Congressman Jared Polis (D) represents the Second Congressional District of Colorado, is the first openly gay male to be elected to Congress as a freshman and is, apparently, also a gamer.

A series of articles for CNN detail the trials and travails of Polis during his first term in Washington. The Congressman’s partner, Marlon Reiss, penned the most recent entry into the series, in which he details the life of a Congressional spouse, noting the types of activities the couple like to do in their free time:

We take time, when we have it, to enjoy dinners together, to play video games, to walk our new puppy and to celebrate life's happy moments.

We have an inquiry in with the Congressman’s office to see if we can find out what titles, platforms and/or specific games he plays.

CNN has a story on Silicon Valley bigwigs moving into the political arena. They are tracking former eBay chief Meg Whitman in her race with Steve Poizner for the Republican nomination for California governor in 2010. Poizner also has a few high-ranking, high tech jobs on his resume, including selling his company SnapTrak to QualComm before becoming the state's insurance commissioner.

The CNN story looks at other tech-savvy politicos and their success. The story concludes:

In the end, there is no real proof that wrestling fans helped get (Jesse) Ventura into Minnesota's state house or that space enthusiasts helped elect John Glenn to Congress. But, as (Republican strategist) Allan Hoffenblum notes, women and techies are two powerful voting blocs in California.

Since game developers also tend to be an opinionated lot, with a lot of interest in government because of the money involved in their industry, it begs the question: What game developers would make the best politicians? It would be interesting to see how John Carmack or Warren Spector stand on various issues.

Who do you think would make an interesting political candidate?

A pair of Connecticut legislators were embarrassed when an Associated Press photographer snapped them playing Windows Solitaire during recent deliberations on the state budget.

The Hartford Courant reports that one of the game-playing pols, Rep. Jack Hennessy (D, left) has issued a rather profuse apology in a letter to constituents:

It was certainly bad judgment for me to play a computer game even for just a few minutes during the final House session on the budget. I am embarrassed, and I apologize to each and every person in the North End and to people across the state.

My actions were inexcusable. I do want my constituents to know that my poor judgment for a few moments on Monday in no way means I ignored your interests in representing you on this very serious matter...

I sincerely apologize to each of you. I look forward to having the continued privilege of representing you and your interests in Hartford. I thank you in advance for your understanding and have been humbled by those of you who have already expressed your understanding and forgiveness.

Hennessy maintains a photo gallery on his official website. The solitaire-playing picture is not included, however. The other Solitaire player was Rep. Barbara Lambert, also a Democrat.

Via: GameCulture

We've written before on GamePolitics about Ray Tenorio (left), a member of Guam's Senate who also happens to be a hardcore World of Warcraft player.

But Tenorio has an announcement to make about his next political move, and he sent it here, which is kind of cool:

Hafa Adai (Hello) Game Politics.com.

I hope everyone at GamePolitics.com are healthy and doing well. As most everyone in WoW are eyeing level 85 in the Cataclysm expansion, waiting to take down the Lich King and still grinding heroic Ulduar...

I wanted to let GamePolitics.com know first that I am running for Lt. Governor with my friend, Senator Eddie Baza Calvo, who is running for Governor... 

I want to let your readers know that, among the numerous web sites and related comments to the articles about my gaming life some years ago, I understand the issues faced by the people who write on GamePolitics.com.

 

Perhaps together, we can continue to let people, voters and those in positions of authority know that gamers are the same as those who do everything from clean public parks, fight and die for democracy, conduct intricate procedures in professional careers, and, Yes, even make policy...for our communities, everywhere around the globe. That simple fact is rarely said but is the basis for an even broader discussion on the depth and breadth of people who enjoy gaming and still carry out their responsibilities.

Tenorio's WoW character is Paleray, a level-80 Dwarf Priest on the Silverhand server. He belongs to the Knights of the Marianas guild.

Guam is a territory of the United States and has one non-voting member in the U.S. House of Representatives. Tenorio is a member of Guam's 15-member unicameral legislature.

Tyler Hudgins plays politically-themed games like The Political Machine 2008 and Oval Office on his PC and dreams of a career in real - not simulated - politics.

Oh, and the Arizona teen just graduated from high school.

