlooper Lose His Chief of Staff?" Damn I'm good... We'll see what happens now:

So it appears that the Denver chapter of the Wesleyan University Alumni Association is about to split up. DPS issues were a major roadblock for Hickenlooper's gubernatorial run and with Bennet heading over there, Hick can now check DPS off of the list. Maybe we'll begin to see some movement from Hick on the governors line and his buddy Rutt Bridges can finally quit with the stall tactics and fade back into the woodwork.

I foresee Cole Finegan making the move over to COS to do some immediate house cleaning - finally clearing out the majority of the underqualified campaign holdovers Hick brought onto his staff to create the illusion of "diversity."

Posted by: Peter Griffin | June 15, 2005 11:03 AM

[alan smitheee]

How did this thread become a referndum on Mike Huttner? I like the guy personally, but there is no chance he's Hick's guy.
More importantly, Hick has just added another major brick in his political powerhouse. His right hand man gets picked to run DPS?...that on top of his string of successes makes him more powerful than Mayor Webb ever tried to be...

[Praire Flower]

How many white guys does it take to run this town?

Think about the lack of diversity...

Denver Mayor - white guy
DPS superintendent - white guy
Chamber of Commerce - white guy
Convention Bureau - white guy

I could go on but you get the picture. Being white and rich is the golden ticket right now.

My money is on Cole for COS - he wants to add some teeth to the (lack of) policy staff.

[alan smitheee]

...that on top of his string of successes (including making that moron Tom - illegals-finished-my-basement Tancredo shut up about DPL and mind his own district for a change) makes him more powerful than Mayor Webb ever tried to be...

[Vladimir]

Hey for Chief of Staff how about that cute ex-girlfriend of Hick's who he gave the $100,000 a year job to -- she is not too bright but is cute, dresses well and smiles easily

[Queen Victoria]

Hick's appointees wish they made that much money, Vladimir. Actually, if you go back and check newspaper articles on the subject, you will see the person you are referring to only makes $71,000...a bargain for the kind of expertise and success she has brought to her role. Who cares if she dated Hick a million years ago? We're all adults here. And I'd hate to think that just because a woman is "cute" and "dresses well" - that you would assume she is "not too bright." Anyone who actually knows her knows that is she is extremely intelligent and capable.

[Queen Victoria]

Hick's appointees wish they made that much money, Vladimir. Actually, if you go back and check newspaper articles on the subject, you will see the person you are referring to only makes $71,000...a bargain for the kind of expertise and success she has brought to her role. Who cares if she dated Hick a million years ago? We're all adults here. And I'd hate to think that just because a woman is "cute" and "dresses well" - that you would assume she is "not too bright." Anyone who actually knows her knows that is she is extremely intelligent and capable.

[Almostlawyer]

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