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

Raf Noboa wrote that longtime conservationist Will Shafroth has "no deeply held convictions" and that 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 Thursday, 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.

Polis' campaign manager, Wanda James, said Polis 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-Colo., and U.S. Rep. John Salazar, D-Manassa, because they, too, were disparaged.

Noboa had worked as a legislative aide this session for Rep. Mike Merrifield, D-Colorado Springs.

Noboa posted his comments Wednesday on a blog called My Direct Democracy. Noboa could not be reached for comment Thursday, but he announced his resignation in another blog posting, saying that 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.

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

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

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

Six years ago, 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.

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

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

Shafroth's campaign manager, Lynea Hansen, said, "We are too focused on the issues the 2nd District cares about most - health care, the environment and education - to worry about mistakes made by the Polis campaign."

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

It wasn't clear 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," Noboa added in a facetious remark.

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

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

bartels@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5327