The East Valley Tribune reports that Tyler (left) is, for now, dedicated to local politics but has aspirations that extend beyond his home town:

Hudgins spends more time in the council chambers than just about anyone who isn't on the council or the town payroll. He hopes to be a councilman himself someday, a first step to what he says will be a long and illustrious political career...

 

But, for now, he's reading "How to Get Elected to Local Office" during breaks from his job at Liberty Market. He said it's a long road to the White House, and that's how it should be.

"I'm stopping to study the issues that will come into play in the future," he said. "I feel like I'm going about this the right way, by starting at the grass roots."

It's unclear whether a member of Britain's Parliament may have purchased a PlayStation game with his tax-funded expense account, reports Eurogamer.

A number of MPs have been found to have used public funds for questionable expenses in recent months. Eurogamer spotted the Labour Party's Nigel Griffiths (left) among a list of MP with oddball expenditures published by The Guardian. Griffiths strongly denied that he bought a game, however, and Eurogamer can't find one with the title as given:

According to a list of the stranger expense claims... Nigel Griffiths, Labour MP for Edinburgh South and former deputy leader of the House of Commons, expensed "GBP 29.99 for a PlayStation computer game, Premiership Arsenal".

Griffiths disputes the report, however, telling The Sun that the Dixons receipt in question is misleading. "It's not a game, it's a branded memory stick," said the beleaguered MP. "I'm well past playing video games."

We certainly don't recall a game called Premiership Arsenal and can't find any reference to one, either, although it's possible the title refers to Codemasters' PS2 offering, Club Football: Arsenal 2005.

Under somewhat more of a microscope than Griffiths is frequent video game critic Keith Vaz, also of the Labour Party. Bruce on Games cites a BBC report detailing Vaz's questionable use of public funds:

[Vaz] claimed more than £75,000 to fund a second home in Westminster, even though his family home is just 12 miles away in Stanmore. The Telegraph also suggested he changed his designated second home for a single year to property in his Leicester constituency, before claiming more than £4,000 on furnishings.

Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-MI) has, it would seem, something of an up-and-down relationship with digital technology.

GameCulture reports that Hoekstra visited a second-grade class in Holland, Michigan yesterday. While there, Hoekstra revealed that he owns a Wii:

After lofting Hoekstra a string of softballs, such as "Do you like your job?" "Have you, um, ever, like, gone to Hong Kong?" and "How old are you?" the shorties laid in with the bomb — "Do you own a Wii?"

After confessing that he was 55, "really old," Hoekstra broke down and conceded that, yes, he owns a Wii. He also let slip that he has a dog and a cat and that the two are friends.

Nice.

Also to his credit, Hoekstra is heavy Twitter user, although GamePolitics readers may recall that in February, Hoeksta spilled the beans about a top-secret congressional trip to Iraq by tweeting about it. 

During the Bush years, Hoekstra presided over a 2006 congressional hearing during which House Intelligence Committee members were told that a YouTube video featuring stock Battlefield 2 gameplay footage and a voice-over from Team America: World Police were products of an Al Qaeda propaganda campaign.

He leg-wrestled Stephen Colbert and even played a Rock Band duet with the popular Comedy Central host, but freshman Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R) offered GamePolitics no comment on his state's controversial video game/movie legislation.

The measure is now on Gov. Jon Huntsman's desk, awaiting signature.

GamePolitics tracked Rep. Chaffetz down on Twitter, where he is jasoninthehouse. To be fair, since he is a federal legislator and HB 353 is a state bill, we didn't really expect he'd be fully briefed - and he wasn't. But the media-savvy - and tech-savvy - Chaffetz is a good sport, as our private Twitter exchange demonstrates:

GamePolitics: Hey, Rep. Chaffetz, any thoughts on HB 353, video game/movie bill now on Gov. Huntsman's desk for signature?

jasoninthehouse: Just not familiar with it... State bill... I have been focused on the federal ones

GamePolitics: Fair enough, but what if I told you that among its provisions was a ban on leg-wrestling with fake news show hosts?

jasoninthehouse: That is funny. I should abide by this and not do any more leg wrestling....I am obviously not very good at it.

GP: For the record, I must point out that the text of my direct messages to Rep. Chaffetz disappeared into the Twitter ether, so I've paraphrased them from memory. Rep. Chaffetz's responses are verbatim. Beyond that, it's nice to see an approachable Congressman on Twitter - especially one with a sense of humor.

