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November 02, 2011 03:12 AM UTC

Election Night 2011 Open Thread

  • 104 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE 10:15PM: state Democratic Party chair Rick Palacio’s statement on Proposition 103:

“Tonight’s results are one part of a much larger conversation Coloradans are having about how we invest in our future generations. A strong education system remains fundamental to our continued vitality, and Proposition 103 raised important questions about how we stand by our children and students and offered a solution to funding concerns. While Prop 103’s proposed way forward may not be our preference today, the issues it raises remain relevant.

“Coloradans owe Senator Rollie Heath a special debt of gratitude for his efforts to elevate the issues of education and revenues in our public discourse. His tireless work will ensure that we will not ignore our children or the needs of our schools. Ultimately, we will have to find a way to meet this challenge; our kids can’t wait.”

—–

UPDATE 8:45PM: AP’s Kristen Wyatt: “Everyone hates everything tonight.”

—–

UPDATE 7:31PM: Proposition 103 failing in nearly (updated) every county we have checked tonight, including though not Boulder County, where it’s ahead by a charmingly narrow margin.

—–

UPDATE 7:20PM: Steve Hogan ahead of Ryan Frazier by a not-yet comfortable margin in the Aurora mayoral race.

—–

UPDATE #3 7:18PM: In the Denver Public School board races, Allegra “Happy” Haynes and Anne Rowe are comfortably leading their races, while Jennifer Draper Carson and Arturo Jimenez are neck-and-neck in the race for DPS District 5.

—–

UPDATE #2 7:12PM: Jefferson County Board of Education candidates Jill Fellman and Leslie Dahlkemper hold modest leads against “The Dads.”

—–

UPDATE 7:08PM: Denver and JeffCo both show Proposition 103 trailing significantly in early returns. Denver’s I-300, the paid sick days initiative, currently down 64-35%.

—–

We’ll update with the results as they come in. You should get yourself to a party.

Comments

104 thoughts on “Election Night 2011 Open Thread

  1. Probably safe to say it has lost statewide if it could not carry Denver.

    Also in Denver:

    300 (Sick Days) lost 65-35

    2A (Dep. Auditor) is too close to call (winning at 7pm by 85 votes)

    Happy Haynes won School Board at-large (58% in a field of five)

    Anne Rose beat Emily Sirota 68-32 (back home we call that a whuppin’)

    Other district School race (Jimenez v. Draper-Carson) is too close to call. At 7 pm Draper-Carson was ahead by 204 votes out of 10282 cast.

  2. is that the Democratic leadership performed abysmally on the issue of affordable education for all and specific support for 103.

    Abysmally.

    What are they going to do now that it didn’t pass?  If they didn’t want to support a modest tax increase to keep class room sizes manageable then what is their next move?  Maybe they’ll follow Hickenloopers lead and just send in the police in riot gear whenever the teachers protest the gutting of funding for public education.

      1. Many of us Democrats worked hard to get 103 passed. If you want to blame anyone, blame the ones who want to bankrupt public schools altogether (Republicans).  

        1. … but I read this to mean that he was upset that the Democratic Party, as a whole, refused to get behind 103. Hick, who was happy to make ads for Ref C and D and who might have made the difference in C’s passage, refused to get involved and risk any political capital. Same with nearly every prominent elected Democrat.

          The rank and file can only do so much. Without the party leadership, it’s usually not enough.

          1. It’s like pulling your money out of Bank of America even though your favorite cousin works for them. You may like some of the low-level employees, but the people at the top are total assholes, and that’s why I won’t give them any money (even if some of my money might trickle down to the people I like).

      1. When I read about his proposed education cuts, I figured I had to give him a piece of my ever-dwindling mind.  I did not call him a pig-fucker, exactly, but I kind of implied it in a nice way.  But he’s a mother-fucking pig-fucker.  IMHO.

      2. the oil and gas industry will get to discount their severance taxes? The ad valorem credit has, in years past, allowed them to NOT pay as much as $320,000,000.

