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Sen. Isgar to take new USDA post
Dems will choose replacement for rancher's last year in Senate
Herald Denver Bureau
We're certainly going to miss his expertise in the Legislature and his leadership.
- Doug Kemper, director, Colorado Water Congress
The Hesperus Democrat's appointment has been the worst-kept secret at the state Capitol for two months, but the official announcement was slow to come.
"There was some relief, because there had been so much speculation for so long," said Isgar, who first applied for the job in late February or early March.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Isgar's appointment Tuesday in a news release.
"Jim Isgar will be an important advocate on behalf of rural communities throughout the state and help administer the valuable programs and services provided by the USDA that can enhance their economic success," Vilsack said.
In his new job, Isgar will work at the USDA office in Lakewood, supervising a staff of 60. The Rural Development agency makes loans through 40 programs on topics including housing, business and agriculture. Nationwide, Rural Development has $114 billion in loans and loan guarantees.
Isgar also will supervise six field offices, including one in Cortez.
"It's an important job. It's about rural America, where my interests have always been," said Isgar, who has a ranch and farm south of Hesperus.
Isgar's departure means Democrats will have to select a replacement for the final year of his Senate term. By law, a vacancy committee made up of Democratic Party officials from every county in Isgar's district has 30 days after his resignation to vote on a replacement.
Isgar said he will start his new job around July 20 and will delay his official retirement as long as possible to give the vacancy committee more time to organize.
The new senator would have to run for election in November 2010. Rep. Ellen Roberts, R-Durango, already has said she wants to be on the Republican ticket in the 2010 election.
The Senate district is the most heavily Republican that is currently held by a Democrat. It ranges from Archuleta County in the southeast to Montrose County in the northwest, and its two main population centers are Durango and Montrose.
Isgar is the third Senate Democrat to leave the chamber this year.
"With the loss of Senator Isgar we are losing a great mind, a wonderful representative of the people, and an expert in many areas of state government, including water issues," said Senate President Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont. "While we are happy for his new endeavors, he will be greatly missed in the Senate."
His departure also leaves the Senate without its leading expert on water law.
"We're certainly going to miss his expertise in the Legislature and his leadership," said Doug Kemper, executive director of the Colorado Water Congress. "He's been a real level head who's been able to work with both sides of the aisle."
Inside the Legislature, he was famous for amending and rewriting water bills that he thought might upset the delicate balance of Colorado water law. Gunnison Democrat Kathleen Curry, the resident water expert, would joke that a bill had been "Isgarized."
Isgar sometimes butted heads with environmentalists, sportsman's groups and the Ritter administration over how much the gas and oil industry should be regulated - especially when he opposed Ritter's 2008 ballot initiative to repeal a tax break for the gas and oil industry.
Early this year, Democratic leaders removed oversight of energy issues from Isgar's Senate Agriculture Committee and assigned most gas and oil bills to a different panel, although former Senate President Peter Groff denied that the shake-up had anything to do with Isgar's opposition to the ballot initiative.
But Isgar also carried bills that overhauled regulation of the gas industry and increased the rights of surface owners who have gas drilling on their land.
Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry, R-Grand Junction, often collaborated with Isgar on bills, even though they are from opposing parties.
"He played the 'Columbo, aw-shucks' routine to a T, but that guy is whip smart," Penry said.
Penry recalled Isgar lecturing finance experts during complex negotiations over federal gas and oil payments.
"The look on their face was like, 'Wow, that farmer with the messy hair is really smart,'" Penry said.
Isgar, 58, joined the Senate in May 2001, when a vacancy committee selected him to replace Jim Dyer. He won re-election in 2002 and 2006.
When Democrats took control of the Senate in 2004, he became head of the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. This year, he also served on the Audit Committee, the Senate Finance Committee and the Legislative Council.
jhanel@durangoherald.com
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