Morgan Smith

When my first legislative session began in 1973, Ted Strickland was the senior member of our Adams County delegation as well as the only Republican. My House District overlapped with his Senate one and we quickly got to know each other. The link initially was Jean Dubofsky who then represented Colorado Rural Legal Services and subsequently became a Justice on the Colorado Supreme Court. Jean brought a number of legislative issues to our attention including a bill of rights for mobile home tenants and changes to the law regarding civil commitments.

"Morgan, I have some bad news.” It was former District Judge Susie Barnes on the phone. I knew immediately what she was going to say. Her husband, Medill Barnes, my friend of some 60 years had died.

“Does Jim Rizzuto still smoke his pipe?” U.S. Senator Mark Udall asks. It’s Friday, the 13th of January, we’re in La Junta and, yes, Jim Rizzuto, former Joint Budget Committee member and now the president of Otero Junior College, still smokes his pipe.

Editor’s Note: Former state Senate President Fred Anderson of Loveland died of a heart attack on Dec. 23 at the age of 83. He was elected to the state senate in 1966 and served until 1982 when he retired. He was president of the senate for eight years. Anderson was also very active in water issues in the state. He is survived by his wife, a brother, three sons, one daughter, seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild. A memorial service will be held in the Denver area later this month.

SANTA FE — It’s 10 AM, Wednesday, Dec. 28 and Gary Johnson, two time Governor of New Mexico strides to the podium to begin his press conference. He looks good in a dark suit and white shirt and is obviously fit. He has climbed Mt. Everest, Elbrus in Russia and more recently Mt. Kilimanjaro. His attractive fiancé, Kate Prusack, is with him as well as his daughter, Seah and her friend, Josh Phillips. Their next goal is to climb Aconcagua in Argentina but the presidential campaign comes first.

Bam! The committee room slams open and a man in a black tuxedo jacket appears. He pushes a little cart slowly into the room. We go silent, we raucous and punch drunk members of the House Democratic Caucus. It is our second or third day of debating the 1976 Long Bill and exhaustion has set in. Now we see that this strange man is a waiter and he is bringing dinner to one of our members. Someone who is not satisfied with the Big Macs and French fries the rest of us are consuming voraciously.

Our society is crying out,” El Pastor says.

It’s Thursday, February 23 and we’re in his battered little red car driving south from Juárez, Mexico to what he calls the asilo (asylum) or manicomio (mad house or insane asylum).