By Clint Talbott
Paul Weissmann became House majority leader at the Colorado Legislature this week. He eased into that position as smoothly as he assumes a wide range of roles: substitute teacher in the Denver Public Schools, part-time instructor at the University of Colorado Department of Sociology, bartender and manager of Louisville’s Blue Parrot Restaurant.
The politician knows the people as well as the polity.
Paul Weissmann, a CU alumnus, teaches a sociology class at his alma mater. He's just assumed the role of majority leader of the Colorado House of Represenatives
Weissmann’s resume is both long and diverse. Before graduating with a bachelor’s in political science from CU in 1986, he served as a representative-at-large on the CU Student Union legislature. He earned a master’s in public administration from CU-Denver in 2006.
While Weissmann takes on a new leadership role in the House, fellow Boulder County legislator Brandon Shaffer became majority leader in the state Senate.
There are advantages to having two legislative leaders from the same region, Weissmann said this week. "I hate to use the word 'power,' but in essence, there's some power there," Weissmann told the Daily Camera.
Power could be helpful as lawmakers address the daunting array of issues facing the state: tax-revenue shortfalls, a sagging economy, vexing funding choices.
Whether he’s in the Legislature, the restaurant or the classroom, Weissmann is immersed in current affairs. That was evident in December during one of the classes of the course he taught last fall: “Contemporary Social Issues and Human Values.”
As he ticked off recent news stories – terrorism in Mumbai, Somali pirates, the president-elect’s choice of Hillary Clinton as secretary of state – Weissman asked his students to analyze issues here and there, large and small.
He asked what they thought of the proposed bailout of the auto industry. Prodding them to join the discussion, he offered two perspectives. On one hand, the demise of General Motors could mean the loss of 2.5 million jobs. Not good.
On the other hand, he noted, the economy is faltering generally, including in the food business. “We don’t sell the kind of meatballs we sold a month ago,” Weissmann said. “But we don’t get a meatball bailout.”
Weissman mentioned the death of a Wal-Mart security guard in New York on “Black Friday,” the day after Thanksgiving and one of the biggest shopping days of the year. The guard was trampled to death by customers who broke through the doors.
“That says a lot of weird thing about our society, doesn’t it?” Weissman asked, noting the circumstances “when an $8 jacket gets 2,000 people at the door at 5 in the morning.”
Weissmann left the class with a sobering discussion about contemporary slavery, which afflicts an estimated 25 million people worldwide. Then he was off to don one of his other hats, school teacher, bartender, legislative leader.
More than two decades after graduation, this alum has embraced learning as an integral part of life.
Jan. 8, 2008