In most legislative offices, the most exciting thing you'll find are brochures.

In Rep. Joe Pickett's office, however, you can try your hand at classic Mario Bros.

As reported by the Austin American-Statesman, Mario isn't the only thing that's different about the Texas Democrat's office in the Capitol Building in Austin.

At his own expense, Pickett has remodeled his digs to look like a 1950s-era burger joint, complete with juke box. Visitors are offered free gumballs, soda and ice cream. As for Mario, the game helps keep state politics from getting too tense: 

[Pickett's] chief of staff, says the old "Mario Bros. " video game is a mood elevator. One day a guy who wanted to argue some issue or other marched in with a fierce face, ready to rumble.

 

"He walked in and saw the old Mario Bros. video game," Chambers recalled. "He looks and says, `Awwwwwwww, I love that game.' It even destressed him."

Second Life seems to have peaked, but the British Labour Party apparently never got the memo.

The Daily Mail and the Guardian are both reporting Business Secretary Peter Mandelson has set up shop in SL's virtual world where he will lead "an online campaign against Conservatives."

The move comes by way of Labour's game plan to retain power in the event of a General Election. From the Daily Mail:

[Mandelson's] starring role in Second Life will intensify speculation that he is being earmarked as Gordon Brown's election supremo.

But it will also draw criticisms from those who will question the involvement of a senior politician in a fantasy world best known for its dubious moral standards... As well as the millions of innocent users who enjoy its escapist fantasy, Second Life has also become a favoured tool of adulterers and porn addicts.

The Guardian takes a more positive view:

The point about virtual worlds such as Second Life and social networks such as Facebook and Twitter is that they offer a direct communication channel to voters when they are at play at a time when people, especially younger people, are switching off from traditional media channels...

 

Mandelson's visit to Second Life... is partly a successful publicity stunt but is also a way to make sure that leading politicians have some idea of what is going on out there. Sadly, most of them still don't.

The guy who is currently working on Barack Obama's inaugural address is a big gamer.

In a Washington Post profile, Jon "Favs" Favreau is described as "totally synced up" with the President-elect and gets "access to everything and everybody" on the Obama team.

But Favreau likes to kick back with video games, according to the WaPo:

Three months ago, Favreau lived in a group house with six friends in Chicago, where he rarely shaved, never cooked and sometimes stayed up to play video games until early morning...

 

When the [campaign] pressure wore on Favreau, he unwound like a 27-year-old, sending prank e-mails to friends at the Obama offices or playing the video game Rock Band in the Lincoln Park group house...

GP: It's great to see gamers moving into high places!

Over at 1up Scott Sharkey has a fun feature listing the characters he deems the Top 10 Video Game Politicians of all time.

Scott's list includes:

• Andrew Ryan, Bioshock
• Laguna Loire, Final Fantasy VIII
• Princess Peach
• President Ronald Reagan

Check out 1up for the rest of the list as well as the rationale behind the choices.

Accusing your opponent of being a flip-flopper? Why, that's practically Politics 101.

But calling out a challenger for playing Halo and blogging? Must be a sign of the times.

In Maricopa County, Arizona, Republican incumbent Fulton Brock has rolled out those allegations and more by way of slinging mud at his Democratic challenger, Ed Hermes (left). Both men are vying for the job of county supervisor.

As Joystiq reports, a campaign mailing sent out by Fulton uses the Halo referenced in an attempt to portray Hermes as young and inexperienced:

Skilled player of popular video game Halo. Hermes was quoted in the ASU student newspaper as saying, "I am addicted to Halo and play almost every night."

 

The anti-Hermes ad also accuses the Democrat of being a student mascot at football games as well as a blogger and a video gamer.

Earlier this year GamePolitics covered Det Ansinn, the elected head of the town council in Doylestown, PA (where, coincidentally, GP HQ is located).

Ansinn, a Democrat, is a dedicated gamer as well as the head of his own tech company, which includes some video game-related projects.

I mention this because Ansinn has just been featured on the cover of a local magazine holding a controller. 

How often do you see a political figure who is right up front about loving video games?

