No more political yard signs…for at least a month or two. It’s time to Get More Smarter with Colorado Pols. If you think we missed something important, please include the link in the comments below (here’s a good example).
TOP OF MIND TODAY…
► If you still have your ballot for the 2015 election, here’s a website that will teach you how to make some cool paper airplanes. There’s lots of election-related news to discuss, so let’s get to it…
There was only one statewide ballot measure in 2015 — Proposition BB — and voters overwhelmingly approved a plan to allow the state to spend tax money raised from the sale of marijuana. To those Colorado officials who continue to push back against legalized marijuana in municipal and county governments, let this be (another) lesson for you. Colorado voters are cool with weed; stop asking about it.
► The biggest election story in Colorado was the Jefferson County School Board recall, and the outcome left no doubt as to how voters want to proceed in Jeffco. As the Denver Postreports, voters throughout the state were fed up with a 2013 right-wing takeover of school districts:
Voters overwhelmingly chose to recall three members of the Jefferson County school board Tuesday night and elected two others to form an entirely new board in Colorado’s second-largest school district.
In neighboring Douglas County, three incumbents — Kevin Larsen, Richard Robbins and Craig Richardson — who claimed seats on the school board as part of a reform push several years ago lost in their re-election bids.
Susan Harmon, a Lakewood attorney who was chosen by Jefferson County voters to replace ousted member John Newkirk, said Tuesday’s results show that “maybe the tide is turning” in terms of school district politics.
“It sends a large message that you need to be responsive to your constituents, your teachers and your community,” Harmon said…
…As of 10 p.m., the Jefferson County recall effort held a resounding 64 percent to 36 percent lead. The Douglas County winners held a 58 percent to 42 percent margin in each of their races, as of 9 p.m.
Ousted Jefferson County School Board member Julie Williams did not appear to have received the message from voters, however:
Julie Williams, one of the Jefferson County school board members who was recalled Tuesday, said the election was taken over by “the liberal agenda and union bosses.”
“It’s hard to fight the lies,” she said after conceding defeat. “I will continue to fight for our kids, for stopping Common Core and the over-testing of our kids.”
It was a bad night for conservative school reformers in two Colorado elections being watched nationally in the education world — and public education advocates did well in key Philadelphia races as well.
Voters in the Denver suburb of Jefferson County on Tuesday tossed out three conservative members in a recall vote that was marked by some $1 million in spending, including support for the incumbents from a Koch-backed organization [Pols emphasis]. The school board earned national attention when the members in 2014 said the Advanced Placement U.S. History course was not patriotic enough and needed to be changed.
► Most ballot measures in the City and County of Denver managed to make it over the finish line, as 9News reports, Ballot Question 2A (sales taxes for college scholarships) was the only one of four Denver initiatives that failed to gain voter approval.
► The Denver Business Journal reports on a lawsuit targeting the “hospital provider fee,” which is expected to be a key piece of upcoming budget battles in Colorado:
The Tabor Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting and enforcing the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, filed a lawsuit in June in Denver County District Court asking a judge to declare the six-year-old funding mechanism unconstitutional. The complaint argues that because revenues from the fee have been used for things other than the provision of a direct benefit to its payers — Colorado hospitals — it is actually a tax that requires approval from state voters to be operational…
…Opponents in the Legislature have argued before that the fee is not constitutional, and that was a major reason that efforts to move fee revenues out from under the TABOR cap to an enterprise fund failed in the 2015 session. But the lawsuit adds another level of financial complexity to the debate around the fee, as plaintiffs are seeking to have the state repay fees collected since the 2010-11 fiscal year, with 10 percent interest.
Garfield County commissioners Mike Samson, John Martin, and Tom Jankovsky.
► Three Garfield County Commissioners who thought it wise to dip their toes into the political waters surrounding Planned Parenthood are finding out that their community is not pleased with their efforts. From the Glenwood Springs Post Independent:
A decision by the Garfield County commissioners to cut grant funding for the local Planned Parenthood clinic over concerns that the state and national organization has gotten too political prompted sharp reaction Tuesday, much of it opposed to the move.
One local Planned Parenthood supporter from Carbondale started an online “GoFundMe” campaign aimed at doubling the $1,500 that was cut Monday as part of the county’s 2016 Human Services grants. That effort had succeeded, raising $3,590 by 7:30 a.m. Wednesday.
“Planned Parenthood has been pretty influential in my life, especially before I had a career and health insurance,” organizer Ashley Johnson said. “A lot of us in the community felt strongly that this is such an important cause.
► Voters in Colorado Springs overwhelmingly approved a sales tax increase in order to fix potholes around the city. Despite opposition from Americans for Prosperity and other hard-right anti-tax groups, Colorado Springs voters supported the road tax 68-32.
► Ohio voters rejected a convoluted plan to legalize marijuana. Voters were not satisfied with the mechanics of a proposed legal marijuana program, fearing that it would create an “oligopoly” on marijuana production that would benefit only a handful of rich people.
