DENVER — With more than 20-years experience working for the Colorado Division of Wildlife, Gary Skiba believes he was more than qualified to serve on the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission.
"I've had people tell me this, both friends and colleagues in the wildlife field that from their perspective, I'm probably the most qualified person ever appointed to the commission," former commission nominee Gary Skiba told 9NEWS.
Before the Colorado Senate could vote on his confirmation, Skiba resigned.
“It was clear it was not going to happen, and it just seemed like, it would not be, that it was better to avoid that part of the process and avoid any of the fallout from that. We knew where it was going to end up," he said.
Before Colorado's 2020 vote to reintroduce wolves, Skiba said he advised groups on how to gather signatures to get the proposition on the ballot. He said he did not personally gather any signatures.
"It was well known that I was a wolf advocate," he said.
He also sat on CPW's Stakeholders Advisory Group, which gave advice for the state's wolf management plan. Skiba does not believe his advocacy for wolves helped at the capitol.
Governor Jared Polis nominated Skiba to the 11-person Commission in July 2023. With the legislature out-of-session, he began serving as a commissioner immediately. The Senate began to consider his appointment in late February.
“It was an ugly process, and it was unnecessary in my opinion. There was no need to do that," Skiba said.
The Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee voted against his confirmation, with Chair Dylan Roberts casting the decisive vote. Skiba did not like how his hearing went.
"The term I’ve used is interrogated rather than questioned during the hearing. It was rude. It was disrespectful,” he said.
Skiba specifically points to this exchange about his testimony last year at the capitol, against a wolf-related bill Roberts sponsored:
"It ended up being a political process where the Republicans were not going to vote for any of us and Senator Roberts had an axe to grind with me, apparently over my opposition to his bill last year, and also because many of his constituents are opposed to wolf restoration," Skiba said.
Roberts denies having a grudge, or an "axe to grind" against Skiba.
"It is the responsibility of the Senate to vet and confirm, or not confirm, all of the Governor’s appointments based on our judgment and the constituents we were elected to represent. I consider every appointment through that lens. In my judgment and, after his committee hearing and with significant constituent feedback, that Mr. Skiba was not qualified for his seat on the CPW Commission. I deeply respect Mr. Skiba’s past service to the state and his willingness to serve. My vote was not personal but based solely on my responsibility as the State Senator for District 8," Roberts told 9NEWS.
The committee's vote was only a recommendation. The full Senate still needed to vote, but Skiba resigned before the vote.
“I didn’t know how politicized it would be," he said.
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