The Politics of (Democrats) Power (PHOTO/link - Rocky Mountain News)

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http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/legislature/article/0,1299,DRMN_37_3455616,00.html

The politics of power
After 4 decades, Democrats regain legislative control

By Lynn Bartels And Peggy Lowe, Rocky Mountain News
January 8, 2005

After a four-decade shutout, Democrats return to power Wednesday, controlling the Senate and House in a historic legislative session brimming with possibilities and personalities.

Numbers tell the story:

Democrats will have a 35-30 majority in the House and an 18-17 edge in the Senate.

It's almost too much for former lawmaker Wayne Knox to fathom. The Denver Democrat, who served 32 years in the House, was first elected in 1960. That was the last time Democrats won both the House and the Senate until the 2004 election. "I had given up," said Knox, now 77. "I mean, hope springs eternal and all that, but I didn't think it was ever going to happen."


DEMS IN THE DRIVERS SEAT

The new Democratic leadership looks at home in a ’61 Corvette, which was the last year the party took control of both houses at the Colorado State Capitol. From the left: House Majority Leader Alice Madden, Boulder; Speaker of the House Andrew Romanoff, Denver; Senate Majority Leader Ken Gordon, Denver, and Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald, Golden.