Before he moved to
In general, that means one who espoused the more liberal views of Republican Nelson Rockefeller, the former governor of
But when Ellins moved from
Ellins, now 69, changed his party registration in 2000.
“This was not the Republican Party that I signed up for many years ago,” he said. “My heart was not with it. It was with the other side.”
Ellins knows he’s going to have to put politics aside now that he’s been hired to run the November election for
To avoid a conflict of interest, Ellins said he will step down from his position as co-chair of the county’s elections task force before it begins deliberations on final recommendations to the county commission. Because he and other task force members have agreed they won’t share their work with the media until their report is issued, Ellins said he can’t yet discuss specific changes he will make as elections supervisor.
“There are some things that we have looked at that I will probably implement,” he said.
Ellins is optimistic about the election.
“To say that we will succeed 100 percent without any problems would be Pollyannaish,” Ellins said. “We’re going to give it 100 percent. We’ll be as transparent as possible.”
Ellins also pledged to give equal access to all, regardless of party affiliation, and to work with everyone.
He and the other task force members have spent time interviewing each staffer in the elections bureau, and Ellins said he is impressed.
“They want to succeed. They have a great staff,” he said. “There are lots of good people there.”
As a man who volunteers a lot of time with Common Cause, Ellins has demonstrated that he values good government above any political party. He is an attorney with an understanding of the law. He has spent time in the past few weeks learning the intimate details of the elections bureau. And he was an elected member of the University of Colorado Board of Regents, so he’s seen that side of an election.
It sounds like Ellins is the right man for the job.