thedrifter
03-16-07, 10:25 AM
Mar 16, 2007 6:26 am US/Mountain
Coffman's Mission: Protect The Right To Vote
Brooke Wagner
Reporting
(CBS4) DENVER Secretary of State Mike Coffman put four Colorado counties on "Election Watch" Monday citing concerns related to the November elections. Those counties are Denver, Douglas, Pueblo and Montrose.
All of the counties have already taken steps to correct the problems voters faced. They ranged from long lines to failed electronic polling books. Coffman said the state will send election monitors to the counties in coming elections.
Dealing aggressively with voting problems is a commitment Coffman made to himself during his recent tour of duty in Iraq.
The new Secretary of State stepped down from his position as state Treasurer when the Marines asked him to return to active duty in 2005, 11 years after he retired from the military.
"I got asked to come back and serve once again," he said, "to move their political process forward in Iraq."
Ironically, he had to give up his elected post to help with that democratic process and while he was there, he could not vote in elections here in Colorado.
That sacrifice seems worth it now. "It felt it was a critical point," he said. "We were able to hold a constitutional election, stand up a government and I was able to work on a local interim government after that."
But not all of Coffman's time was spent strictly on politics. "I was in an attack tin the last week that I was there," he said.
"We were four vehicles going into a village and the first vehicle got hit by an IED. I was in the third vehicle. We took eight causalities that day."
His joint perspective as military man and statesman means he has a singular take on what should happen in Iraq.
"We don't need to win this war to bring our people home. What we need is some level of stability in the government."
"The purpose of the surge is to gain that stability to allow the political process to move forward."
Coffman said he hopes after that stability is gain, American troops can start coming home.
Now that he is home, he is determined to make sure a service member is never denied the right while serving overseas and to make sure everyone can easily vote in this nation.
Making sure elections are fair and honest are a top priority as well as restoring the voters' faith and confidence in the election process.
"We're going to develop a program where I place election observers in some of these counties to make sure that these issues are resolved."
He also promises to take a close look at electronic voting machines to make sure they count votes accurately.
"If I determine that they can't," he said, "I'll be tough and fair in this process, then I'm going to disallow their use."
"Tough" and "fair" are good words to describe Coffman. He always wanted to be a public servant, trying to convince his parents to let him join the Army at 17. He finally did join up after his junior year of high school, first in the Army then transferring to the Marines after college.
From the military, he owned his own business before running for public office, first as a state representative, then a state senator which he followed with his tenure in the treasurer's office and now he continues working for the people as the secretary of state.
"It's about being a part of something that's greater than yourself. I think that always attracted me to something for your country, not just for yourself."
Ellie
Coffman's Mission: Protect The Right To Vote
Brooke Wagner
Reporting
(CBS4) DENVER Secretary of State Mike Coffman put four Colorado counties on "Election Watch" Monday citing concerns related to the November elections. Those counties are Denver, Douglas, Pueblo and Montrose.
All of the counties have already taken steps to correct the problems voters faced. They ranged from long lines to failed electronic polling books. Coffman said the state will send election monitors to the counties in coming elections.
Dealing aggressively with voting problems is a commitment Coffman made to himself during his recent tour of duty in Iraq.
The new Secretary of State stepped down from his position as state Treasurer when the Marines asked him to return to active duty in 2005, 11 years after he retired from the military.
"I got asked to come back and serve once again," he said, "to move their political process forward in Iraq."
Ironically, he had to give up his elected post to help with that democratic process and while he was there, he could not vote in elections here in Colorado.
That sacrifice seems worth it now. "It felt it was a critical point," he said. "We were able to hold a constitutional election, stand up a government and I was able to work on a local interim government after that."
But not all of Coffman's time was spent strictly on politics. "I was in an attack tin the last week that I was there," he said.
"We were four vehicles going into a village and the first vehicle got hit by an IED. I was in the third vehicle. We took eight causalities that day."
His joint perspective as military man and statesman means he has a singular take on what should happen in Iraq.
"We don't need to win this war to bring our people home. What we need is some level of stability in the government."
"The purpose of the surge is to gain that stability to allow the political process to move forward."
Coffman said he hopes after that stability is gain, American troops can start coming home.
Now that he is home, he is determined to make sure a service member is never denied the right while serving overseas and to make sure everyone can easily vote in this nation.
Making sure elections are fair and honest are a top priority as well as restoring the voters' faith and confidence in the election process.
"We're going to develop a program where I place election observers in some of these counties to make sure that these issues are resolved."
He also promises to take a close look at electronic voting machines to make sure they count votes accurately.
"If I determine that they can't," he said, "I'll be tough and fair in this process, then I'm going to disallow their use."
"Tough" and "fair" are good words to describe Coffman. He always wanted to be a public servant, trying to convince his parents to let him join the Army at 17. He finally did join up after his junior year of high school, first in the Army then transferring to the Marines after college.
From the military, he owned his own business before running for public office, first as a state representative, then a state senator which he followed with his tenure in the treasurer's office and now he continues working for the people as the secretary of state.
"It's about being a part of something that's greater than yourself. I think that always attracted me to something for your country, not just for yourself."
Ellie