Bill Ritter (politician)

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Bill Ritter
Image:Bill ritter.jpg Ritter speaking at the 2006 Colorado Democratic Convention (CDC) upon his nomination for Governor.
Governor-Elect of Colorado
Term in office begins: 2007
Lieutenant Governor:	Barbara O'Brien
Succeeeding:	Bill Owens (R)
Born:	September 6, 1956 Denver, Colorado
Political party:	Democratic
Profession:	Attorney
Spouse:	Jeannie Ritter
Religion:	Roman Catholic

August William (Bill) Ritter, Jr. (born September 6, 1956) is an American Democratic politician from Colorado, the former District Attorney for Denver, Colorado, and the current Governor-elect for the state of Colorado. He will become the first native-born governor of the state in 35 years upon inauguration in January of 2007, as well as the being the first to serve with Democratic Party alignment in the General Assembly in 50 years.

1 Early life and childhood
2 Career in law and jurisprudence
- 2.1 Charity and humanitarian work
  - 2.1.1 Missionary work
- 2.2 Controversies
  - 2.2.1 Plea bargains
  - 2.2.2 Abortion position
3 Family
4 2006 gubernatorial campaign
5 External links

[edit] Early life and childhood

Ritter was born in Denver and raised on a farm in far eastern Aurora among his 11 brothers and sisters (he was born sixth). His father, Bill, was a heavy equipment operator in the construction industry. His mother, Ethel, was a homemaker until the family began to struggle economically and she found work as a bookkeeper when Ritter was a young teenager. At 14 years old, he went to work full time in the construction industry, and joined a local labor union. He continued to work in the construction field, which ended up financing his college education (along with student loans). He enrolled in Colorado State University and completed a bachelors degree, and then pursued a degree at the University of Colorado School of Law in Boulder. By 1981, he had earned a law degree and was hired as a Deputy District Attorney for the City and County of Denver.

[edit] Career in law and jurisprudence

In 1990, Ritter took on a position in the US Attorney's office, and returned to the Deputy DA's office two years later. In 1993, Ritter was appointed as Denver's District Attorney. As DA, he created one of the nation's first drug courts, as well as taking on white collar crime in metropolitan Denver. He worked extensively on the prosecution of sexual abuse and domestic violence, as well as criminals offending senior citizens.

Ritter is responsible for creating the first Victims Services Network in the United States. He advised United States Attorney General John Ashcroft on affairs after September 11, 2001 and during his time as the Denver DA, he served as Vice President of the National Association of District Attorneys, Chairman of the American Prosecutors Research Institute, and a board member for the National Association of Drug Court Professionals.

[edit] Charity and humanitarian work

Ritter served as Chairman of the Board of Promoting Anti-Violence through Education (PAVE), as well as on the Denver Foundation's Human Services Committee, the Mile High United Way Board, and the Denver Public Schools' Commission on Secondary School Reform.

[edit] Missionary work

In 1987, Ritter and his wife Jeannie moved to Zambia as missionaries for the Catholic Church, where they would open a food distribution and education center. Upon their return to the Denver area in 1989, Governor Roy Romer appointed Ritter to the DA's office, citing his missionary work as an "important factor" in the decision. During the 2006 campaign, Ritter's work in Zambia was often emphasized by his campaign and the press [1].

[edit] Controversies

[edit] Plea bargains

Controversy arose during the campaign over Ritter's use of plea bargains while in office. As DA, Ritter plea bargained 97% of cases which were brought to his office [2] (near the national average). However, controversy surfaced regarding plea bargains that prevented the deportation of both legal and illegal immigrants charged with drug, assault, and other crimes [3]. Both illegal immigration and drug use were hot topics in the race for governor, raising further controversy. Ritter has defended the plea bargains, stating that "Our priority was to try the most serious cases." [4]

[edit] Abortion position

During the 2006 campaign, Ritter received much political discomfort from pro-choice organizations and politicians, as he had cited early on his stance as a "pro-life" politician. The Denver Post, who later endorsed Ritter over GOP opponent Bob Beauprez, noted in their election profile of Ritter such tenseness in the campaign:

Colorado's Democratic leaders were groaning. It was late 2005, and the prospect that Bill Ritter could become their gubernatorial nominee was looking very real. Many couldn't stomach his anti-abortion stance, seeing it as a disturbing departure from core party principles. Those with financial muscle leaned on the former Denver district attorney to change his position. Some wailed that he should drop out. And in September, more than 50 women supporting abortion rights, some in tears, crowded around him in a Denver living room to say they couldn't back a candidate who doesn't support choice. "It was the most intense moment of this campaign by far," Ritter says of the meeting. But he never budged on his position: "It wouldn't have been authentic." [5]

Despite much animosity from within the Democratic Party, especially its liberal wing, Ritter went on to win the nomination and subsequent election.

See Bill Ritter's political stances for more details

[edit] Family

Bill and Jeannie Ritter married in 1984. They have four children, August (20), Abe (18), Sam (15), and Tally (13). Jeannie is a substitute teacher in the Denver Public Schools District. The majority of Ritter's extended family lives in Colorado. His mother Ethel(82) is a resident of Strasburg, Colorado, as well as his youngest brother Christopher(40) and nephew Justin (15) and niece Rebecca (12).

[edit] 2006 gubernatorial campaign

Main article: Colorado gubernatorial election, 2006

In the beginning of March 2006, Ritter's last Democratic opponent, State Rep. Gary Lindstrom, dropped out of the race, leaving Ritter to unite the party by default. Party leaders held a rally in front of the State Capitol in support of Ritter. Ritter selected child welfare advocate Barbara O'Brien as a running mate, shortly prior to the rally, in February 2006. Ritter was overwhelmingly nominated at the 2006 Colorado Democratic Convention in Greeley in May. Following both of the major political conventions, a weaker Republican candidate, Marc Holtzman, dropped out of the election. Ritter was left to battle Republican Bob Beauprez in a critical election year for both parties nationally. Ritter went on to win the governorship with 56% of the vote.

