Nearly one month after Larry Don Suckla won the November election when he ran against Kathleen Curry for House Seat 58, the Forum asked how the outcome felt.
“It feels a lot better than losing,” Suckla said Nov. 26.
For him, the work has already begun.
“Yes, ma’am. I’ve been up there once last week, in fact, for the first training. I go back Dec. 4, 5 and 6 for the second training,” he said, “and I’ve already been in trouble … the first five minutes when I walked in.”
Suckla didn’t know he couldn’t wear a cowboy hat in the Colorado Supreme Court Chambers; he also didn’t know denim wasn’t permitted in session.
Having been raised in the local area, he’s had a presence in the West End. The Forum asked if he would continue that, and he agreed he would.
“I want to go to the senior center and have another lunch,” Suckla said. “I was treated very well there. … Those are down-to-earth people, and that’s who I am. You will see me.”
He’s not sure of his schedule just yet. He knows the first month or so is slow, except for committee meetings. He’ll be in session most mornings in the beginning, but later that can go until 2 or 3 a.m. The first five months will be intense, he said.
He admitted there are parts of living in Denver that will be a challenge. He’s had to rent an apartment, but selected one within walking distance. And, he won’t see a horse or a cow for some time. His plan is to come home on the weekends, but he said realistically if he can get home twice a month, that will be good.
He just spent the weekend in Gypsum Valley on his family ranch and thought about what he was sacrificing to serve. Still, he’ll have more freedom later, after the initial work is done.
“After (the beginning), I will spend time in the eight counties, learning more about them, so I can help the people better,” he said.
Suckla thanks all that voted for him.
"You never know if you’re going to win or lose, and I’m really appreciative of the people that believe in me,” he said.
He said he made a promise to voters and himself: “to represent the people, and not the government.” He wants to be held accountable if he breaks that promise, he said.
He said that philosophy served him well in working as a county commissioner, and he never lost track of who his “boss” was, the people. He said it’s easy for politicians to change their thinking as time goes on.
“This going to be a challenge,” he said, “but I stayed true to my word as a commissioner, and I think I can do it again.”
He added he’s met the majority in the capitol, including the new 17 voted in, and he said they are “some very good people.”
“I’m very excited about serving with them,” he said.
And, he said he learned that each Colorado Representative has their own lawyer, and the lawyer picks the representative — not the other way around. Suckla said he was chosen by a lawyer whose wife is from Dove Creek, and he hunts every year at the Lone Cone.
“What that tells me is he has a vested interest in our community,” he said. “That’s a good thing.”
Suckla said he will stay in touch with the Forum and plans to update his constituents soon.
