Bill Ritter for Governor of Colorado

Nov 7 - Election Night: Acceptance Speech

ritterforgovernor — 2006-11-11T10:57:58-08:00

Thank you, Colorado!

Eighteen months ago, this campaign started with a small group of supporters. Look at you now!

To the voters of Colorado -- thank you! This is an honor and a privilege.

And the best way to thank you is to govern well. That's absolutely what Barbara O'Brien and I intend to do.

We've been given a rare opportunity to govern differently, to govern the way we campaigned, to say that every place in Colorado, every person in Colorado, matters.

We're going to govern a unified and united Colorado. This is one state. This not urban vs. rural. This is not Western Slope vs. Front Range. This is not even Republican vs. Democrat. We don't fulfill the Colorado Promise as Democrats. We fulfill it together as Coloradans.

I said when I accepted the nomination in Greeley that this election would be about cynics vs. those who hope. I had no idea how right I would be. Fortunately, the hopeful -- those who want to walk with us and work with us to fulfill the Colorado Promise -- prevailed.

But we must not forget the cynics. We must work to convert them and give them hope about the legitimate role that government can play in people's lives.

We are going to close the partisan divide and do what's best for this one state. We'll do that by looking for the common ground, by staying true to the center and always doing what's right and what's responsible.

I will govern this state as a gatekeeper on good public policy. We will do what's best for the entire state so that we can deliver on the Colorado Promise for all Coloradans so that we can solve real problems.

The Colorado Promise means we will reform our education system.

The Colorado Promise means we will insure the uninsured and create a Colorado Health Plan for the 770,000 people who lack health care coverage in Colorado.

The Colorado Promise means we will establish a New Energy Economy and make Colorado a national and global renewable energy leader.

The Colorado Promise means we will serve as stubborn stewards of our environment. And the Colorado we turn over to our children and our grandchildren will not be inferior to the one we found.

Is this ambitious? Is it bold and daring? Absolutely. We only achieve our goals -- we only fulfill the Colorado Promise -- by having the courage and the determination to try.

Campaigns are always hardest on our families. I would like to thank my wife, Jeannie, and our children, Tally, Sam, Abe, and August for coming along on this journey.

I also need to thank my mother, Ethel Ritter, and the army of Ritter siblings, cousins, nieces, nephews and in-laws who got involved and helped bring this home. Wherever we went on the campaign trail, there was always a Ritter there.

I also need to thank the dozens of interns and volunteers who gave this campaign an incredible sense of youth, energy and excitement. We could not have done this without them.

We absolutely could not have done this without my incredible campaign staff, and especially campaign manager Greg Kolomitz, who put together and executed a tremendous campaign plan.

Finally, let me close by saying this ... On our way back from Colorado Springs today, we drove past SkyRidge Medical Center. This morning, Keller Kuna and Trey Thomas were born at SkyRidge, just as there were babies born in hospitals all across Colorado today.

Keller, Trey and those other babies represent the hope and promise of a new day, a clean slate. This election is about them. It's about their future. It's about fulfilling the Colorado Promise for them.

Nov 7 - Election Night 2006

ritterforgovernor — 2006-11-09T08:27:05-08:00

Nov 7 - Election Day: Thanking the Volunteers

ritterforgovernor — 2006-11-09T05:52:50-08:00

Nov 7 - Election Day: Bill in Col. Springs

ritterforgovernor — 2006-11-09T04:52:56-08:00

Nov 7 - Election Day: Bill at Voting Center

ritterforgovernor — 2006-11-09T04:05:06-08:00

Nov 7 - Summary of Ritter-O'Brien Newspaper Endorsements

ritterforgovernor — 2006-11-07T05:00:00-08:00

Aspen Daily News (PDF file)

Aspen Times (PDF file)

Colorado Springs Independent

Cortez Journal

The Denver Post

Durango Herald

Fort Collins Coloradoan

Glenwood Springs Post Independent (PDF file)

Grand Junction Daily Sentinel

Greeley Tribune

Montrose Daily Press

Ouray County Plaindealer

Pueblo Chieftain

Rocky Mountain News

El Semanario

Salida Mountain Mail

Snowmass Village Sun (PDF file)

Telluride Watch (PDF file)

Vail Daily (PDF file)

Wet Mountain Tribune

Nov 7 - The Colorado Promise Bus and its Team

ritterforgovernor — 2006-11-07T03:38:09-08:00

One of the most exciting parts of the campaign came at the end of October when we launched the statewide “Colorado Promise” bus tour. The bus has carried Bill and Barbara more than 3,000 miles to more than 40 counties – from Springfield in far southeast Colorado to Cortez in the southwest corner, from Meeker, Steamboat Springs, and Fort Collins in northern Colorado to Trinidad, Walsenburg, and Pueblo in southern Colorado.

None of this would have happened without Scott Hutchings, our trip coordinator, and Mark Ikola of Ramblin’ Express, our bus driver. “Hutch” gets the MVP award for keeping things smooth and making sure we never fell behind schedule. And Mark gets the Ironman award for driving through some of Colorado’s infamous weather, including snow, ice, and slush over La Veta Pass. A big round of applause to both of them!

Nov 6 - Afternoon in North Denver and Arvada

ritterforgovernor — 2006-11-07T02:06:03-08:00

Nov 6 - Ritter Campaigns on Sixteenth Street Mall

ritterforgovernor — 2006-11-06T16:30:18-08:00

Nearly 150 supporters including U.S. Senator Ken Salazar joined Bill Ritter and Barbara O'Brien to campaign in downtown Denver.

Nov 5 - More from the Greeley Rally

ritterforgovernor — 2006-11-06T11:01:38-08:00

Read additional coverage of the Greeley Rally:

Denver Post: Nov 6 - Ritter's tour ends with Greeley rally
Rocky Mountain News: Nov 6 - Blues stump in red territory

Nov 5 - Greeley Rally Pulls In Hundreds!

ritterforgovernor — 2006-11-05T14:47:04-08:00

To thunderous chants of "Ritter! Ritter! Ritter!," gubernatorial candidate Bill Ritter and U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar along with a stage full of local, state, and federal candidates urged hundreds of volunteers to close out the final days of the campaign with energy and intensity.

Six months ago, when Ritter accepted the Democratic Party's nomination in Greeley, he said the election would come down to hope vs. cynicism. "I couldn't have been more right," Ritter told today's crowd. "We have seen the politics of cynicism, the politics of trying to scare people, the politics of focusing on things that have nothing to do with the future."

"My family and I have lived the Colorado Promise," Ritter added. "I want to make sure that promise is extended to every person in Colorado. Barbara O'Brien and I will invest in the promise of Colorado. We will do everything we can to make sure that the state we turn over to our children and grandchildren will be better than the one we found."

Nov 4 - Ritter and O'Brien Campaign Across State

ritterforgovernor — 2006-11-05T10:48:48-08:00

In Steamboat and Durango, crowds of more than 100 each rallied with Bill, Barbara, Mark Udall, John Salazar, and a slate of local candidates. "We should honor November 7 as a national holiday," Bill said, "but it's only special if people vote."

Bill vowed to serve as a stubborn steward of Colorado's special places, and borrowing a line from Mark Udall's brother, Randy, said that he would fight anyone who failed to protect Colorado's environment "until hell freezes over, and then we're going to fight them on the ice."

Read additional articles about the Ritter-O'Brien ticket's barnstorming tour of Colorado:

Denver Post: Nov 5 - Ritter takes flight to get Dems off ground
Steamboat Pilot: Nov 5 - Getting out the vote