It looks like Michael Bennet will be the next Senator from the great state of Colorado.
Gov. Bill Ritter is expected to name his U.S. Senate replacement pick on Saturday, ending a brief but frenzied period of speculation about who will take the seat of Interior Secretary nominee Ken Salazar.
The governor's office confirmed that the announcement would take place Saturday, but details of the event were not released. - RMN
And if you're wondering which cabinet seats have been filled you can check out our list at DemConWatch. We also have the most comprehensive Inauguration Events Calendar on the Internets.
UPDATE: The Rocky just updated their story with this news:
Denver Public Schools superintendent Michael Bennet is expected to be named Saturday as the future U.S. Senate replacement for Interior Secretary nominee Ken Salazar, according to two Democratic sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Bennet was being considered for the Secretary of Education before Arne Duncan was named.
The FEC lists Bennet as giving the Obama campaign a total of $4600 during the elections.
BENNET, MICHAEL F
DENVER, CO 80206
DENVER PUBLIC SCHOOLS/SCHOOL SUPE
OBAMA, BARACK
VIA OBAMA FOR AMERICA
03/30/2007 -2300.00 28990170478
03/30/2007 2300.00 28990170478
03/30/2007 4600.00 27930593850
From DPS:
In June 2005 the Denver Board of Education unanimously appointed Michael F. Bennet Superintendent of Denver Public Schools.
Bennet believes that Denver's next great project is the transformation of its public school system into the best big city district in the country. This means excellence in learning, excellence in teaching, excellence in retention rates and excellence in college preparation.
Bennet's plan focuses on the district and the community's efforts on three goals:
* First, each school must have a highly skilled faculty with access to robust professional development and real-time assessment data that will allow teachers to better evaluate the progress children are making and where they might need extra help;
* Second, each principal should be equipped to be in the instructional leader for the faculty in their school; and
* Third, deliver a safe and orderly environment in every school and every classroom.
Under Bennet's leadership Denver has laid the foundation to accomplish these goals and is starting to see results.
Student Achievement
From 2005 to 2008, Denver students made strong improvements in reading, math, writing and science. In reading, the district posted a 6.2% increase over the three years, more than four times the growth of the state. In math, Denver saw a 6% gain, more than twice the growth of the state. In the middle grades, Denver saw gains of 10% in reading and 9% in math.
Teacher & Principal Pay
DPS operates a groundbreaking teacher pay system called ProComp along with a principal compensation system which rewards improved student achievement and commitments to work in hard to serve school and hard to staff assignments.
Expansion of Preschool & Kindergarten
Denver has expanded its early childhood education program by 40%. In 2007 - 2008 school year there were only 500 children in full day preschool, in the 2008-2009 school year there are 2,000 children in full day preschool. Full day kindergarten slots were also increased by 25% which means that over 90% of the children in Denver Public Schools, as five year olds, currently have access to full day kindergarten.
Balanced Budget
After five years and $83 million in budget cuts equaling almost 20% of the operating budget, Denver has balanced its budget without cuts for two consecutive years and is investing additional funds into its schools and departments.
School Performance Framework
In 2008, DPS launched a School Performance Framework which measures the progress of actual students against themselves and against peers from the entire state of Colorado to make sure that DPS is moving all of its students forward.
Prior to his superintendency, Bennet served for two years as the Chief of Staff to Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper. Highlights of his accomplishment at the city include: closing an initial 10 percent budget gap in the first two months of office; balancing two consecutive budgets in Denver's worst recession in history while preserving city services and avoiding layoffs almost entirely; conducting five collective bargaining negotiations; devising strategies to pass five ballot initiatives; and assembling a very diverse widely-acknowledged leadership team for the city.
He worked for six years prior to his tenure at the City of Denver as Managing Director for the Anschutz Investment Company in Denver, where he had direct responsibility for the investment of over $500 million. He led the reorganizations of four distressed companies including Forcenergy (which later merged with Denver-based Forest Oil), Regal Cinemas, United Artists and Edwards Theaters, which together required the restructuring of over $3 billion in debt. Bennet also managed, on behalf of Anschutz, the consolidation of the three theater chains into Regal Entertainment Group, the largest motion picture exhibitor in the world. Prior to moving to Denver, Bennet served as Counsel to the Deputy Attorney General in the Clinton Administration.
Bennet earned his bachelor's degree in history with honors from Wesleyan University and his law degree from Yale Law School, where he was the Editor-in-Chief of The Yale Law Journal.