The lighter side of the Capitol, usually. 

Lift your beer stein to one of the best

There are just a few of us among the Capitol Press Corps who can count in more than a handful of years their service to this state through journalism. As our industry has evolved, those who adhere to the standards that built and have sustained this profession also are not as many as it used to be.

When one of those giants of our industry, or at least here at the State Capitol, leave for other opportunities, their loss to democracy, to fair and unbiased journalism and to the citizens of our state who demand better from our elected officials, is often immeasurable.

So it goes with the subject of this column. 

Ed Sealover earned his journalism degree from the storied Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. He has spent the last 28 years in this profession, the last 17 at the state Capitol. He was first with the Colorado Springs Gazette, ever so briefly with the Rocky Mountain News before it shuttered in 2009, and since then covering a myriad of business beats for the Denver Business Journal, all with a devotion to reporting the story in the best traditions of the profession: fair, balanced and honest. 

In the meantime, he found time to marry Denise and become a dad to Lincoln and Jane. He also became the state’s best writer about beer, penning two books under his Mountain Brew nom de plume. The first is a guide to Colorado’s breweries, the second a guide to hiking and touring Colorado, and the best place to grab a beer on that excursion. 

Ed announced this week he is moving on to become vice president of strategic initiatives for a yet-to-be-named “business advocacy organization,” a job that will allow him to continue writing about public policy but one that lets him spend the time with his family that he and they deserve. He promises — AND WE INTEND TO HOLD HIM TO IT — that he won’t do press releases. 

From my perspective: I’ve relied on Ed more times than I can count to explain complicated business concepts that lawmakers are attempting to inflict on the citizens of our state and as a friend that I holler at over the short walls that separate our desks in the Capitol basement press office. 

Among his favorite stories: in 2019, Molson Coors announced it was moving its corporate headquarters, with some big changes, including a new name (Molson Coors Beverage Company). The story was about why corporate headquarters move and why sentiment doesn’t keep a business in its original location. It won three regional and national awards. He was named Colorado journalist of the year for 2020 by the Society of Professional Journalists.

Ed also managed to get through 17 years at the Capitol without once ever being fined by the Senate President for breaching the non-existent men’s dress code rules.

Gov. Jared Polis saluted Ed with a cake Thursday and a rendition of “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow,” joined by the members of the press corps, and the House and Senate also paid tribute to his service to his readers and journalism, and to this state on Friday. 

Nobody does it better.

Caucuses to be remembered

You’re all familiar with the caucuses at the state Capitol, ranging from the standard to the, well, you know where this is headed if you’re a regular reader of this space.

The list begins with those that do VERY.SERIOUS.WORK at the state Capitol, such as the Democratic and Republican caucuses in both the House and Senate, the Democratic Black Legislative Caucus of Colorado, the Colorado Democratic Latino Caucus and the Colorado Legislative LGBTQ Caucus.

There’s a few you might have missed: the new gun violence prevention caucus, the Colorado legislative sportsmen’s caucus (due for a name change, lest they be accused of being knuckle-draggers), the CLAW (Colorado legislative animal welfare) caucus and once upon a time, the cyclists’ caucus, although that one seems to have disappeared down a mountainside somewhere.

All which do VERY.SERIOUS.WORK. 

Then there’s the caucuses that are a tad less serious. There’s the Kerry caucus (a caucus of one, in 2022), the suburb caucus, the minivan caucus, the cowboy hat caucus (only for people who can pull off looking good in a cowboy hat), the newest – the hamburger caucus – and the bowtie caucus.

The latter received a plea for help, presumably, from former Senate President Leroy Garcia, not exactly known for being a bowtie kind of guy, who reached out via Twitter recently.

I trust the tradition is strong in the CO State Senate for Bow Tie Friday @ColemanforCO @domoreno & @Chris4Denver. I’m working on it here at the Pentagon however, receiving some resistance from the uniform military personnel .🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/QX4zspYXcq

— Leroy Garcia (@Leroy_Garcia) January 27, 2023

That earned a reply from Senate President Pro tem James Coleman, who is known as a regular devotee of bow ties. 

Always, brother! https://t.co/6DanSb40Xn pic.twitter.com/bgAde3Vcw6

— Senator James Coleman (@ColemanforCO) January 27, 2023