Joan Fitz-Gerald
U.S. House, CO
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An open seat opportunity. The race for Colorado’s second congressional district is on track to be the most expensive open seat battle in the country — and former state Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald is without doubt the most qualified candidate to keep this seat in Democratic hands in November. But Fitz-Gerald must overcome two serious opponents in the August 12 Democratic primary, including Jared Polis, one of Fortune magazine’s 40 richest Americans under 40 in 2004, who has made it clear he will spend what it takes to win.
An accomplished leader in Colorado and nationally. Fitz-Gerald’s leadership has helped secure landmark protections for health care, the environment, gay rights, and choice. She’s earned respect on both sides of the aisle for her smart political judgment and ability to forge bipartisan solutions. A veteran of EMILY’s List Political Opportunity Program, Fitz-Gerald knows how to develop winning campaign strategies; she helped put Democrats in charge of the state Senate and, as the first woman chair of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, helped Democrats win nearly 350 new legislative seats nationwide and take control of 10 chambers.
A costly battle ahead. Polis spent over $1 million to secure a seat on the state Board of Education — defeating his opponent, who spent $11,000, by only 90 votes. Polis has poured almost $400,000 into his campaign, triggering the millionaire’s amendment. Fitz-Gerald won’t be able to outspend him, but endorsements from labor and progressive organizations will help her outpace him at the grassroots level. She will need considerable financial resources to buy advertising in the expensive Denver media market. Support from EMILY’s List members will help her raise $2.5 million to secure the Democratic nomination.
More About Joan Fitz-Gerald
The campaign to succeed Democrat Mark Udall in Colorado’s second congressional district is expected to be the most expensive open seat battle in the country. Former state Sen. Joan Fitz-Gerald is far and away the strongest, most qualified candidate to keep this seat in Democratic hands in November. But Fitz-Gerald, the first woman state Senate president in Colorado history, must defeat two opponents in the state’s August primary — including a multi-millionaire who is using his personal wealth to go on the attack.
A true trailblazer for women in politics, Fitz-Gerald was the first woman elected to serve as the Jefferson County Clerk, a seat no Democrat had won in over 100 years. There she pioneered vote-by-mail ballots to make elections more accessible. As Senate president, Fitz-Gerald earned the respect of members of both parties for her open management style, keen political judgment, and ability to achieve bipartisan consensus. In addition to being an outspoken defender of reproductive freedom, Fitz-Gerald fought for fiscal responsibility, environmental protections, stronger public schools, affordable health care, and equal rights for gay and lesbian citizens.
Fitz-Gerald has a long history with EMILY’s List through the Political Opportunity Program for state and local candidates. She is largely credited with bringing Democrats back into power in Colorado. Shortly after becoming the state’s first woman Senate president, Fitz-Gerald was selected to chair the national Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, the first woman to hold that post. As chair, she helped nearly 350 new Democrats win state legislative seats nationwide, helping Democrats take control of ten legislative chambers.
The Political Situation
Fitz-Gerald is locked in a competitive, costly primary against two serious opponents: Will Shafroth, who comes from a politically connected family (his great-grandfather was governor and a member of Congress); and Jared Polis, who was on Fortune magazine’s 2004 list of “40 Richest Americans Under 40.”
According to Congressional Quarterly, Polis has indicated that he will “pony up whatever amount of his own money it would take to help him win.” Already he has funneled more than $600,000 into his campaign, triggering the millionaire’s amendment that allows his opponents to raise more money to compete. In 2000, Polis spent more than $1 million out of his own pocket to win a seat on the state Board of Education. He defeated his opponent, who spent $11,000, by only 90 votes. Polis was the first in the field to go on TV, launching his ad campaign in December. He filmed one ad on a trip to Iraq in November, which he claimed was a humanitarian trip sponsored by the Mile High United Way. The group disassociated itself from Polis after he turned the trip into a campaign stunt.
As a popular, effective leader with a history of winning tough elections, Fitz-Gerald is the most experienced Democrat seeking the nomination in the August 12 primary. She’s been endorsed by 20 local and national labor unions, is gaining support in regional caucuses, and has the backing of grassroots activists across the district. But by March, Polis had already poured almost $400,000 of his own money into his campaign, triggering the millionaire’s amendment. Fitz-Gerald must raise $2.5 million to overcome Polis’s financial advantage and get her message out to voters in Denver’s expensive media market, and another $1 million keep this open seat in Democratic hands in November.
