Sweet Q&A With Matt Sugar

His name is familiar to reporters, and that’ll be a good thing when Matt Sugar starts his new gig as spokesman for the Colorado Democratic Party in July.

Sugar’s Colorado political roots are just as deep as those of some other popular Colorado mouthpieces. He comes to the Democratic Party in anticipation of an election when a U.S. Senate seat is up for grabs, and the party’s presidential nominee will be selected at a convention in Denver.

He worked for U.S. Sen. Tim Wirth, and spent six years in Gov. Roy Romer’s press office. Then he moved on to lead the communications effort for the construction and debut of Invesco Field at Mile High. He worked for Vail Resorts for a while, and has been at Intrawest Colorado, based out of Winter Park, for almost four years. Earlier this year, Gov. Bill Ritter appointed him to the board of directors of Great Outdoors Colorado.

Sugar took time to answer a few quick questions from Colorado Confidential; check it out after the jump.
CoCo: How’d you decide to take the gig with the state Democratic Party?
“What I’m looking at are some people I think are outstanding, most notably Mark Udall (who is running for U.S. Senate)… It’s an exciting time in Colorado with the new administration and Gov. Ritter doing an outstanding job.”

What’s the biggest challenge you’ll face?
“There’re a lot of things. You’re looking at a presidential race, you’re looking at a U.S. Senate race, you’re looking at holding onto both houses… I think that on a national level and a local level that people are looking for something different in our federal government.”

Do reporters dig you? Like they dig Colorado GOP Chairman Dick Wadhams?
After some laughter: “I think that I’m going to focus on the things that I can have an impact on. I’ll let Dick do what he needs to do. We have issues that are important to the state of Colorado and we need to pay attention to them.”

Are you friends with Dick Wadhams? Acquaintances? Nemeses?
“We’re acquainted, at best – all the way back to (former U.S. Sen.) Tim Wirth’s office, where I worked before Romer’s office.”

Does this mean you have to move back to Denver? Will you have to pay for ski passes now??
“I plan on keeping my residence in Winter Park. I will be doing a lot of driving back and forth, which is not unusual. I did that when I was in the governor’s office and the stadium district.

“In regard to the ski pass, I’ll do whatever is necessary to continue to ski. I’m a Colorado native. I will not let the Republican or the Democratic party take away my right to ski. If I have to buy a pass, I will do so.”