Aaron Harber

Twenty Coloradans ranging from the politically connected to regular Joes have applied to be the next secretary of state.

Applications for the job, which is opening as a result of current Secretary of State Mike Coffman's election to Congress, closed Monday and now will go before a seven-member panel appointed by Gov. Bill Ritter, a Democrat.

The panel will review the applications and pick finalists by early December, with the governor expected to finalize his choice later that month.

Outgoing House Speaker Andrew Romanoff; Rep. Bernie Buescher, D-Grand Junction; Senate Majority Leader Ken Gordon, D-Denver (who lost to Coffman in 2006); and current federal Election Assistance Commission chairwoman Rosemary Rodriguez, also a Democrat, had already said they would apply for the job.

Twenty Coloradans ranging from the politically connected to regular Joes have applied to be the next secretary of state.

Applications for the job, which is opening as a result of current Secretary of State Mike Coffman's election to Congress, closed Monday and now will go before a seven-member panel appointed by Gov. Bill Ritter, a Democrat.

The panel will review the applications and pick finalists by early December, with the governor expected to finalize his choice later that month.

Outgoing House Speaker Andrew Romanoff; Rep. Bernie Buescher, D-Grand Junction; Senate Majority Leader Ken Gordon, D-Denver (who lost to Coffman in 2006); and current federal Election Assistance Commission chairwoman Rosemary Rodriguez, also a Democrat, had already said they would apply for the job.

A search committee is expected to present Gov. Bill Ritter this week with a short list of candidates culled from the 20 people who have applied to become Colorado's next secretary of state.

The conventional wisdom about who most likely might make that list centers around four candidates. In alphabetical order, they are:

State Rep. Bernie Buescher, of Grand Junction, who had been in line to become speaker of the House until he lost his seat in the Nov. 4 election.

Senate Majority Leader Ken Gordon, of Denver, who lost a bid for secretary of state in November 2006.

Rosemary Rodriguez, a former Denver City Council president and Denver clerk and recorder who currently serves as a commissioner on the U.

Twenty Coloradans ranging from the politically connected to regular Joes have applied to be the next secretary of state.

Applications for the job, which is opening as a result of current Secretary of State Mike Coffman's election to Congress, closed Monday and now will go before a seven-member panel appointed by Gov. Bill Ritter, a Democrat.

The panel will review the applications and pick finalists by early December, with the governor expected to finalize his choice later that month.

Outgoing House Speaker Andrew Romanoff; Rep. Bernie Buescher, D-Grand Junction; Senate Majority Leader Ken Gordon, D-Denver (who lost to Coffman in 2006); and current federal Election Assistance Commission chairwoman Rosemary Rodriguez, also a Democrat, had already said they would apply for the job.

Several of the 20 candidates for Colorado's Secretary of State have some heavy hitters backing them.

TV talk show host and 1990 Democratic Secretary of State nominee Aaron Harber offered former U.S. Sens. Gary Hart (D-Kittredge) and Hank Brown (R-Denver) as references on his application.

Joseph Poche, vice president of operations at Physicians Management Information Services, Inc., can more than match Harber when it comes to prominent backers: the Denver resident lists 1992 and 1996 presidential candidate Ross Perot and U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) as references.

Twenty people have applied for the open Colorado Secretary of State position. The deadline for applicants was Monday.

A seven-member panel will now review the applications and present a list of finalists to Gov. Bill Ritter in early December.

The position opened up when current Secretary of State Mike Coffman was elected to Congress earlier this month.

Outgoing State Rep. Bernie Buescher (D-Grand Junction), the heir apparent to become Speaker of the House next year until a surprise defeat at the polls earlier this month, has applied to become Secretary of State, News2 is reporting.

Buescher's application will pit him against, among others, outgoing Speaker of the House, Andrew Romanoff, who also applied for the position on Monday.

"I thought long and hard about it before sending in my application," Buescher told News2 on Monday. "I think my background as an attorney would be well-suited to the position."

So far, at least five people have said they're applying to succeed Secretary of State Mike Coffman: talk show host and 1990 Democratic Secretary of State nominee Aaron Harber, outgoing Senate President Ken Gordon (D-Denver), federal Election Assistance Commission Chairwoman Rosemary Rodriguez, Gilpin County Clerk and Recorder Jessica Lovingier, and Denver Democratic Party Secretary Dan Willis.

Outgoing Speaker of the House Andrew Romanoff had not yet applied for the position as of 3 p.m. Monday, News2 reported.

Several unnamed Democratic sources told News2 Romanoff was weighing whether to decide whether to hold out for Ken Salazar's U.S. senate seat. Salazar, a Denver Democrat, is considered a finalist for President Barack Obama's Secretary of the Interior.