        Of course, Big Oil and Gas is struggling to make ends meet, since they have to run all those TV commercials to convince you they are wonderful people who only drill for oil and gas because they love their country so much.

        I am extremely disappointed with Hickenlooper and I am hoping a real progressive will primary his ass whenever he comes up for re-election. I know it will be a while, but he has completely lost my support.

        In addition to being in the pocket of Big Oil and participating in the Rape of Colorado, he is a complete sell-out to the banks. He should be down at the park, helping and working with the OWS people instead of putting them in jail.

    1. that getting another tax measure on the ballot in the next few years is going to be next to impossible.

      What irresponsible fuckers and I’m not talking about Republicans.

      All of them including Heath for jumping the gun without any backup.  He at least believed in doing something to help provide an affordable education for all.  The rest of them were just rank cowards, afraid to even discuss the issue of providing for our childrens development.  Fuckers

          1. Give me a day break, will you MADCO? 🙂

            I should correct my sad post from earlier. I was surprised to see a couple of my friend’s races turned out differently than they looked earlier in the evening. Debi Hunter-Holen won in Aurora (yay, Debi!!) and Susie McMahon’s in Douglas County has not finished counting (nail-biter!). Arturo Jimenez also squeaked by with a win. Wow!  

    1. Nancy, now do you understand? Over and over again, I would ask people who posted about DPS if they lived and voted in Denver. You see it is a lousy “hood,” but it is our hood. Denver voters do not like every outsider thinking they can come and “piss” in our litter box.

      Emily’s big mistake, besides not answering my questions (:))

      was going national.  That really pissed people off.

      It is not an irrational response.  You vote where you live.

      That is the heart of representative government.

      It looks like Jimenez won in NW Denver. NW Denver is always about the old timers against the new guys.  It was Italians against “Mexicans” for almost sixty years…now it is the “Yuppies” against the “Chicanos”.  Jimenez grew up in North Denver and I think that made the difference…by about a cup of coffee.

      I don’t think there will be a next time for Sirota..I think they are “out of here.”  People from the East showing up to show us dumb Westerns “how it is done” don’t last long.  But, I digress.

      1. It looks like Jimenez won in NW Denver. NW Denver is always about the old timers against the new guys.  It was Italians against “Mexicans” for almost sixty years…now it is the “Yuppies” against the “Chicanos”.  Jimenez grew up in North Denver and I think that made the difference…by about a cup of coffee.

        1. True. Look at this map. http://denvergov.org/Portals/7

        and then compare it with: http://mapbrief.com/co-census/

        2. Arturo had a better ground game.

        a. His signs were up over 6 months ago. Way before Jennifer was even running.

        b. He sent people out to pick up ballots.

        1. I don’t think I’d be bragging about that one too hard, if I were him. He came within a hair’s breath of being picked off by a first time candidate in a district that he should have won handily by at least 10 points. His constituents just sent him a message loud and clear–let’s hope he’s listening.

            1. Have more coffee. Your comments aren’t quite making sense this morning.

              He heard from voters–HIS voters from HIS district or have you not looked at the elections results from last night?  

                1. ya, MTR, here is the comment to which I was referring

                  He came within a hair’s breath of being picked off by a first time candidate in a district that he should have won handily by at least 10 points. His constituents just sent him a message loud and clear–let’s hope he’s listening.

                  1. Still confused about the message Arturo’s constituents sent him? Because they are the ones that damn near voted him out of office.

                    Let someone with more patience explain it to ya.  

                  2. … it’s possible for an “outsider” to make a neutral observation about a race happening somewhere else. It’s also possible that there are no messages between the lines; meaning that MoTR is not implying anything at all about what message the voters were sending Arturo, just that there IS some kind of message for an incumbent who was nearly turned out of office.

                    And MoTR already clarified where she lives. I suppose, from the outsider vs. insider perspective, it doesn’t matter that much, but I’m surprised that a longterm polster such as yourself wouldn’t know that about a longterm polster like MoTR. Most of us veterans have revealed where we live on many occasions.

