Last week Governor-elect Hickenlooper announced some of his his top picks for cabinet-level positions. His most controversial thus far has been Ellen Golombek for Department of Labor. The Senate Minority office sent out an immediate press release after hearing of the appointment:

Just a few weeks ago at the Colorado Press Association the Governor-elect went to great lengths expressing a desire to be “pro-business” and to “do things differently.” [Senate Minority Leader Mike] Kopp said, “This appointment seems to be a complete reversal of that policy.”

Last week we took a few minutes and caught up with Senator Bill Cadman (R-Colo. Springs) and asked him about the nomination:

We are struggling in Colorado like every other state to hold on to the jobs that we have, hold on to our employers and actually try to . . . we’re actively trying to recruit new employers. When you hire someone who is the point person, the executive director of the Department of Labor and their entire background has been on promoting unionization and union issues, in many cases, in the public and private sector are excessive wages, excessive benefits that most people don’t have access to, things that cost public and private employers a lot more money than is typical. When you have someone who has that kind of background who’s now in charge of the department of labor, it sends the exact opposite message to business that we are trying to portray in Colorado. I mean, we have been trying to put the green light out for new business and to help existing business, this is a red light, and unfortunately this pick will not help us to improve Colorado’s economy.