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USA, Colorado: Peter Coors, 57, a member of the beer industry's staunchly conservative Coors family, has acted at times as if he had been switched at birth. He once sat down with a union to iron out problems at the Coors brewery and later helped secure benefits for the partners of gay employees, The Seattle Times.

Now the Republican is bucking family tradition again, by running for the Senate from Colorado. While his father and grandfather preferred to pursue their political causes behind closed doors, Coors, 57, stepped up when GOP leaders came calling, setting the stage for what is expected to be one of the most expensive and closely watched Senate races in the country.

"I have business experience. I'm kind of a peacemaker. I believe we should solve problems by getting people together and finding out what each side wants," said the political novice.

He faces former U.S. Rep. Bob Schaffer in what is shaping up as a tough GOP primary, with the winner expected to face a formidable Democrat this fall in Colorado Attorney General Ken Salazar. All are trying to succeed GOP Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, who cited health concerns in announcing that this term, his second, would be his last.

The race could help determine the control of the Senate, where Republicans hold a 51-48 majority with one Democratic-leaning independent.

Peter Coors took over as president of the Golden-based company in 1987 and in 2002 was named chief executive. The nation's third-largest brewer had 8,500 employees and $4 billion in sales last year.

Over the years, the Coors family has supported a variety of right-wing organizations, including the Heritage Foundation and the John Birch Society. Coors' mother, Holly, helped persuade Ronald Reagan to run for president. The brewer built a reputation for union-busting decades ago, replacing striking workers during a dispute in the 1970s.

Peter Coors, though, is considered moderate in some quarters. Relatives were stunned when Coors in 1984 declared it was time to negotiate with union officials to end a nearly decade-long labor dispute.

"My uncle and my father said if you sit down with them, it will be a sign of weakness," Coors recalled. "I said it would be a sign of weakness for them, too, if they wanted to sit down and talk about it."

The company exceeded the workers' demands, and the union disbanded.

During the mid-1970s, the brewer started requiring lie-detector tests for employees, including questions about religious, sexual and political beliefs. Gays boycotted Coors beer.

Peter Coors took up their cause, visiting a gay bar to ask patrons why they were upset with the company. He claims responsibility for getting the company, then under his uncle, Bill Coors, to agree in 1978 to end the lie-detector tests, adopt an anti-discrimination policy and institute benefits for the partners of gay employees.

Colorado Democratic Party chairman Chris Gates ridiculed the notion of Coors as a moderate. "Democrats are not going to let Peter get away with characterizing himself as Coors Light," Gates said.


14 May, 2004