Colorado Politics’ Eric Sondermann makes a rare and useful point in a political world addicted to applause: leadership is not proven by saying yes to your friends. It is proven by telling them no when no is the right answer. Sondermann walks through Colorado governors from Lamm to Romer to Owens to Ritter to Hickenlooper to Polis, all through the lens of whether they had the backbone to disappoint their own team.
The column’s argument is simple and sharp: governors are not elected to be concierge service for donors, allies, activists, labor bosses, business groups, or party insiders. They are elected to call balls and strikes. That is easy to say in a campaign ad. It is harder when a friend, a donor, or a political ally walks into the room expecting the special handling package.
The Bullet Point Brief
- Sondermann starts with the idea that the real test of a governor is the willingness to reject the pleadings of political friends and allies. In politics, that sentence should be printed on the office wall right next to the emergency exit.
- He recalls Gov. Roy Romer telling a friend and donor who wanted private special treatment on a regulatory matter, “handling state business this way is not the world I live in.” That is old-school public service. Also known today as an endangered species.
- Sondermann points to Gov. Bill Owens, who said his job was to serve the whole state, not just the people who voted for him. Imagine that. Governing as a duty instead of a customer loyalty program.
- He notes that Bill Ritter, John Hickenlooper, and Jared Polis all had moments where they crossed their own political base, including Ritter vetoing a labor bill and Polis pushing back on progressive priorities like Labor Peace Act changes and a wage theft bill.
- The column turns toward the next governor and asks whether Phil Weiser or Michael Bennet would be willing to say no to labor, progressives, TABOR reformers, single-payer advocates, criminal sentencing reduction efforts, and anti-charter school forces. In other words: do they have a spine, or just a donor list with a haircut?
My Bottom Line
I read a lot of op-eds, and I comment on them here in my own special way, which usually involves a sharpened shovel and very little patience. But Sondermann proves wise in this one. I do not have much to add except this: he is right, and more people in public office need to hear it before they mistake popularity for leadership.
One of the least pleasant parts of serving as a county commissioner has been saying no to friends. Saying no to people I like. Saying no to donors. And yes, some donors seem to walk in with that little glimmer in their eye like support for a campaign came with a side order of influence. It did not. Not from me.
I have appreciated the kind support people have given my campaigns. Truly. But I have never been a big fan of fundraising as a feature of political life because it creates a nasty little expectation, even when nobody says it out loud. The assumption is that a contribution bought more than yard signs and postage. Maybe access. Maybe favor. Maybe a softer landing. That is not public service. That is just legalized awkwardness with name tags.
The answer they are looking for may not be the one they expected. That is how it has to be. If you cannot tell a friend no, you do not belong in the chair. If you cannot disappoint a donor, you are not leading, you are renting yourself by the election cycle. And if your first instinct is to protect your political tribe instead of the people you swore to serve, please do the rest of us a favor and go find a lobbyist badge. It will fit better.
Source: Colorado Politics
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