Bruce Benson for Governor?

CU President Bruce Benson is Colorado’s most interesting politician. In two recent interviews, he has candidly assessed his election chances and ambitions post the painful 1994 campaign against Roy Romer and his readiness to do another five years as president of CU at 75 years old.

“Maybe it’s seven, maybe it’s four,” he said. “You get older, you start sliding – am I as coherent as I was 10 years ago? No. Do you forget names more easily? Yes. But if I start slipping, I’m going to be the first one to notice it, and I’ll say, ‘Hey, guys, I’ll give you a year – you’d better find somebody else.’”

Benson not only makes his own case, but the case for the entire Silent Generation (born from 1927 to 1945 during the Great Depression and WWII) who want to continue working, some of whom are in senior positions of corporations, government and other institutions. But, he’s also expressing the anxieties and the interests of the Baby Boom Generation, just now passing 65, who want to stay in the workforce. Benson has always been a straight talker; it’s just a pleasure to hear someone speak up in the era of calibrated comments.

If John Hickenlooper, for whatever reason, should decline to run, the Republican Party should nominate Benson by acclamation.

See:
Denver Post: University of Colorado weighs present and future regarding leadership
Denver Business Journal: Husted: For Bruce Benson, it’s all about his work