Date/Time
Date(s) - 07/26/2018
12:00 pm-1:30 pm

Location
State Street Pavilion – Fenway Park

Address
4 Jersey Way
Boston
MA
02215

The Boston Red Sox, Bank of America, The Great Fenway Park Writers Series Proudly Present

THE HONORABLE JOHN HICKENLOOPER— GOVERNOR OF COLORADO

Speaking on: “The Opposite of Woe: My Life in Beer & Politics”
12-Noon
Thursday, July 26, 2018
State Street Pavilion
Fenway Park — Enter at Number 20 Jersey Street

Cost: $65 (includes autographed copy of the Governor’s book)

RSVP: FenwayParkWriters@gmail.com

John Hickenlooper— Biographical Brief

John Hickenlooper is a lifetime entrepreneur who ran as a “dark horse” to become Mayor of Denver in 2003. He led the campaign to pass FasTracks, the largest regional transportation initiative in U.S. history, and helped convince the 34 metro mayors (2/3 Republican) to unanimously support and pass the 0.4% sales tax increase at the ballot. He recruited top managers to his cabinet from business and wherever he could find them. In eight years he had streamlined the total workforce by 7%, the first such reduction in Denver’s history. In 2005 TIME Magazine named him as one of the five top big-city mayors in America. He recently added “author” to his resume with the publication of his forthcoming memoir, The Opposite of Woe: My Life in Beer and Politics.

When he was inaugurated Governor of Colorado in 2011, having run on his history of collaboration for community good, he became the first Denver mayor to be elected governor in 150 years. He also became the first geologist to become a governor in the history of the nation, and the first brewer since Sam Adams in 1792. Again he has recruited talent from all quarters, and is redefining the relationship between a state government and its business and civic communities.

Governor Hickenlooper’s goal is to create the most pro-business state government, but with the highest environmental and ethical standards. His administration has already examined more than 16,000 rules and regulations, and either eliminated or streamlined more than half of them. They have created the Colorado Innovation Network (COIN) and provided Advanced Manufacturing Grants to accelerate start-ups and early stage technology businesses. They are building an integrated workforce training system, in conjunction with the Markle Foundation and LinkedIn, that will create a single, seamless continuum for education and workforce preparation, from childhood to old age.

Governor Hickenlooper applied his passion to create good government on a national level as well. His 2015 “Chair’s Initiative” at the National Governors Association, focusing on hiring, appropriate creation and implementation of regulations, and continuous improvement, was a bipartisan success. He is a great believer that governors, far more than Congress, can revive American democracy.

CNN on Governor Hickenlooper:

With the end of his second term in sight, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper is weighing his political future and says he’ll see how a potential presidential run feels this summer.

Hickenlooper, a Democrat who was re-elected as governor in 2014 and is term limited, will leave office in 2018. He told David Axelrod on “The Axe Files,” a podcast from The University of Chicago Institute of Politics and CNN, that he wants to take some time to sit down and think about a presidential run, but he plans to wait until his departure to make a final decision.

This summer we’ll see how it begins to feel,’ Hickenlooper said, “You’d have to get much more polished than what I am now, in terms of what my message would be and what I would bring that’s different than other candidates.”

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) addresses the audience at the Colorado Energy Forum presented by the Consumer Energy Alliance on October 14, 2014 in Westminster, Colorado.

Once rumored as a potential running mate for Hillary Clinton, Hickenlooper said his focus remains on his state. He’s pushing economic development into rural parts of the state and overseeing the legalization of marijuana, even though he was publicly opposed to the measure. He noted Colorado’s ranking as the No. 1 economy in the country for two years in a row.

“The moment I start a PAC and start talking about what I’m going to do in 2020 not only do I get distracted, but my Cabinet gets distracted and it’s a disadvantage,” Hickenlooper said. “I’ve attracted, I think, the most talented team of people I’ve ever worked with, and we’re taking on what I think are the most important issues the state can deal with. I think it’s more important to focus on that and finish strong.”

‘I’m not connected to Washington.”

Hickenlooper admits he tries not to talk about President Donald Trump in the office because, he says, it’s a “waste of time.”

“As a governor, I’m not connected to Washington. I’m obviously concerned about it and in some cases I have my nightmares about what’s going on there sometimes,” he said.

He has teamed up with Ohio Gov. John Kasich on major issues such as health care. There has been speculation that the two will join for a unity presidential ticket.

“I’m a socially very liberal Democrat and we’ve been trying to show that we can find common ground and compromise and really fix the Affordable Care Act without throwing the baby out with the bathwater,” he said.

When it comes to immigration, Hickenlooper says he is frustrated by the “insane level of bitter division.”

“I don’t disagree that we need borders and we need to be able to police them, but I don’t think we need a wall,” he said.

If asked by the President to send National Guard troops to the southern border, Hickenlooper says, he would adamantly oppose.

“We’re not going to send our troops down there to do the work of immigration enforcement,” he said,

“We’re not going to be part of enforcement under any circumstance and nor should we.”

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