Colorado Senate Candidates Wiens, Norton, and Romanoff Issue Genocide Pledge

Senator Udall and Candidate Bennet Withdraw Support; Received Contributions from Military Contractors

HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo.—The Rocky Mountain Hye Advocates (RMHA) this week announced the pledges by former State Senator Tom Wiens (R), former Lt. Governor Jane Norton (R), and former Colorado House Speaker Andrew Romanoff (D) to co-sponsor an Armenian Genocide resolution.

Senior State Senator Mark Udall (D), in contrast, informed the RMHA last week that he would not renew his commitment to co-sponsor an Armenian Genocide resolution—nor would he vote for one if it came to the Senate floor. Udall had pledged to support a resolution during his 2008 campaign. “We are gravely disappointed that our Colorado non-partisan Senate record of co-sponsorship has been rejected by Senator Udall,” wrote the RMHA. “It deserved to be honored, respected, and maintained. His failure to pay proper tribute to the tradition which preceded him—and he had formally embraced—is a reflection of an ever-expanding inside-the-beltway mentality.”

The Colorado Senate seat was formally held by elected Senator Ken Salazar (D), who joined then-Senior Senator Wayne Allard (R) in co-sponsoring the Senate Armenian Genocide Resolution and establishing a tradition of bipartisan support. Wiens—who has a past record of repeated co-sponsorship of Armenian Genocide resolutions in the General Assembly—is challenging Norton in the Republican Senate primary. Bennet and Romanoff are the two major Democrat primary contestants seeking to represent their party in the November General Election. Romanoff provided his Armenian Genocide original co-sponsorship pledge to the RMHA at the same moment he declared his candidacy for the open seat. Late last month, Bennet became Colorado’s lone co-sponsor of S.Res.316, the Armenian Genocide Resolution in the U.S. Senate. The RMHA requested Bennet’s 2010 pledge to sustain his co-sponsorship, but has not yet received it. “We feel it incumbent on this party endorsed candidate to provide his assurance of fidelity to our community by is
suing his campaign pledge statement,” wrote the RMHA.

The influence of corporate money has been raised in this Senate race. Relevant to that question, the Associated Press released the results of its June 2009 investigation into American military contractors quietly lobbying Members of Congress on behalf of the Turkish government to undermine support for the adoption of an Armenian Genocide resolution. It named five military corporations and one energy company conducting this unofficial lobbying in order to curry favor with their client, the Turkish government. The RMHA researched the public financial reports of each Colorado Delegation Member who had not co-sponsored congressional Armenian Genocide resolutions in the current session. In their 2009 year-end issue, the RMHA reported “specific contributions from two AP-named military contractors to the campaign treasuries of Senator Udall and Candidate Bennet.”

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