Legal Commentary

Gov. Ritter Press Conference: Leaving for Family Reasons

By Jeralyn

Update: The press conference. Loud cheers for him. His wife is with him and smiling. Sen. Mark Udall is behind him. He talks about his vision and that it is becoming a reality. Colorado is on the road to recovery. It is a privilege for him to serve as Governor. He praises Lt. Governor, Barbara O'Brien.

Over the last year, he's tried to balance many roles in his life. His family has sacrificed the most. He hasn't made them the priority they should be. So he is going to do that now.

He's 53 years old and been in public service for more than 30 years. He has two children that still live at home, one in college, and they need him and his wife needs him.

This decision allows him to focus on the budget and Colorado's economy. By not running for re-election he can make the tough budget cuts that need to be made, free of political bickering. He looks forward to spending the next year keeping the budget balanced and economy growing. He thanks everyone. Time for questions: [More...]

Over the break he asked himself some serious questions about what going forward meant for him and his family. At the end of the day, the most important thing is relationships.

He was not pressured into the decision. It was a personal one.

Polls and fund-raising had nothing to do with his decision. He felt the election was winnable, and he thinks it's winnable by any Democratic candidate. He's a trial lawyer, he loves a fight, but everyone has to understand relationships matter and finding a balance is important.

While it wasn't the reason for his decision, not running again frees him from political considerations and will make it easier to move his agenda through the legislature.

He's thought through all the parts to the decision. The Democratic party has a very deep bench and there are a lot of people who can step in to do this job. He believes Dems. will keep the Governor's House and the legislature.

It's about the tension between his professional life and his personal life and as soon as he made the decision, he knew he had made the right one.

****

Gov. Bill Ritter's press conference begins in 15 minutes. He met with his cabinet this morning and said he will finish out his term but not run for re-election because a campaign would be too hard on his family. He has one son still living at home.

"He said it has been a struggle between family life and political life and that he had to make a heartfelt decision," said Rich Gonzales, the director of the Department of Personnel and Administration.

Sources told the Post that on Tuesday evening, Ritter told other Democrats the job was taking a toll on his family and he could not be successful as a father and husband while running for governor. Ritter has one school-age child living with him and wife Jeannie in the Governor's Residence. Three others are grown or in college but still nearby.

So much for my theory he might be swapping the Governor's mansion for the U.S. Attorney's office.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on January 06, 2010 (boomark / email).