(Adds background on Bennet.)
By Corey Boles and Darrell A. Hughes Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- Denver schools boss Michael Bennet is to replace Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., in the U.S. Senate, a senior Democratic Senate aide confirmed Friday.
Colorado Governor Bill Ritter is likely to announce Bennet's appointment as soon as Saturday.
Bennet has served as superintendent of the Denver school system since 2005. Before that he had been chief of staff to Mayor John Hickenlooper, who was himself seen to be on the short list to replace Salazar.
A spokesman for Ritter didn't return an email seeking comment for this article.
Salazar was named as the Secretary of the Interior in President-elect Barack Obama's cabinet. He still has to be confirmed by the Senate, but given the Democratic majority in the chamber, this isn't likely to be an issue.
Bennet worked in the Clinton Justice Department as counsel to the deputy attorney general, where he wrote speeches for Attorney General Janet Reno.
In 1997, he moved to Denver, where he joined Denver-based Anschutz Group, eventually becoming the group's managing director. Anschutz Group exclusively manages the investments of billionaire Philip Anschutz.
Bennet was hired by Anschutz Group despite the fact that his wife's role as an environmental lawyer saw her engaged in lawsuits against Anschutz, who made his original fortune from the oil and gas industry.
In his seven years at Anschutz Group, Bennet had direct responsibility for the investment of more than $500 million, according to a biography on the Denver School System's Web site.
He oversaw the reorganization of four distressed companies, including leading a deal which formed the Regal Entertainment Group (RGC) out of three movie-theater companies.
Anschutz' other holdings include the Clarity Media Group, which controls the Examiner newspapers in Baltimore, San Francisco and Washington; the Oil & Gas Asset Clearinghouse; NRC Broadcasting, which owns a string of radio stations around Colorado; and the Los Angeles Galaxy, a Major League Soccer franchise.
Bennet started his career working as a personal assistant to then-Ohio Governor Richard Celeste, and later as a law clerk for Judge Francis Murnaghan on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit.
-By Corey Boles and Darrell A. Hughes, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6601; corey.boles@dowjones.com
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Publié le 02 janvier 2009 Copyright © 2009 Dowjones