                    1. I knew that MtR was not from Denver.  I thought it was the Western Slope. I have trouble with names, let alone locations…that is probably why I keep asking.  

                      RE: MTR That is not a neutral comment….it was full of what Arturo J. should have done and made a judgmental statement about the closest of the vote.  

                      district that he should have won handily by at least 10 points.

                      WTF?  Based on  another gal who doesn’t live in Denver, doesn’t know the community, but what the hell, can certainly pontificate…because she “knows” just like NC “knows” better than the people who live in the area…because if you had any brains you would get the hell out of Denver???  pisses me off….it is that gd arrogance…

                      I see the situation much differently.  No one thought that Jimenez would win because he was not the candidate of the new “gentrified” contingency in NW.  They had money and a lot of big time support.  I am surprised he won.

                      The message is that the new guys were a handful of votes short…that is all.  It is about power, not policy.  

                    2. Facts are not your strong suit, are they?

                      The new guys were “a handful of votes short“? Really?



                      Haynes versus Kilgore
                      : 59.23% vs. 11.40%

                      Rowe versus Sirota: 65.28% vs. 34.72%

                      A handful? My goodness. I can’t help but wonder what percentage you would consider a shellacking.    

                      And if you had any idea how much I’ve worked on and for Denver politics, you might want to turn off your talk radio and do the same.

                      I know this is going to come as an ENORMOUS shock to you but one can actually get involved outside their house, their school district, their community. You’d be surprised what you can learn when you actually get involved versus sticking one ear to the radio while your other hand is busy blogging.  

                    3. Denver is divided into five districts for the Board of Education representation.  I have only been talking about District Five, NW Denver.  Haynes ran for the at-large seat and Rowe ran in SE Denver.  Neither of them have anything to do with NW Denver.

                      Jimenez was not expected to win in NW Denver.  It was expected that the  Draper Carson, backed by the “new guys” in the neighborhood  would win.  

                      You illustrate exactly why I object to people like you jumping into DPS politics when you don’t know anything.

                      However, I am willing to bet that somehow that race in NW Denver is a loss for you.  You sound like a sore loser. Or, as I suggested, your job is to spin the results to make Jimenez look bad for political reasons that do not have a damm thing to with kids in Denver.

                      I am bet I am right and I expect more sputtering and rhetorical crap from you….Maybe next time, you will stay out of Denver.

                    4. “Get off my lawn!” . . . see?, same effect, same crankiness, less wear and tear on the old digits.

                    5. This and talk radio is all the old bag has got in life. Let’s not take that away from her.

          1. Arturo overcame the odds. Women vote 2 vs 1 in the district and a lot of corporate money was spent to defeat him. He had a huge battle, and overcame.  

            1. I don’t understand this spin of painting him as an underdog now.

              Gender and race certainly played their roles in that campaign, but it’s much, much more complicated than you’re making it. Arturo was a Hispanic incumbent in NW Denver and barely won. That victory came purely because his E-Day GOTV efforts overcame the 200 vote deficit he was facing going into Tuesday.

              Nobody I talked to gave Draper-Carson much of a chance of getting anywhere near the less-than-one-percent margin. Everyone seemed to think it would be Arturo by 4-5 points despite being outspent 2.5:1. He was certainly at a disadvantage in fundraising, but that was about it.

              1. Draper-Carson was part of the slate endorsed by the Post and given big time money.

                No one I talked to thought that Jimenez had a chance.

                Who did you talk to, redstatesblues???

                God, the spinmeisters are really out…

                1. Disclosure: I was working on one of the campaigns.

                  Certainly she had a ton of support and money from the pro-reform groups like the Post editorial board, but I always viewed her as an insurgent despite that.

                  Arturo had the unions, the Webb network, virtually all of the institutional Democratic support in NW and greater Denver Metro and a built-in advantage in the area because of his Latino surname.

                  And as to baaramewe’s contention that the electorate in District 5 was 2:1 women, it was only 52% women and 48% men.