[edit] Pre-election polling

Source	Date	Ritter (D)	Beauprez (R)
Survey USA	November 2, 2006	57%	35%
Zogby/WSJ	October 31, 2006	46.4%	46.6%
Rasmussen	October 29, 2006	51%	39%
Survey USA	October 23, 2006	56%	38%
Zogby/WSJ	October 19, 2006	46.7%	44.7%
Mason Dixon	October 7, 2006	50%	35%
Survey USA	September 28, 2006	55%	38%
Rasmussen	September 26, 2006	50%	34%
Rocky Mountain News	September 18, 2006	50%	33%
Zogby/WSJ	September 11, 2006	47.5%	38.9%
Zogby/WSJ	August 28, 2006	46.0%	38.7%
Survey USA	August 17, 2006	50%	40%
Rasmussen	August 11, 2006*	48%	39%
Zogby/WSJ	July 24, 2006	42.8%	40.9%
Mason Dixon	July 17, 2006	42%	35%
Rasmussen	July 10, 2006**	42%	37%
Zogby/WSJ	June 21, 2006	44.2%	36.1%
Rasmussen	June 8, 2006	43%	38%
Rasmussen	May 5, 2006	37%	39%
Rasmussen	April 5, 2006***	41%	40%
Rasmussen	February 25, 2006****	40%	33%
Rasmussen	January 26, 2006	38%	39%

Notes: Text in dark grey indicates current poll, Bolded indicates leader, * First poll post-head to head debate between Ritter and Beauprez, post-primary election, First poll post-Holtzman dropout, * First poll post-Lindstrom dropout, ****First poll post-Hickenlooper elimination, Zogby/WSJ (Wall Street Journal) poll is disputable

[edit] Political stances

As a Democrat, Ritter supports a semi-progressive agenda, emphasizing socialized medicine, environmental protection, housing subsidy and welfare increases and other stances aligned with the left wing of the Democratic Party. However, during the first campaign, more liberal state Democrats encouraged other candidates, such as Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, to pursue the office of Governor, due to concerns over Ritter's pro-life stance. Others argued that Ritter would win more votes in the "purple state" of Colorado, as opposed to Republican opponents. Hickenlooper did not pursue the office in 2006, and eventually supported Ritter.

As governor, Ritter has pledged that overturning abortion laws would not be part of his agenda, and has stated that he would veto any bill prohibiting abortion that did not provide for an exception for rape, incest or fetal anomalies [6]. Ritter has further stated that he would restore state funding to Planned Parenthood for family planning, and would reverse the veto of a bill that would have allowed pharmacists to dispense the emergency contraception known as the morning-after pill.

[edit] Issues

Issue	Effective	Ritter's position	Beauprez's position	Current law
Upholding Roe v. Wade	Federal	Support	Oppose	Upheld
Executive Wiretap Consent	Federal	Support	Support	Consent Required
Immediate Withdrawl from Iraq	Federal	Oppose	Oppose	Under Consideration
Capital Punishment: Murder Cases	State	Support	Support	Legal
Juvenile Life Sentences: Murder Cases	State	Support	Support	Legal
Guest Worker Program	Federal	Support	Support	Under Consideration
Immigrant Amnesty	Federal	Oppose	Oppose	Under Consideration
Embryonic Stem Cell Research	State	Support	Oppose	Under Consideration
School Vouchers	State	Oppose	Support	Proposed
Housing Subsidy Expansion	State	Support	Oppose	Under Consideration
Referendum C&D (2005)	State	Support	Oppose	Upheld
Referendum E	State	Support	Support	Ballot Initiative
Referendum F	State	Support	Support	Ballot Initiative
Referendum G	State	Support	Support	Ballot Initiative
Referendum H	State	Support	Support	Ballot Initiative
Referendum I	State	Support	Oppose	Ballot Initiative
Referendum J	State	Support	Support	Ballot Initiative
Referendum K	State	Support	Support	Ballot Initiative
Amendment 38	State	Oppose	Oppose	Ballot Initiative
Amendment 39	State	Oppose	Support	Ballot Initiative
Amendment 40	State	Oppose	Oppose	Ballot Initiative
Amendment 41	State	Support	Support	Ballot Initiative
Amendment 42	State	Support	Oppose	Ballot Initiative
Amendment 43	State	Oppose	Support	Ballot Initiative
Amendment 44	State	Oppose	Oppose	Ballot Initiative

[edit] Results

2006 gubernatorial election, Colorado
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Bill Ritter	778,510	56%	n/a
	Republican	Bob Beauprez	565,871	41%	n/a
	Libertarian	Dawn Winkler	20,494	1%	n/a
	Constitution	Clyde Harkins	8,968	1%	n/a
	Independent	Paul Fiorino	9,615	1%	n/a
	Independent	Charles "Chuck" Sylvester	n/a	n/a	n/a

[edit] Popularity

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Ritter is popular with rural Coloradans, who in the past have tended to vote for Republican candidates (particularly Front Range voters). This may stem from Ritter's perceived rural roots. His popularity also extends to the Democratic strongholds in Colorado; the continental divide ski resorts such as Aspen and Vail, as well as the Denver-Aurora metropolitan area. Ritter's chief rival for office, Bob Beauprez, shares a similar background, but may have suffered from the lack of a widely recognized in-state political history, having only chaired the state Republican Party, and having served most visibly in the U.S. Congress. Denver's bid for the 2008 Democratic National Convention may also have played a role in the election.