Slate of regent candidates coming into focus

Competition expected in at least two of three election races

By Jay Dedrick

With the two major political parties just having wrapped up their Colorado assemblies last weekend, the field of candidates for three seats on the University of Colorado Board of Regents is coming into focus.

Three six-year terms – those of Steve Bosley, Michael Carrigan and Tom Lucero – will end in January.

Running for re-election to the at-large seat, Bosley, R-Broomfield, faced no challengers from within his party. At the Democratic assembly, Denver's Melissa Hart was the top vote-getter, winning over Boulder's Howard Wachtel, who has run for regent three times over the past decade.

Libertarian Jesse Wallace also has filed with the state as a candidate in the at-large race.

CU-Boulder alum Bosley, elected in 2004 and current chair of the board, served as president and CEO of the Bank of Boulder from 1974 to 1998, and established the Bolder Boulder road race in 1979. His campaign website is linked here.

Hart, a law professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder, in 2008 co-chaired the successful statewide campaign against Amendment 46, a ballot initiative opponents said would have undone equal opportunity programs at the state's public higher education institutions. Her site is linked here.

In the 4th District, incumbent Lucero, R-Loveland, can't seek re-election because of term limits. At the Republican assembly, Sue Sharkey of Windsor won against Kelly Barlean of Sterling. Robert Bishop-Cotner of Windsor was the sole Democrat seeking a ballot spot at his party's assembly.

Sharkey is the mother of three adult children, one of whom graduated from CU-Boulder; another now attends there. She has served as president of Larimer County Republican Women and was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 2004. Her husband, David, is president-elect of the CU Parents Association. Her site is linked here.

Bishop-Cotner announced his candidacy just three days before the May 21 Democratic assembly. A social studies teacher at Brighton High School, he serves on the Windsor Town Board. Before becoming an educator, he served 11 years in the U.S. Army. His site is linked here.

Running for re-election in the 1st District, Carrigan, D-Denver, faced no opposition at the party assembly, and thus far has no other challengers. Thursday, May 27, is the last day for candidates to file major or minor party candidate petitions for the Aug. 10 primary election.

Denver lawyer Carrigan graduated from the University of Colorado Law School; he was elected to the Board of Regents in 2004. The Boulder native and his wife are lifetime members of the CU Alumni Association. His site is linked here.