Here’s full audio of the press conference (via Face the State) held by Republican gubernatorial nominee Dan Maes announcing his selection of Tambor Williams. Williams is a former state representative who brings legislative, administrative and judicial experience to the GOP ticket:
The Republican candidate for governor was required by Colorado law to announce his Lieutenant Governor selection by the end of business on Tuesday, one week after the primary election.
Williams is an attorney who is currently serving on the state’s Office of Judicial Performance which evaluates the state’s judges.
She was elected to the State House from Greeley in 1996 and was re-elected three times, serving there until 2004 before being selected by then-Gov. Bill Owens (R-Colorado) to oversee the regulation of nearly half-a-million licensed professionals and business entities in the state at DORA.
“She understands and is committed to…protecting our citizens while streamlining regulatory processes,” Owens said at the time of Williams, announcing her selection to the position.
Though the addition of Williams will certainly offset Maes’ top-of-the-ticket inexperience, the selection of Lieutenant Governor has traditionally brought little in the way of a “bump” to the overall perception of the ticket:
“Tambor Williams is a bit of a dated name but would seem to pass the credibility test with both legislative and administrative experience at the State Capitol,” said political analyst Eric Sondermann. [emphasis added]
“She brings a bit of geographic diversity; some ideological diversity given her reputation more toward the moderate end of the Republican spectrum; and clearly some gender diversity as the only female among the candidates for Governor and Lt. Governor,” Sondermann said. “All that said, I’d expect her impact on the race to be rather minimal in keeping with the pattern of most Lt. Governor candidates.”
Maes’ Facebook page had this to say after the announcement:
I couldn’t be more pleased to announce that Tambor Williams will be joining the camapign as my pick for Lieutenant Governor. Tambor is a strong conservative with a great deal of experience, integrity, and intelligence, as well as a work ethic to match. Welcome to the campaign Tambor! Thanks for helping me return conservative values to the Capitol!
The Westword’s Michael Roberts has a longer profile of Williams and calls her a “politically astute” and “safe” pick.