Pat Dollard

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A state Rep is of course, not as impacting as a national Congressmen, but it showcases a rising trend in the Democratic Party. A trend that I genuinely hope continues.

Denver Post:

State Rep. Kathleen Curry has changed her voter registration from Democrat to unaffiliated, a move that will require the Gunnison lawmaker to relinquish her positions as speaker pro tem and chairwoman of the House Agriculture Committee.

Curry said she made the change Monday after talking to House Speaker Terrance Carroll, who had appointed Curry to the plum pro tem position.

Curry, a rancher and water expert, said her decision was not based on any single bill, action or person.

“It’s just a matter of where I fit,” she said Tuesday. “But I’m not changing my personality overnight just because I filled out a form. I’m still going to vote my conscience, which the majority of time is with the Democrats.”

Curry said her biggest disagreement with her party came during budget discussions this year. She also voted against a Democratic measure to lift spending limits.

“The Democrats do have a big tent and have always been respectful, but I do feel in leadership you should march in line more than I have,” she said.

Before Curry’s defection, Democrats held a 38-27 majority in the House.

Carroll, D-Denver, said he was surprised by Curry’s decision and unsuccessfully tried to talk her out of it.

“But it’s who Kathleen is. She really is an independent thinker. She believes that political parties aren’t her thing and I understand and respect her for that,” he said. “She made a decision that was best for her.

“She has always worked well with our caucus and we assume she is going to continue to work well with our caucus.”

Carroll said he will decide in a few days which lawmaker will replace Curry as chair of the House Agriculture, Livestock and Natural Resources Committee, and as speaker pro tem, the No. 2 position in the House. The 2010 session opens Jan. 13.

Curry was first elected to the House in 2004 when Democrats won both chambers in the legislature for the first time since 1960.

She was named chair of the House Agriculture Committee, an unusual appointment for a freshman.

Curry represents Gunnison, Eagle, Garfield, Hinsdale and Pitkin counties. The latest voter breakdown in her district shows 15,424 unaffiliated voters, 13,580 Democrats and 10,674 Republicans, according to the secretary of state.

Curry registered as an unaffiliated voter too late to run as one in next year’s election. Curry said she had already planned to introduce legislation next year making it easier for those who switch to unaffiliated to get on the ballot. The bill would reduce the time a person needs to be unaffiliated to run as one.

But Curry said she probably is going to have to run as a write-in candidate, which she admitted isn’t an easy feat.

Curry is the second House member in two years to change voter registration. Rep. Debbie Stafford of Aurora changed from Republican to Democrat before the 2008 session, saying the party hewed closer to her views on health care access, the reformation of the juvenile justice system and education.

Curry has served as manager of the Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District, as a water rights sppecialist for Wright Water Engineers in Denver, and as a scientist for the state Water Conservation Board, according to her Web site.

She and her husband, Greg Peterson, ranch in the Gunnison Valley.