{"id":124625,"date":"2026-04-13T22:23:01","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T04:23:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/a-legacy-of-bipartisan-cooperation\/"},"modified":"2026-04-14T20:10:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T02:10:16","slug":"a-legacy-of-bipartisan-cooperation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/a-legacy-of-bipartisan-cooperation\/","title":{"rendered":"A legacy of bipartisan cooperation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"About
About 740 people attended a memorial celebration for former U.S. Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell on Monday at the Sky Ute Casino in Ignacio. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

A fiscally conservative Democrat, a pro-choice Republican and, above all, an advocate for Colorado and tribal interests: Ben Nighthorse Campbell left behind a political legacy that many say transcended party lines.<\/p>\n

Campbell\u2019s midterm switch from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party was, at the time, a jolt to the political landscape. But for the many who gathered at his memorial service on Monday, including former staff members, elected officials and constituents, party affiliation is not what defined him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe voted for him every time,\u201d said Elaine Moravan, speaking for her and her husband, Michael Moravan. Though the Durango couple remain registered Democrats, they said Campbell consistently earned their support because, \u201che really cared what people\u2019s needs were in Colorado.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"U.S.
U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd reads the Congressional Record statement that he read on the House floor about Ben Nighthorse Campbell during a memorial celebration Monday at the Sky Ute Casino. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd, who now holds the same seat Campbell once represented before his Senate tenure, pointed to the complexity of Campbell\u2019s legislative achievements.<\/p>\n

His work on Indian gaming, Hurd said, was \u201cexceptionally difficult and impressive,\u201d as was his role in advancing the Animas-La Plata Project.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it comes to the politics of water in the West, those sorts of projects are difficult to organize support for,\u201d Hurd said, noting the added challenge of building consensus across a largely rural region.<\/p>\n

Former U.S. Sen. Corey Gardner, who was elected to Congress while Campbell was still in office, said he first met Campbell as a young Senate staff member and later developed a working relationship with him while serving in Congress.<\/p>\n

As a junior lawmaker, Gardner said Campbell was \u201cgracious in his help and support,\u201d and often served as a sounding board for Gardner and a support system who intimately understood the challenges of federal office.<\/p>\n

Being able to work with both political parties was in large part because of Campbell\u2019s infectious personality, Gardener said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was larger than life and just had a commanding presence,\u201d he said. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t overwhelming, it wasn\u2019t abrasive. He just wore it incredibly well.\u201d<\/p>\n

That fondness for Campbell was echoed by many of his former Senate staff members, several of whom became emotional as they reflected on their time working for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was the best person ever,\u201d said Katie Aggeler, who worked in Campbell\u2019s Western Slope Office. \u201cIt\u2019s going to make me cry.\u201d<\/p>\n

George Rossman, another staff member in the Western Slope Office, chimed in, adding, \u201cWe always say there should be about 100 Ben Campbell\u2019s in the Senate.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Alton Dillard, Campbell\u2019s former deputy press secretary, the relationship was life-changing. Dillard first met Campbell while working as a $5 \u201crent-a-bus\u201d driver. After Campbell was elected to the Senate, he offered Dillard a job \u2013 one he kept even after the senator changed party affiliation.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Leaving) wasn\u2019t even a question,\u201d Dillard said. \u201cWe were there to serve the people of Colorado.\u201d<\/p>\n

One staff member recalled a trip he took with Campbell on Air Force 2 to countries in Africa, where unlike others, Campbell refused to take the \u201cwine and cheese\u201d tour, and instead spent the majority of his time out in \u201cthe brush and the shanty towns.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really embodied that true, Western individualism,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

While some seemed to suggest Campbell was operating in a bygone political era, Hurd said he believes effective bipartisan work can continue, even in an era defined by political polarization.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe does leave a legacy of serious bipartisan work, and I\u2019m motivated to continue that in Congress,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

jbowman@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"About
About 600 people attended a memorial celebration for former U.S. Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell on Monday at the Sky Ute Casino. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

U.S. Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell remembered as stalwart Colorado representative <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":124626,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5736,5735],"tags":[255,1583,265,1125,24],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-124625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","category-news","tag-death-and-dying","tag-former-u-s-sen-ben-nighthorse-campbell","tag-politics","tag-u-s-house-rep-jeff-hurd","tag-u-s-sen-cory-gardner"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124625","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124625"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124625\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":124664,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124625\/revisions\/124664"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/124626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124625"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=124625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}