While some Australian politicians want to ban mature-themed games and others don't even seem to realize that their nation has a rating system, at least one would-be legislator Down Under not only understands games, but is a hardcore gamer himself.

As reported by Kotaku Australia, ACT Democrats candidate Greg Tannahill makes no bones about his gaming. A press release issued this week says:

Affordable housing, quality education and comprehensive public transport are the issues that Greg sees as key to Canberrans, but gaming remains close to his heart.

 

"Politicians don't understand videogaming and aren't interested in learning", says Greg. "There's good reason for people to be angry about the way games are treated by our parliaments, our media, and our classification board. I think gamers want to see leaders who have real respect for what they are passionate about, both as a pastime engaged in by millions of Australians from all walks of life, and as a multi-billion dollar industry which our governments should be attracting and nurturing".

While Tannahill has a campaign website, he also maintains a game blog, where he describes last week's Q&A program as "frankly terrifying":

Censorship is odious because it removes community choice. Censorship says that the thought is the action; that the common person can't distinguish between depiction and actuality... Censorship says, "Let me decide who talks."

And games are talking. They're talking very loudly, to a great many people, in strong and clear voices. They're speaking in places that have never read a newspaper and in houses which have never listened to politicians. It's okay to be worried by what games are saying. It's okay to disagree. But it's not okay to stifle those voices. It's not okay to kill the game.

It was widely reported this week that Minnesota would reimburse the video game industry $65,000 for legal fees incurred fighting the state's 2006 "fine the buyer" video game law in federal court.

Oddly enough, Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R), who signed the bill into law after it was approved by the Minnesota legislature, is apparently a bit of a gamer himself. That news comes from a passing mention buried within a lengthy 2007 profile of Pawlenty in the Weekly Standard. We just happened upon it this morning. Here's the gaming bit:

Growing up, Pawlenty played hockey. He is still a rabid NHL fan. The first website he visits each morning is hockeyfights.com, which shows combat highlights from the previous night's games. He plays the ESPN hockey video game in his spare time, often taking on one of his two daughters.

Okay, so Pawlenty doesn't necessarily keep up with the latest releases. The last ESPN-branded hockey game was ESPN NHL 2K5, released in August, 2004, nearly three years before the Weekly Standard article appeared. Still, it's always nice to see a politician who games, even a little. And always troubling to see one who legislates games. With Pawlenty, you apparently get both.

The Minnesota Guv, by the way, is rumored to be on John McCain's short list of VP candidates.

Last week GamePolitics reported that Jeanne Stevens (left), Republican candidate for the Connecticut legislature, is a World of Warcraft gamer.

In an detailed follow-up inteview with Stevens, MMO site Wandering Goblin learned that the would-be legislator maintains a trio of Horde avatars on the Alexstrasza server:

It was my father who introduced us to WoW three years ago. The boys would watch him play and he’d let them make his characters jump and dance. Then my brother began playing and naturally I began too. We haven’t stopped since.

 

I have three characters... a 70 Orc hunter (12 beast mastery, 26 marksman, 23 survival); 58 Troll shaman (43 elemental, 6 enhancement); and, a 53 Blood Elf rogue (36 assassination, 5 combat, 3 subtlety)... I dislike PvPand generally only tag my characters if I’m on a specific quest. I play to relax and typically will help one of my younger sons with their quests – they have multiple low level characters. I guess I’m mostly PvE.

Gamers will be pleased to hear that candidate Stevens is no fan of video game legislation:

Parents need to start parenting! You are the adult. You are responsible for what happens within your home. If you don’t like the content of a t.v. show, game, book, etc., don’t allow it in your home – that is your choice – you get to be the legislator, you make the laws of your home. Don’t abdicate that responsibility to the government. Exercise your own common sense – way back when, I enjoyed listening to Howard Stern on my commute to work – if he was getting too raunchy for my tastes, I changed the dial – and, I never listened to him if my kids were in the car.

You won't find GTA IV at the Stevens homestead, however:

WoW is the sum total of my experience. We’ll get Lich King when it comes out. The boys play Xbox live, Halo and Call of Duty series, though Guitar Hero is getting quite a bit of play now. As a parent, I will not allow GTA in my home – that is my choice. If you’d like to play it in your home, go for it.

Wandering Goblin even tossed in a Jack Thompson question. Stevens fielded it like a true politician:

He’s entitled to his opinions.
 

