Ritter nominates two from Lakewood to GOCO board

Two Lakewood residents await state Senate confirmation after Gov. Bill Ritter nominated them to the Great Outdoors Colorado board of directors.

Former state legislator Norma Anderson and attorney James R. Spaanstra were nominated Thursday.

If both are confirmed, Jefferson County would have four representatives on the 17-member panel. Ritter also nominated Timothy P. Daly of Evergreen to serve on the GOCO board, and Evergreen resident Thomas Swanson already serves as a director.

Anderson, who served 19 years in the state legislature, was nominated for reappointment to the board.

GOCO is responsible for overseeing the distribution of a portion of state Lottery revenue for outdoor projects. In 2008, GOCO funded $52 million in grants on revenue of $55.1 million.

Since 1994, the first year GOCO issued grants, it has spent $650 million on outdoor projects across the state, nearly $12.2 million of that in Jeffco.

Ritter also appointed Spaanstra, an attorney, to the Colorado School of Mines Board of Trustees in 2007 and the Colorado Commission on Judicial Discipline last July. He is a Democrat.

Anderson, a Republican, served nearly 20 years in the state legislature. She was the first woman to serve as Majority Leader in both the House and the Senate.

The GOCO board includes of two members – only one of them from a specific political party – from each of the state’s seven congressional districts. Other members are the executive director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, a representative from the Colorado Board of Parks and Outdoor Recreation and the state Wildlife Commission. One of the 17 members must represent agricultural interests and two must be West Slope residents.