Denver mayor confirms interest in Senate job

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper on Monday confirmed that he is interested in Colorado's looming U.S. Senate vacancy.

In a brief interview, Hickenlooper touted his experience as a business owner and his time as mayor as pluses for Gov. Bill Ritter to consider when weighing whom he should appoint to replace Sen. Ken Salazar, who has been nominated for secretary of the Interior Department.

Ritter will appoint the person to serve out the remainder of Salazar's term. An election would be held in 2010.

"I love my job," Hickenlooper said. "I'm in that unique position in that I've got one of the best jobs that a person like me can have. But if you take someone like me who has spent most of his life in business and then at some point decides to give 10 to 15 years to public service, and you want to be useful, then you want to get the maximum benefit out of that public service."

The mayor said he had one "formal discussion" with Ritter about the Senate appointment but declined to go into details.

Ritter has said he wants to move quickly in naming a replacement. He has established an e-mail address where the public can comment at: ussenate.comments@state.co.us.

Other names mentioned as possible appointees include: Reps. Diana DeGette, Ed Perlmutter and John Salazar; former U.S. Attorney Tom Strickland; former Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald; and outgoing House Speaker Andrew Romanoff.

Hickenlooper built a successful career in Denver. He first invested in a brew pub in the Lower Downtown area and parlayed that into a string of successful investments and restaurants. Since becoming mayor, he has gotten out of the restaurant business and concentrated his efforts on public service.

"There is a different perspective that I would bring to the Senate if I were the person the governor would select," he said. "This is the governor's choice, and I'm not actively seeking it, and I haven't requested people to lobby for me."

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