GP: Terrific interview by Wandering Goblin, even if they did mess up the title (The WoW-Playing Congressional Candidate). Stevens is running for the Connecticut House of Representatives, not the U.S. House.

By the way, judging from the pic supplied by Stevens to Wandering Goblin, the candidate must have been munching on WoW's Savoury Deviate Delight.

While surfing Xbox Live this morning, GP noticed that the Inside Xbox section has posted a "Gamer Spotlight" on a user named borocouncilman. From the spotlight description:

He's an Xbox gamer and an elected official in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. He's also got a wife, two daughters, and a baby boy on the way.

And then, in one of those "small world" moments, I realized that borocouncilman is an elected official in my home town. How cool is that?

Borocouncilman's real name is Det Ansinn and he's actually the Borough Council President here in Doylestown. While I knew the name, I had no idea Ansinn was a gamer. His XBL chops are impressive, but his real-world bio is even more so:

[Ansinn] founded a successful technology company that has created and supported well-paying local jobs. On borough council, Mr. Ansinn chairs the Streets committee and serves on the Finance and Public Safety committees. In addition to his role as councilman, he is also actively engaged in the community and serves on the board of the Bucks County Free Library.

With so many anti-game politicians out there, it's great to find one who is not only tolerant of gamers, but actually is one.

So what does borocouncilman play? His profile lists a number of games, including Halo 3, Gears of War, Mass Effect, COD4, Crackdown, Burnout Paradise, Fight Night 3, Fusion Frenzy 2, Bioshock, Kameo, King Kong and TMNT...

UPDATE: TriXie from XBL has a detailed interview with borocouncilman.

GamePolitics readers may recall our coverage of David Hecq, the gamer and game shop owner who was running for mayor in the French town of Anzin Saint-Aubin.

Well, he won!

Longtime GP reader Soldat Louis, who often provides us with game-related news from Europe, has posted a message in the GP/ECA Forums about Hecq's victory:

Last sunday march 9th, there were municipal elections in France. And Hecq's team "Pour Anzin-Saint-Aubin : une nouvelle équipe pour de nouvelles ambitions" (litterally, "For Anzin-Saint-Aubin : a new team for new ambitions") received 57.18% of votes, against 42.82% for the former mayor's team. Details are shown on Hecq's campaign blog (in French)

...David Hecq is also credited for the creation of games retail store Objectif Games, which became Ultima Games, a chain of stores located in many French towns.

After bowing out of the Republican presidential race, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee retired to Little Rock where he accepted condolences from President Bush and decompressed by playing Rock Band.

As reported by the National Journal's Hotline blog:

Huckabee spoke to President Bush and many of his supporters... before hosting his entire campaign staff at his home for lasagna and video games...

Huckabee said he originally intended to cook ribs for his staff, but that they would have required nine hours to cook. So several tins of lasagna ably substituted. Staffers gathered in the basement to play Rock Band and hold a final team meeting.

As GamePolitics reported last September, Huckabee has also been known to try his hand at Guitar Hero. He's actually a pretty darned good real-world guitarist as well and plays in a band called Capitol Offense.

GP: Yes, that's a Guitar Hero controller... No time to PhotoShop one from Rock Band...

What if a senator was playing games instead of bashing them?

It's already happening in Guam, where as reported by the Pacific Daily News, Sen. Ray Tenorio (left) is a serious, level-70 WoW player. Tenorio's avatar is a Dwarf priest named Paleray on the Silverhand server. He's a member of a guild, of course, the Knights of the Marianas.

From the PDN report:
 

Tenorio has been gaming online... for years. His previous game of choice was Diablo II: Lord of Destruction, where he had several top-level characters of various classes. But in November [2005], his brother Charlie made an earnest plea... "We need a healer..."

Of WoW, Tenorio said:
 

What I like about World of Warcraft is it's a great way to be able to reach out and connect with other people. So many different people play -- attorneys, accountants, geeks, ... all kinds of people.

What makes World of Warcraft so alluring is that it's always reinventing and adding new content. There's always something new to come back to.

Guam is a territory of the United States and has one non-voting member in the U.S. House of Representatives. Tenorio is a member of Guam's 15-member unicameral legislature. His official website is here.