                  1. into a conversation with dwyer. Facts just make you look bitter and like a sore loser…or something. Frankly, I can’t quite follow her logic on a good day so you’re on your own on that front.  

  3. If government (fill in the blank — public schools come to mind this evening) shrinks small enough to drown in a bathtub, does it crawl back out of the drain as a cockroach?  

    We’re going to need more than the leadership of a cockroach to save our state and country.

  4. In Jeffco, the Moms beat the Tea Party Dads, Bob Fifer won, Karen Kellen won, the least repulsive Republican (actually, I really like this one) is Arvada Mayor, Faith won, Bob Murphy of course won, and pretty much down the line every city and county race went well.

    Congrats Lesley and Jill — good luck getting anything done with Hickenlooper in office.

    1. A good test to see if people know what they are talking about when they put together the “winner and losers” lists tomorrow will be if they mention Jeffco Dems Chair Chris Kennedy.

      There are a million ways for a county chair to mess up an election, but Chris gave a clinic on getting it done.

      1. We’re a lucky county to have him. He ran one hell of a GOTV operation right down to the last minute. I hope they let him sleep for a week solid after this!

        1. Chris leads from his values and his appreciation for those who do the same. He’s also an incredibly well-balanced human being, which is a rare thing in itself. I couldn’t have had a better campaign manager.

    1. Running an underfunded campaign without sufficient support from the business community or the state’s leading pols is a recipe for disaster.

      Running a ballot measure when your polls show your initial support is below 50 percent is a lesson in folly.

      Luckily, 103 didn’t get enough attention to sour the state on fixing the tax mess, but that’s no credit to the 103 crowd — they ran such an under-the-radar campaign they didn’t do lasting damage to the cause, but, by the same token, they ran such an under-the-radar campaign they didn’t help any either.

      As for this bullshit motivational poster “at least they tried” mantra, save it for the young’uns’ T-ball games. This is politics, this is education, this is the state’s future. And blowing it this big does not deserve a pat on the back.

      Rollie is a great guy and it’s a shame his public career will probably be capped with this debacle, but steering a ship into an iceberg usually doesn’t earn the captain a promotion.

      1. but my assessment is probably darker.

        Heath just gave the Republicans more ammunition that people don’t want good government.  It was a quixotic quest on the level of the eggmendments and will have a lasting negative effect.  Obviously our Democratic politicians will be even more timid about sticking their necks out on tax issues.

        Cut, cut, cut will be the only solution.

      2. So many of us are tired of waiting and waiting for Democratic and progressive leaders in Colorado to actually do something about TABOR and it’s effect on our crumbling schools.

        The so-called “Reform Roundtable” has been working for years on ballot proposals to weaken TABOR’s grip on the budget, but every year they run back into their dark corner afraid to actually pull the trigger.

        How long do we have to wait? Prop 103 was not the best policy proposal, but I like that Heath and a few others actually put their names on the line and showed some leadership. All those who kept quite and refused to take a position are clear examples of why Democrats lost the majority in the House and only won the governor’s race because they nominated a moderate Republican running against a crumbling GOP. I’m tired of hearing state legislators cry about how awful TABOR is yet refuse to support its repeal.

        I’ve been in Rollie Heath’s shoes before trying to get Democratic leaders to support a ballot idea and they all say the same thing, “Now is not the time. We need to save money for the next general election. IT DOESN’T FIT WITH OUR LONG TERM TABOR STRATEGY”. In other words, they’re more concerned with their own political aspirations than serving their constituents. Welcome to the Colorado Democratic Party. Unfortunately, they don’t realize they can’t ALL replace DeGette, Perlmutter, and Polis.  

        1. is that the long-term TABOR/Gallagher/A-23 fix keeps getting kicked down the road, and that band aids that have insufficient support to begin with can cause more harm than good because people think it’s productive activity but, when it loses this big, it’s counter-productive. You’re right that Democrats need to put their cards on the table and get this thing fixed, but playing a pair of deuces isn’t the way to do it.

