Colorado Officials Block GOP Pick for House Seat Over Vacancy Rule Dispute

By Jesse Paul | The Colorado Sun

The Colorado Secretary of State’s Office told the GOP vacancy committee in House District 14 that its members did not get 10 days of notice ahead of making their appointment as is required by state law.

State elections officials Monday rejected a Republican vacancy committee’s pick for a seat in the Colorado legislature, finding that the panel didn’t follow state law in making the selection. 

The Colorado Secretary of State’s Office told the GOP vacancy committee in House District 14 that its members did not get 10 days of notice ahead the gathering to make their appointment as is required by state law.

The committee was picking a replacement for former House Minority Leader Rose Pugliese. She resigned Sept. 15. The vacancy vote was held Sept. 22. 

The rejection, which appears to be a first for the state, likely leaves the vacancy committee with two options: redo the vote or take on the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office in court. 

The saga is the latest drama surrounding Colorado’s vacancy process for the General Assembly, which has been increasingly panned as more and more members reach the Capitol through the state’s relatively unique way of replacing members of the legislature when they resign, are ousted or die while in office. 

Ironically, Pugliese was a lead sponsor of the latest bill passed by the legislature to try to improve the vacancy process.

Pugliese’s eventual replacement will be one of at least 25 members of the General Assembly next year who at some point were appointed to the House or Senate by or through a vacancy committee. That means 1 in 4 state lawmakers in Colorado owe their legislative careers, either in whole or in part, to the vacancy process.

The House District 14 vacancy committee selected Ava Flanell, a firearms instructor and gun rights activist, of Colorado Springs to replace Pugliese. She beat out Joe Woyte, a military veteran backed by Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, in a 28-26 vote. 

READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT THE COLORADO SUN