Danny Stroud isn't running for the state legislature to be in politics. He's running to be a legislator.
"Nobody wants to go into a meat grinder. And I want to make a difference – I don’t want to be a statistic. I want to be in a positon where I can do something," said Stroud, who will be running as a Republican for Jeanne Labuda's seat in House District 1.
While HD-1 is probably the most GOP-friendly House district in Denver, the district still leans Democratic. But Stroud, a Denver business consultant, sees red where many others might see blue.
"The citizens are fundamentally conservative in my district and in a lot of the state," Stroud said. "And the Republican Party hasn’t done a very good job over the last eight or nine years keeping the message clean. And people are confused about things."
Stroud, 56, hasn't run for political office before, though in the 1980s he served on the Contra Costa County Mental Health Commission in California.
But as a former Army officer who graduated from West Point, Stroud said he's long kept an eye towards public service.
An Oregon native,Danny -- his given name, not a nickname -- moved to Colorado in the early 1990s. A bachelor, he has two children around college age. He said he'll likely formally launch his campaign around September.
Asked which issues he plans to focus on, Stroud said his platform will evolve as the campaign moves ahead.
Stroud, who said he hasn't heard of any GOP challengers, will likely have a tough time against Labuda, who despite some Democratic concerns last year won with 59 percent of the vote.
But Stroud says if he does lose, it won't be for lack of hard work.
"I’m a tenacious son of a gun, and nobody’s gonna beat me," he said. "I may not be successful in everything I do, but I sure don’t give up."
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
West Point grad looking to turn HD-1 red
Monday, June 22, 2009
Can the GOP pick up a state House seat in Denver next year?
No Republicans have been elected to the state legislature from Denver this decade. But despite the seemingly long odds, Republicans will be looking at a couple potential pickups next year.
In particular, Colorado House Districts 1 and 3 in south Denver will be on the GOP’s radar screen next year, said Denver Republican Party Chair Ryan Call.
Of course, labeling the most GOP-friendly legislative districts in Denver seems tantamount to picking which cast members of “The Hills” are most likely to win an Academy Award. On election day 2008, registered Democrats easily outnumbered registered Republicans in every House district in Denver -- including Districts 1 and 3.
But House Districts 1 and 3 include neighborhoods in southwest Denver and Arapahoe County that are traditionally less liberal than in areas closer to the center of the city -- more suburban, with a comparatively older population. And as Call points out, the incumbent Democrats in HD-1 and HD-3 -- Jeanne Labuda and Daniel Kagan, respectively -- are both relatively weak.
As for who the GOP will field in the two districts, business consultant Danny Stroud tells Mile High Politics that he intends to run against Labuda in District 1. Paul Linton, who lost the 2008 HD-3 race to then-state Rep. Anne McGihon, is considered likely to run again in the district. (Linton didn't return a call seeking comment).
For their part, Denver Democrats aren’t dismissing the GOP’s chances in either district.
Last year, many Democrats were worried about a Republican upset in District 1. Labuda dashed those concerns on election day with 59 percent of the vote over Republican Tom Thomason, but similar concerns could pop up next year.
And in District 3, Kagan, shortly before he was appointed to the seat in March, voiced concerns that the district could go red next year.
“There was a lot of talk at the time of my appointment of House District 3 being a safe seat,” Kagan told Mile High Politics late last week. “And I deny it then and I continue to deny that there is any such thing as a safe seat.”
But Denver Democratic Party Chair Cindy Lowery said while "it's always good to be concerned," she voiced confidence that Democrats would hold on to both districts.
"I don't hear that there's a lot of concern about Labuda -- at least from what I'm hearing," Lowery said. "(And) I think that Daniel is a pretty safe Democrat."
Thursday, June 18, 2009
The Big List: 2010 State House Candidates
UPDATED MARCH 26, 2010
Here's a list of the declared and rumored candidates for the Colorado House in 2010.
I'll be constantly adding candidates to the list as they emerge, so check back often. If you don't see a candidate's name on the list, please e-mail me and I'll add it.
*-Has not formally declared candidacy
I-Independent
L-Libertarian
U-Unaffiliated
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