Congressional candidate Jared Polis' outreach director is gone after the staffer trashed Polis' two rivals in snarky online posting that stunned fellow Democrats.

Raf Noboa had written that longtime conservationist Will Shafroth has "no deeply held convictions," and Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald is backed by "the same folks who gave us 12 years of Democratic ineptitude."

Noboa, who began work Monday, resigned today shortly after the Rocky Mountain News asked Polis' campaign about his comments.

Polis, Shafroth and Fitz-Gerald are running for the 2008 Democratic nomination in the 2nd Congressional District.

Wanda James, Polis' campaign manager, said Polis personally called his opponents to apologize.

"That's not how Jared Polis feels about the people he's running against," she said.

"The tone of the blog post was clearly not the philosophy of our campaign. We will not participate in this type of negative campaigning."

Polis also called U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Denver, and U.S. Rep. John Salazar, D-Manassa, because they, too, were disparaged.

Noboa posted his comments Wednesday on My Direct Democracy, a blog known as My DD. He announced his resignation today in another posting, saying the sentiments he expressed were his and his alone.

"I feel that my error of judgment should not reflect on Jared, but rather on myself, and I will now take time to reflect on how I can best repair the breach," he wrote.

Pat Waak, the state Democratic Party chairwoman, said, "Oh, my God" when she heard about the postings.

"That's not very helpful," she said, mindful that squabbling among Repubicans in their primaries in 2004 and 2006 helped Democrats score victories.

Noboa ripped Shafroth on several fronts, saying the candidate "has no deeply held convictions that anyone can see."

Shafroth established the Colorado Conservation Trust, a statewide organization dedicated to preserving agricultural lands, wildlife habitat, river corridors and community open space. He previously served as the first executive director of Great Outdoors Colorado.

"If he's elected, he'll ... likely go on to lead the 'Caucus of the Obscure,' and not achieve anything remotely worth remembering," Noboa wrote.

Noboa said Shafroth, a fourth-generation Coloradan, "comes from the Colorado equivalent of a Philly Main Line family or something equally preppy."

Noboa also went after Fitz-Gerald, Colorado's first woman Senate president, and other Democrats.

It's unclear whom Noboa was referring to when he wrote that she was supported by the "folks who gave us 12 years of Democratic ineptitude." The last high-profile Colorado Democrat to serve 12 years in office was former Gov. Roy Romer.

"If you love John and Ken Salazar, and you hunger for the kind of bold, visionary leadership that they provide, you'll simply adore Fitz-Gerald," he added in a facetious remark.

"I wonder who in the Democratic Party he does like," said Mary Alice Mandarich, campaign manager for Fitz-Gerald.

The candidates are seeking to replace U.S. Rep. Mark Udall, D-Eldorado Springs, who is running for the Senate in 2008. The 2nd Congressional District includes Boulder, portions of Adams County and several mountain counties.

bartels@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5327