Colorado Political Draft: The Sleeper Picks

by: Colorado Pols

Fri Apr 23, 2010 at 09:00:00 AM MDT

Today, we're taking a look at the "Sleeper Picks." These are the picks that a team makes in the NFL Draft that initially have you scratching your head because you've never heard of them; but then the more you think about it, and the more you hear about the player and the rationale, the more you start to really like the selection.

With that in mind, check out our "Sleeper Picks" after the jump. For a refresher on the "guidelines" under which our picks are being made, check out yesterday's post.

Shafroth Gets Interior Appointment

by: Colorado Pols

Tue Mar 10, 2009 at 13:55:46 PM MDT

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced Tuesday afternoon that fourth-generation Colorado resident Will Shafroth, who ran unsuccessfully for Congress last summer, will be the department's deputy assistant secretary for fish, wildlife and parks. A few weeks ago Salazar nominated another Colorado politician as Shafroth's boss, naming former Senate candidate and one-time U.S. Attorney Tom Strickland as his assistant secretary for fish, wildlife and parks.

Will Shafroth - just say no

by: DavidThi808

Thu Jul 24, 2008 at 21:00:11 PM MDT

In my discussion of the 3 candidates running for CD-2 I stated that all three are really good candidates and that we would be happy with any of the three. In that discussion I said the following about Will Shafroth:

Will is Mark Udall redux. Will will perform the blocking & tackling of being an effective representative for our district. He will do the most for our district and the residents here from bringing home the bacon to constituent services. And he clearly will concentrate on environmental issues. It doesn't get the spotlight but this is exactly the job we need most representatives performing.

The statement is still true. But it's no longer a compliment. Mark Udall has shown that he is willing to take any position, pander any issue, and piss all over the constitution to get elected. His most recent "indistinguishable from a wing-nut Republican" action was his vote for the FISA legislation.

A 3 hour tour

by: DavidThi808

Sun Jul 13, 2008 at 20:32:08 PM MDT

Anyone remember Gilligan's Island? Even a group as clueless as that was focused on getting off the island. You're stuck on a deserted island - primary focus is getting off the damn island. Why is that so hard to figure out?

Ok, the 3 amigos were asked the standard Daily Camera question "If you were stranded on a deserted island, what three things would you want with you?" And the answers range from poor to excellent.

CD-2 Candidate Tax Returns: More Bad News for Polis

by: Colorado Pols

Mon Apr 14, 2008 at 16:20:15 PM MDT

Jared Polis publicized seven years' worth of tax returns Thursday, a day after his major Democratic rivals in the 2nd Congressional District race made similar disclosures.

Joan Fitz-Gerald and Will Shafroth, who released their tax returns Wednesday, said they did so in large part to prompt their wealthy opponent to open the books on his income and tax information.

Polis' returns show five years -- from 2001 to 2005 -- during which the Internet entrepreneur paid no taxes. He showed a net loss of income for four of those five years.

The returns also show a couple of years when he posted a total of more than $120 million in adjusted gross income and more than $18.4 million in taxes paid.

Polis, 32, said the discrepancy in tax and income data over the seven years is primarily based on whether he was developing companies -- which would often operate at a loss in their initial years -- or selling a company.

"In my business career, I only make significant money when I sell a company," Polis said Thursday.

Two years ago, Liberty Media Inc. bought Provide Commerce Inc., which operated Polis-founded ProFlowers.com. The sale was valued at $477 million, $116 million of which went to Polis.

Polis said in many of the years he didn't owe taxes, he was reporting income losses -- in 2005 his losses reached $2.6 million -- as he tried to bring companies he helped found into the black.

"I founded several high-growth companies, and we would manage those for growth rather than for profit," he said. "When I make money, I pay taxes. When I don't make money, I don't."

Is Polis legally correct here? Maybe, but it sure looks terrible. The ads write themselves: "Jared Polis, millionaire, doesn't pay taxes."

Given the harm that will come from this disclosure, it probably would have made more sense for the Polis campaign to refuse to open up his books. He still would have taken a hit, but it wouldn't have been as bad. "Polis Refuses to Disclose Tax Records" is better than "Polis Doesn't Pay Taxes."

Shafroth Raises $1 Million

by: LyneaHansen

Tue Apr 08, 2008 at 14:50:45 PM MDT

"It's been another great quarter for this campaign. No question about it, Coloradans are hungry for change and looking for
something more than politics as usual," said Shafroth.

Boulder County Convention - what it means

by: DavidThi808

Sun Mar 16, 2008 at 15:13:51 PM MDT

Ok, we had the convention, what does it all mean? This is what I see as the major items, after sleeping on it.

First off, the Boulder Democratic party is incredibly well run. I can't say enough how impressed I am with how smoothly the whole thing ran. Major kudos to Deb Gardner and her entire crew. You did the impossible and made it look easy. (Deb Gardner for governor in 2014?)

Here is what I think is the biggest data point from yesterday - well over 90% of the attendees are not party activists. Everyone was talking about how 95% had never attended a county convention before but Claire Levy was in that group and I think we have to count her as an activist. The important data point is that most of these people probably could not have named the 3 amigos. They were there to vote for Obama or Clinton and the rest was other stuff they were also asked to do.