The Issues
The daughter of a teacher, Fitz-Gerald attended college on scholarship and knows that public education can make a profound difference in the lives of children. “We need to dismantle Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act, which undermines the public education system in America,” she says. “The one-size-fits-all approach of NCLB does not account for differences between rural and urban districts, for children with disabilities, or those who are just starting to learn English.” Fitz-Gerald will work to bring down the cost of student loans and expand access to grants for higher education.
As a working mother who was raised by a single mother, Fitz-Gerald understands the challenges working families face. In Colorado, she sought to build on the federal Family and Medical Leave Act with a proposal to grant parents unpaid leave to attend teacher conferences and other school functions. In the U.S. House, she will advocate for similar changes to allow parents to be more involved in their children’s lives without risking their jobs.
“The trade policies of the current administration have not provided economic security for American families,” Fitz-Gerald says. She supports revoking the president’s ability to negotiate unilateral trade agreements, expressing particular concern about the Bush administration’s failure to enforce environmental and labor safeguards enacted under NAFTA. “I will support trade policies that will not result in the shipping of American jobs abroad and that provide health and safety protections for consumers and workers.”
One of the biggest economic challenges facing the U.S. is the rising cost of fuel, says Fitz-Gerald. “If this country provided more incentives for renewable and alternative energy, we would bolster our economy, create jobs, and reduce our dependence on foreign oil,” she says. Fitz-Gerald will work to restore fiscal responsibility to the federal budget and says, “until we withdraw troops from Iraq, key areas of the budget will continue to be cut, and we will never get the deficit under control.” Fitz- Gerald will work to roll back the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest taxpayers.
The Defense Department is blind to the new reality of warfare, says Fitz-Gerald. “Our missions in Afghanistan and Iraq are not traditional engagements involving large numbers of tanks, planes, and artillery,” she says. “Our priority should be investing in intensively trained, lightly equipped forces that can move in and out of operational theatres of conflict quickly.”
According to Fitz-Gerald, the most pressing foreign policy problem facing the U.S. is the loss of respect and standing in the international community. “Electing a Democratic president is the first step to restoring America’s position in the world,” she says, adding, “ratifying the Kyoto Protocols and signing back on as a member of the International Criminal Court would send important signals that America wants to become a responsible player in world affairs again.”
Fitz-Gerald’s steadfast support for gay rights has earned her strong support from local gay leaders. Philanthropist and advocate Tim Gill, a Colorado resident and national gay rights activist, told the Rocky Mountain News, “No one has done more for the gay community legislatively than Joan Fitz-Gerald.”
Years as a policymaker have taught Fitz-Gerald that the most effective and efficient way to fight crime is to stop it before it starts. “Colorado’s prison-building spending spree has played havoc with our state budget,” she says. “We spend an average of $30,000 a year to house each prisoner. It is far more effective and cost-efficient to tackle crime at the front end, with prevention, rather than on the back end, with prisons.”
She helped pass legislation in Colorado allowing the state to purchase prescription drugs in bulk, greatly reducing costs. She also directed $10 million to create community health care centers and increased funding for preventive health care for children. “From single moms to working families to seniors living on fixed incomes, the cost of health care and prescription drugs is uppermost in their minds,” she says. “It is the responsibility of the government to bring spiraling costs under control.”
Eradicating poverty, Fitz-Gerald says, will take more than a higher minimum wage — though that is a start. In Congress, she will advocate for affordable housing and health care, tax credits for child care, and before- and after-school care to enable parents to enter the workforce.
Fitz-Gerald’s top environmental priority is conservation. “The U.S. lags behind Western Europe and Japan in taking relatively simple measures to conserve energy, water, and natural resources, and to increase our rate of recycling,” she says. Fitz-Gerald would start with the federal government, which she notes is the largest single user of energy in the nation. She will work to expand programs that help senior citizens and poor families make their homes more energy efficient, and promote tax subsidies for improvements in factories, offices, homes, and other buildings.
Fitz-Gerald has been a consistent and powerful voice for women’s choice and privacy, fighting attempts to restrict access to reproductive services. When a colleague introduced a draconian bill that would ban abortion, she said, “We fought for [the right to choose]. We have it. And we will not compromise it. We will fight for it with every fiber of our being.”
May 2008