John Hickenlooper has more fun at reunion than dealing with billion-dollar budget shortfall

Fresh from another round of eco-devo meetings and a quick side trip to a Craig hospital to get five stitches after he bumped his head in his state car, John Hickenlooper landed back in Denver in time for a reunion party at El Diablo with campaign staffers and supporters who...

By Patricia Calhoun

March 11, 2011

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Fresh from another round of eco-devo meetings and a quick side trip to a Craig hospital to get five stitches after he bumped his head in his state car, John Hickenlooper landed back in Denver in time for a reunion party at El Diablo with campaign staffers and supporters who worked on his victorious run for governor last year.

The crowd included everyone from Lindy Eichenbaum Lent, Hickenlooper's very first hire when he decided to run for mayor back in 2002, to some of the cabinet members from outlying areas who are now bunking at the Governor's Mansion, to members of the transition teams that helped study state agencies and departments before the inauguration. Hickenlooper recalled "how much work was done in those two months in order to hit the ground running."

And that, of course, followed months of work on the campaign. "It was the most rewarding and engaging experience of my entire professional life," Hickenlooper said. "I could not have had a better time."

And now that he's governor of a state with a billion-dollar shortfall? "The budget is no fun," Hickenlooper said.

And it's not done, either. The Joint Budget Committee will be crunching numbers again today.

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Patricia Calhoun is editor-in-chief of Westword, the alt-weekly she co-founded in September 1977. She’s been inducted into the Colorado Press Association Hall of Fame, the Association of Alternative Newsmedia Hall of Fame and the Colorado Restaurant Association Hall of Fame. She’s also received dozens of local, state and national awards for writing, including first place for feature writing and first place for column writing with the Society of Professional Journalists. Patricia is a weekly commentator on Colorado Inside Out, PBS 12's public affairs roundtable, which has won two Emmys.

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