Lowery aims to succeed Coken as Denver Democratic Party chair

With Denver Democratic Party Chair Jennifer Coken stepping down next February to focus on a state legislative campaign, former State House District 8 candidate Cindy Lowery is the frontrunner to succeed her.

Coken said she won't seek a second two-year term as chair because she's planning to run for state House District 4 in 2010, when incumbent state Rep. Jerry Frangas (D-Denver) must step down because of term limits.

Lowery, a Denver attorney and the former president of the Denver Young Democrats, said she's "pretty sure" she has the chairmanship wrapped up, as she's been gathering support for her candidacy since shortly after her August primary loss to state Rep.-elect Beth McCann (D-Denver).

But elections for Denver Democratic Party officers, scheduled for Feb. 8, are open -- meaning an opponent could jump in against Lowery at any point up until the election itself.

Vice-chair Rachel Kienzler has said she won't be seeking the chairmanship because of increased commitments at her job, according to Coken. Kienzler works in the City and County of Denver's Department of Human Services.

Lowery said as chair, she'll focus on "revamping" the county party's fundraising model to focus on more small-dollar fundraising and other "outside-the-box" tactics in the wake of Amendment 27, which curtailed party fundraising and donations. She said she also wants to expand the party's volunteer base and get out the vote efforts on a neighborhood level.

Lowery said that, if elected, she would remain committed to the position for at least one two-year term.

"And maybe more than that," Lowery added. "I'm not really sure if I'm going to run for office again anytime soon."

Coken said she thinks Lowery "would be an awesome chair.

"I think Cindy's very well-respected, she's well-known - she was the chair of the Denver Young Democrats (and was) very successful in that position," Coken said. "So I think she brings new energy and vision and really hard work into the party."

As for the other three elected positions within the Denver Democrats, Coken said outgoing party office manager Jennifer Jacobson is running for vice-chair, county party captain-at-large Ed Hall is going for treasurer, and Rick Van Wei of the Capitol Hill Democrats is vying for secretary.

However, Coken cautioned that with open elections, "there's no anointed person" for any of the four positions.

"You can't take anything for granted," she said.