          1. However, whether it’s a band aid or a permanent solution, the current crop of Democratic leaders will shy away from taking a position. So, no matter what gets proposed it will always have insufficient support in the beginning. To be honest, I reluctantly voted yes on Prop 103 having similar concerns as you described. But I think there’s a circle of organizations and individuals that have a lot of influence over Democratic politics in Colorado who want the credit for taking down TABOR. Anyone who tries to bypass their efforts is essentially black-balled. Problem is, they’re all talk and no action.  

  5. http://www.ednewscolorado.org/

    At a subdued gathering for Sirota at a Beau Jo’s Pizza, efforts to get comment from the candidate were blocked by her husband.

    “Do not go near her,” cautioned David Sirota, as she stood nearby sipping a glass of wine. “You do not work for a real news organization.”

    Another Sirota supporter, Cherry Creek News and North Denver News publisher Guerin Green, followed this reporter out of the restaurant, saying, “It’s a good thing this isn’t 100 years ago. You’d be hanging from a tree.”

    1. I just read that and posted it over on another diary. Poor Guerin, living in the wrong century. A hundred years ago, he could have skipped outing people, threatening people’s livelihoods and their lives and just grabbed a rope and handled it Deadwood style.  

        1. isn’t a “real” newspaper, either.

          Sirota was not available for comment after election results started coming in.

          And since Guerin is in favor of all things Old West including lynchings, perhaps we could use his rag to wipe our asses with, in lieu of toliet paper.  

      1. That said – I can’t fault a man who adores his wife – he shouldn’t have said those things or treated any media bad, but I love to see spouses who are ULTRA loving/protective/rabid towards making sure their spouse is happy

        That’s pretty cool

        1. Girl, don’t take it so hard (I’ve lost twice)

          Get up, dust the dirt off, congratulate your opponent, thank the good District, stay involved, and if you really love your community (and are sincere) then run again

          Harvey Milk had to lose 3 times before he got his chance to make his difference – everyone gets their shot, but nothing comes easy (and it shouldn’t – how are you supposed to appreciate the change you’re championing when it’s too easily won)

          With love and peace – ALI

        2. Most I’ve ever liked David Sirota!

          Green though, can take a long walk off a short pier. It’s not HIS wife, and he’s the guy who likes to harass people and try (ineffectually) to threaten their jobs for disagreeing with him online. Emily should have told him “thanks but no thanks” very publicly for his attempt to defend her through inappropriate intimidation of a journalist (“real” or not).

        3. was that she was so completely associated with David Sirota, who has enemies for various reasons. I think he was too protective of her and made her look like she didn’t really have a strong record to run on alone. The only other example I know of a husband-wife who are both successful in politics are the Clintons, and Bill really seemed to stay out of the way by comparison when Hillary ran her campaigns. The fact that they have the same last name is already quite enough.

        4. Wouldn’t you know that the “day after” story is about the David and Emily Sirota. His Facebook post mentions that they lost 2 to 1 despite being outspent 4 to 1, but if you look at the financial reports, expenditures are listed at $149,108 to $62,109 and that is without adding the Sirota campaign’s $24,860 non-monetary expenditure. Hardly 4-1.

          And Emily gets lots of love for trying hard and fighting “the good fight.”

          Missing in this is recognition of what Anne Rowe did to win 15,065 to 8,013 in total votes. In all likelihood she started her campaign 15 years ago by getting involved in Denver Public Schools and building a base of supporters that couldn’t be cracked even as her opponent brought in the national media and tried to crank up the Romanoff democrats. That mixed with a 527 smear campaign that had Rowe characterized as a GOP voucher-lover would have sent any first-time candidate into a tailspin.

          But Rowe had John Britz on her side, he of a 32-0 record in school board races since the early 1990. He understands what talk show hosts do not – campaigns for school board are won with canvassing, direct mail and a positive message that is consistent with what voters want. The Rowe camp could have gone negative, but Anne Rowe said no. She knows District 1.

