My vote at the CD-2 convention

In CD-2 we have an embarrassment of riches with the 3 amigos. Up until now I have enjoyed that luxury, three contenders any one of which I would be happy to see representing us in Washington.

But now we come to the flip side of this choice - I have to pick one. And as a delegate to the Boulder county convention, I have to pick now, not in August. Although I don't think much will change between now and then.

First off, here is how I see them:

Joan Fitz-Gerald: Joan is another Nancy Pelosi. I expect to see Joan in the leadership within 10 years and using that position as an effective liberal voice. I think her leadership time here in the state Senate, first in the minority, and then with a slight majority, with both Republican and Democratic governors, makes her ideally suited for this role. And she will get things done.

Jared Polis: Jared is a wild card. He will work for many goals that are impossible, and will concentrate on issues where his passion takes him (education will get a lot of that). Jared will have a higher failure rate because of his impossible goals. But he will also have some successes on goals that no one thought had a prayer. He will bring a unique voice that does not see limits.

Will Shafroth: Will is Mark Udall redux. Will will perform the blocking & tackling of being an effective representative for our district. He will do the most for our district and the residents here from bringing home the bacon to constituent services. And he clearly will concentrate on environmental issues. It doesn't get the spotlight but this is exactly the job we need most representatives performing.

So to me the choice is not which one is "better." Nor is it who's policies are closer to mine, they are all pretty similar in how they would vote. It's what approach I think will be most useful not just for our district, but for our country.

I will be voting for Jared Polis at the County convention. There are way too many people in Washington who see the limits on what is possible, on what should be attempted, on what should be addressed, and work within those margins. Jared won't even notice those margins.

I am also impressed with how Jared in his campaign has continued to try very innovate ideas, and has learned how to frame them better so they don't cause him blow-back. He's been hammered for those innovative attempts and keeps riding forth to slay the dragon. I expect to see some amazing successes from Jared.

Not to mention, it will help to have someone who actually understands the high-tech world in Congress.

Update:

In the high tech start-up world the rule of thumb is try 100 things, 90 will fail. Keep doing the 10 that work, try 100 new - rinse, lather, repeat. If we could have more spectacular success with no increases in failures people would of course do that.

This is akin to FDR with The New Deal - if you really study it you find that they had a lot of failures as they kept trying. But they also had a lot of successes and saved the country. So yes, I am voting for someone who will have a higher failure rate, because it is the only way to also have a better spectacular success rate.

Jared will get some good laws passed that otherwise will never see the light of day.

Comments

[WeatherDem]

Interesting - like others, I figured you were more likely to be a Fitz-Gerald supporter. Again, that's not necessarily a bad thing.
I think like you, I'm tired of talking about incremental changes. It hasn't proven to get enough done. That's why I decided to support Jared early on: I see him as a person who things outside the box and is willing to try things other people say can't be done. I want to see the proof that it couldn't be done. Never trying certainly guarantees it won't!

[TBTH]

I was a bit surprised by the choice.
It isn't a bad choice (I don't think there is a bad choice in this race) but I wasn't expecting this to be your choice. I would have had you pegged for a Fitz-Gerald guy for exactly the reasons you gave.

The part of the story I find really interesting, though, is the state of the internet. For people to care about your opinion, and for candidates to find it worth responding publicly, indicates that the internet continues to be changing the game.

[Jared Polis]

Thank you.

It is true that if you never try anything new, then you won't fail. Congress doesn't suffer from a lack of legislative experience, they suffer from a lack of new ideas.

I look forward to challenging the status quo in Washington. There are already plenty of members who are part of the status quo and I don't think our country will benefit from more of that. Congress needs effective members that are of a different mold.

I've been effective working in a political environment on the State Board of Education; the Democratic and Republican members chose me as their Chairman. I will continue to look for likely and unlikely allies as we move forward on a path of progressive reform and new ideas for our country and the world.

Thank you for your support, I look forward to working hard for you in Congress.

Jared Polis
www.polisforcongress.com

[carol hardy]

Thinking people do not cast their votes on "wild cards." Joan is a sure thing with a proven record of legislation and leadership. If Will is a Mark Udal redux and represents the district as well as Mark, then that is a good thing.
When you deliberately vote on a person, whom you admit will have a higher failure rate than the others, then you are putting his constituents in jeopardy. You are irresponsible as a delegate when you vote on a candidate and acknowledge that you expect failure.

[WTF]

Based on your descriptions, I thought you would rank Jared as last. You basically say both Joan and Will will be effective at getting things done, and Jared will be a failure. That is what you want? That makes very little sense. We don't need another loony in Congress that is so full of themselves that they spend a bunch of time making noise for the sake of making noise. We desperately need people in Congress that can help pull this country back together. I don't understand your reasoning at all.