► As Vox reports, voters in Ohio approved one change that could have a significant impact around the country:
In a landslide vote Tuesday, Ohio voters approved a measure to combat gerrymanderingof the state’s legislative districts, 71 percent to 29 percent.
The measure ensures that each major party will have at least two seats on the state’s redistricting commission. It also says that new maps will be thrown out after four years rather than 10 if they don’t get bipartisan support, and adds a line to the state constitution saying that no legislative districts “shall be drawn primarily to favor or disfavor a party.”
Now, the changes do not apply to the state’s seriously gerrymandered congressional districts. These are still drawn by the legislature and are subject to approval from the governor. However, reformers’ victory here will surely inspire them to push for similar changes on the congressional level — and likely on the 2016 ballot.
► The “Jeb Can Fix It” tour is off to a bad start. A new national poll shows that Republican Presidential candidate Jeb! Bush has dropped into the low single-digits.
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► Republican Presidential candidate Ben Carson is starting to show some serious cracks in his political armor. As Politicoreports:
Ben Carson’s Medicare problem isn’t going away.
The former neurosurgeon announced last week that he had shelved his plan to end the popular government health care program for seniors. But the few components of a new plan he’s revealed have only added to the confusion about what, exactly, he intends to accomplish — and his opponents are beginning to pounce.
Donald Trump, who has fallen behind Carson in Iowa and in some national polls, on Tuesday predicted Carson’s demise as a presidential candidate in part because of his health policy platform.
“I mean, Ben wants to get rid of Medicare. You can’t get rid of Medicare. It would be a horrible thing to get rid of. It actually works,” said Trump.
► Republican Presidential candidate Marco Rubio has missed an astounding 42% of votes in the U.S. Senate, which he has tried to excuse by using the old “everybody does it” routine. The problem here is that Democratic Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has only missed 4% of Senate votes. “That’s kind of what I’m paid to do,” says Sanders. If Rubio wants a lighter work schedule, perhaps he should run for a Florida House seat instead.
Additional election coverage includes not just Jeffco and Dougco tossing out the right-wing school board members, but also the Thompson School District in Loveland!
This also means the attorney for Jeffco and Thompson boards is likely getting dumped by both. His hiring was not done according to either board's rules, a fact the Denver Post seems to have overlooked in supporting the "reformers"
I wonder if the Jeffco School Board's contract shills will issue a PR announcement congratulating the new members and present the board with their final bill for services (sort of) rendered?
"In a landslide vote Tuesday, Ohio voters approved a measure to combat gerrymanderingof the state’s legislative districts, 71 percent to 29 percent. "
Even though it doesn't refer to congressional districts the numbers are so one sided it's an encouraging sign for the growing of a grassroots movement to combat gerrymandering and shows that the electorate does get it and care about it. That's encouraging.
In fact there's plenty of encouragement for Dems to take away from this election despite the media announcing what a great election it was for Repubicans. Since "conservative" has become synonymous with "Republican" there is plenty, starting with nationally watched Jefferson and Douglas county school board elections as well as other developments noted here, that they should be concerned about. And even though Dems still win many statewide offices in Kentucky, how shocking is it really that the home of Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell elected a Republican Governor or that Texas passed some more right wing reactionary bullshit?
Pretty satisfying off year (and therefore low turn out Republican advantage) election.
November 04, 2015 11:33 AM UTC
3 Comments
No more political yard signs…for at least a month or two. It’s time to 
The Denver police union is upset about body cameras. It's not that they have to use them, it's the way it was instituted, apparently.http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_29070325/denver-police-union-files-lawsuit-over-body-camera?source=rss
Additional election coverage includes not just Jeffco and Dougco tossing out the right-wing school board members, but also the Thompson School District in Loveland!
This also means the attorney for Jeffco and Thompson boards is likely getting dumped by both. His hiring was not done according to either board's rules, a fact the Denver Post seems to have overlooked in supporting the "reformers"
I wonder if the Jeffco School Board's contract shills will issue a PR announcement congratulating the new members and present the board with their final bill for services (sort of) rendered?
Here’s the Colorado Independent’s article on the topic:
http://www.coloradoindependent.com/156034/whos-getting-fired-after-tuesdays-school-board-elections
"In a landslide vote Tuesday, Ohio voters approved a measure to combat gerrymanderingof the state’s legislative districts, 71 percent to 29 percent. "
Even though it doesn't refer to congressional districts the numbers are so one sided it's an encouraging sign for the growing of a grassroots movement to combat gerrymandering and shows that the electorate does get it and care about it. That's encouraging.
In fact there's plenty of encouragement for Dems to take away from this election despite the media announcing what a great election it was for Repubicans. Since "conservative" has become synonymous with "Republican" there is plenty, starting with nationally watched Jefferson and Douglas county school board elections as well as other developments noted here, that they should be concerned about. And even though Dems still win many statewide offices in Kentucky, how shocking is it really that the home of Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell elected a Republican Governor or that Texas passed some more right wing reactionary bullshit?
Pretty satisfying off year (and therefore low turn out Republican advantage) election.