          I was at the Rowe party last night and heard all the details listed above. I also heard Anne Rowe take time in her acceptance speech to publicly congratulate Emily Sirota on a race well run, referring to as a bright, articulate women with a bright future.

          I was told that as of today, Ms. Sirota had not called Rowe to congratulate her. Too bad, it would have made a better “day after” story for the Sirotas.

  6. “Despite my optimism…we’re screwed, Douglas County.” – a quote from one of the High School student body presidents.

    “Congratulations to DC….the forces of evil were thwarted there…..while they won in Jeffco.” A quote from a GOP activist in Jeffco.

    “. . .after yesterday’s election results all that I can say . . . is “welcome to how George McGovern felt the day after the 1972 Presidential election.” A silent majority has spoken and a mandate issued.” A quote from a GOP activist in DC

    Wow I am trying to get my head around this whole thing. “Let me explain . . .no, there is not time let me sum up.”

    In May the DCSD Board of Education voted 7-0 to spend down the reserve to prevent significant budget cuts and research the possibility of a Mill Override/ Bond election.  In August the BOE votes 5-2 to proceed with the election in November. The two no votes were the Parker Board members who were threatened by Chris Holbert to never vote for any tax increase if they wanted him to work for their election. Then the BOE hires the firm that managed Scott McGinnis’s campaign to run the election – now with a track record like that people had to be confident – right?

    Now the non-campaign begins and continues right up to election day. A few robo-calls to targeted audiences by the former Superintendent. No signs , no public meetings, even the staff at the buildings was in the dark. So 3A/3B go down in flames.

    However, Ben DeGrow , the real power behind the BOE in Douglas County, put this spin on the evening: “…the story of the night has to be in Douglas County – where a unanimous majority in favor of the nation’s first school board-initiated voucher-like program appears headed for complete electoral vindication.”

    Seriously? I guess if the county being almost evenly split is vindication in the GOP’s eyes.

    A once proud and high achieving school district is being destroyed before our eyes by partisan hacks. Be ready for the Shock Doctrine – Having created a crisis the Board will declare a fiscal emergency because they have no reserves and dissolve all contracts and bam a weak and ineffective union is dissolved and teachers will be working for minimum wage.

    Stay classy John Carson.

  7. I was really hoping some restaurants were moving out here to the burbs.

    Once again, the teacher’s union squashes education reform in Jefferson County.

    Other than that, I told you so. Especially the job killing tax increase.

  8. I am beginning to think that this was maybe a win after all for Kaplan, Mierada, as well as Jimenez  There is still a vocal minority on the Denver Board of Education….Boasberg did not get rid of his only critic who stood for re-election.

    I am feeling encouraged.  There is no reason to attack this old person unless I am somehow stopping the spin….I am usually not this effective and am usually not personally attacked so viciously.

    Thank you.

        1. Here is the insult to which I was replying:


          Ah, let her be.

          This and talk radio is all the old bag has got in life. Let’s not take that away from her.

          “I wouldn’t characterize caloric intake as “professional development.” c rork

          by: Middle of the Road @ Wed Nov 02, 2011 at 17:08:35 PM MDT

          [ Parent | Reply ]

          I have really touched a nerve. Jimenez’s win is much bigger than I originally assumed.  I will follow developments.

          I call them as I see them.  Ya. Spin.

  9. The message that Jimenez got from his constituents was “four more years.”

    I wonder if we will see an immediate recall vote against him based on the contention that he actually won.

    One unfortunate outcome, IMHO, of the Jimenez victory is that the presence of the loyal opposition on the Denver Board of Education gives Hancock ammunition to say that the Board is dysfunctional.  He keeps “hinting” that he would like to take over the schools, even though, he apparently has no legal authority to do so.

    However, one of the many advocacy groups working in Denver believes in mayoral control of the schools, so maybe that is where all this interest in DPS and its Board by outsiders is coming.

    Keep stirring the pot.

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