In His Father’s Footsteps ... Sort Of
August Ritter balances being the governor’s son with being just another CSU student
By Erin Frustaci, (Bio) efrustaci@fortcollinsnow.com
1:05 a.m. MT May 4, 2008
August Ritter may be a chip off the old block—after all, he’s got his father’s charm, his eloquence and even his striking looks. He’s calm and composed. In fact, he’s got all the makings of a future politician, which shouldn’t be surprising considering the Colorado State University senior is the son of Gov. Bill Ritter.
But the governor’s oldest son is determined not to be defined by his father’s accomplishments. He is carving his own path the way he sees fit.
In most respects, August is just another college student trying to balance family, friends and school.
Yet, being the son of the state’s highest elected official means that it’s inevitable that he’s also somewhat different than other college students. Not many kids, after all, take a semester off of school to work on a parent’s political campaign. Being the child of a well-known political figure, he said, can have its pros and cons.
“Sometimes it’s a little difficult having that label,” August said. “You get introduced as August Ritter, the governor’s son, like that’s the most interesting thing about you and you hope that it’s not.”
Far from it, it would seem. The 22-year-old senior—who was born in Africa, where he lived until he was 3 years old—has had his own active and multifaceted life. He’s the type of guy who views life as an adventure, he said. Last summer, that adventure took him to the Mediterranean to study abroad. On a whim, he and a group of friends decided late on a Friday to purchase train tickets to Pamplona, Spain for 6 a.m. the following day. With no hotel reservations and just the bare essentials, they hopped on the train. They arrived to find all the hotels booked solid, so they ended up sleeping outside and woke early to run with the bulls the next morning.
“It was probably one of the greatest experiences of my life,” August said.
With one more semester to go, August isn’t quite sure where life will lead him next. He plans to graduate from CSU in December with a degree in Natural Resource Recreation with a concentration on global tourism. He has also managed to tack on minors in Spanish and Business. However, his college career has extended well beyond classrooms and books. Specifically, he serves as the intramural sports coordinator as well as the director of legislative affairs for Associated Students of Colorado State University. As director of legislative affairs, August made the trek down the Capitol on numerous occasions this session to lobby for legislation that would impact CSU. He said that if he had any political capital for being the governor’s son, the lawmakers certainly didn’t let it be known.
“I was surprised and grateful that the legislators treated me like any other student,” August said. “I appreciated that.”
Sure, his lobbying drew more media attention than any other student may have gotten in the beginning, but the story eventually shifted from being about the governor’s son lobbying at the Capitol to the issues at hand, with The College Textbook Affordability Act being in the forefront. August said this act was a huge accomplishment because it would require textbook publishers to provide the price of the book and all relevant changes from past editions to professors. It also requires publishing companies that bundle products to also offer them separately.
When asked about his son’s accomplishments, Gov. Ritter is the first to admit that August is a great kid.
“I still have to be objective about the things he’s lobbying about, but it’s understandable that as a father, I’m proud of what he’s done,” he said in a recent interview.
Though he has sort of fallen into politics, August said he hasn’t ruled out the possibility of continuing to pursue it. Long term, he would like to own his own tourism company, but how he gets there is up in the air. For now though, he plans on keeping his feet a little wet within the political arena. He’s already planning to help mobilize students around the severance tax bill, which will be on the ballot next year and will increase financial aid funding through the Colorado Promise Scholarship.
Still, August has taken the somewhat public spotlight that comes with the family ties in stride. He’s become accustomed to hearing how much he looks like his dad and doesn’t mind answering occasional questions about policy, legislation or general politics as he strolls through campus.
“My views on politics are very similar to my generation’s views,” he said. “We look at the person and not necessarily the party. I respect that about this generation.”
And of course, when it comes to Colorado’s governor, August is naturally biased. He remembers the semester he worked on his dad’s campaign as being really intense but worth it in the end.
“I realized it was something that was really important,” August said. “It was a good way for me to give back to my family, but I could tell in watching what was going on during the campaign how important it was that my dad get elected. I told him I wanted to take the semester off and work on the campaign. It was nice for him to have me around. ... It was nice to have that working relationship with my dad because I had never had that before.”
So far, it’s been an easy transition back to college life. August, still maintains the traditional college lifestyle, but has the added luxury of a few perks. On late night excursions to Denver, for example, he and his friends have been known to crash at the governor’s mansion. It makes sense, he said, since there’s plenty of extra beds. Then, two weeks ago, he hosted a masquerade ball at the mansion for his friends and their dates. And yes, ladies, he had his own date. He and his girlfriend, who attends the University of Colorado-Boulder, have dated since the CU/CSU game their freshman year.
When asked what he would tell someone else who might wear the shoes of the governor’s kid some day, his advice was twofold: First, pick a cause to champion, because by the very nature of your family ties, you will have an audience who will listen to you.
“For me that was to represent CSU students,” August said.
And second, take advantage of the mansion ... you’ll only have the opportunity to use it for four to eight years.