Which means, having the party base on your side was good for maybe 5% of the vote. In fact, not everyone there will bother to vote in the August primary. But I think it is reasonable to say that the results are a good indicator of how a primary vote would play out if it was held today. So let's drop the "candidate X had an insider advantage" because that wasn't worth much.

Shafroth Attacks Polis

by: Colorado Pols

Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 09:17:39 AM MDT

Today Shafroth entered the fray more publicly with an attack on Polis. As the Rocky Mountain News reports:

Congressional candidate Will Shafroth plans to file a formal election complaint against rival Jared Polis this week, charging various campaign finance violations.

Shafroth said Polis' campaign records lack "transparency," which he finds bothersome because Polis was chief backer of Amendment 41, an ethics amendment voters approved in 2006...

...Shafroth plans to file his complaint with the Federal Election Commission. Among his charges is that Polis failed to disclose the occupations or employers of 42 donors who contributed nearly $50,000.

Polis is the ninth-worst House candidate in the nation for disclosing occupation information, according to opensecrets.org, which calls itself a guide to money in U.S. elections. His compliance rate, however, is 88.2 percent.

"I'm not saying we're all perfect," Shafroth said. "In each campaign you'll have a few donors (whose occupations) have not been identified. But this is not four or five people, and this is money donated months ago."

This is yet another example of the Polis campaign needlessly opening themselves up for criticism, but more than anything we see this attack as a signal from Shafroth's campaign that it is time to get their boy a little more press.

Shafroth is raising good money and avoiding the Fitz-Gerald/Polis battle in a manner that allows him to avoid much of the mudslinging, but the downside to that approach is that it doesn't help him get recognized--and Shafroth is a virtual unknown among average voters. We've heard rumors for a long time that Shafroth's name ID numbers are dismal, and today's attack may be the first of many efforts to try to change that.

Millionaire's Amendment Tripped in CO-2

by: Colorado Pols

Tue Mar 04, 2008 at 16:45:59 PM MST

Will Shafroth can now circle back with his maxed-out donors for more money, but at this point Fitz-Gerald can't. We did a quick (and very sloppy) count of donors who had maxed out to Shafroth, and we came up with well more than 100. Even if Shafroth only gets 50 of them to up their donations to the new max, he'll quickly raise more than $200,000.

Fitz-Gerald Raises $254,861

by: Colorado Pols

Thu Jan 31, 2008 at 14:16:33 PM MST

Click below for the full press release.

Polis Raises...?...in Q4

by: Colorado Pols

Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 15:49:10 PM MST

Polis raised about $650,000 through Q3. so we assume that means he raised $350,000 in Q4 - although there is no indication as to how much of his own money he contributed last quarter. Either way, a million dollars in one year is certainly impressive. Click below for the full press release.

Shafroth Raises $236,760 in Q4

by: Colorado Pols

Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 15:17:00 PM MST

According to a press release, Shafroth raised $236,760 in Q4, leaving him with more than $520,000 cash on hand. Shafroth still has a considerable hill to climb in terms of name recognition, but if he continues this fundraising pace, he'll be able to have a good presence on TV this summer.

Is Polis Trying for Criticism?

by: Colorado Pols

Fri Dec 14, 2007 at 14:42:04 PM MST

Take today's story in the Rocky Mountain News, for example. Polis was criticized in an article for investing in companies that make money from the War in Iraq. Was the criticism fair? Maybe, maybe not; but the key point here is that the criticism came because of the TV ad that Polis ran. If there is no ad that is critical of these companies, there is no negative newspaper article.

There are plenty more examples of this. Polis took shots in the media for the way in which he portrayed his recent trip to Iraq. Were the shots fair? Maybe, maybe not; but the reason he was attacked was because his campaign appeared to have lied about his trip being a United Way trip. His campaign led with its chin in calling the trip a United Way thing, which is why he took shots from reporters later when it turned out to be untrue. When you lead with your chin, it's not a coincidence when you get punched in the face.

All of this is starting to make us wonder if Polis isn't trying to get criticized. This wouldn't seem to make a lot of sense as a strategy, but then it doesn't make a lot of sense the way they keep sticking their heads out to get whacked. Take a look at this otherwise inexplicable press release sent by the Polis campaign today:

Shafroth to Go Petition Rout(e)

by: Colorado Pols

Thu Dec 06, 2007 at 16:20:23 PM MST

The decision certainly isn't surprising and is probably the right move to make given that both Joan Fitz-Gerald and Jared Polis are party insiders. Shafroth wasn't likely to surpass 30% in the caucus process, but if he fell below 10% then he would be out of the race altogether.

Click below for the full press release.

Fitz-Gerald Endorsed by CEA

by: Colorado Pols

Thu Dec 06, 2007 at 15:30:23 PM MST

The CEA endorsement - which Colorado Pols first reported in September was one of the few remaining major endorsements in the three-way primary, and it should carry significant weight in August - particularly when Jared Polis is touting his own education credentials. Full press release follows.

More Bad News for Polis

by: Colorado Pols

Fri Nov 30, 2007 at 15:04:05 PM MST

From The Denver Post:

The Mile High United Way has disassociated itself from Jared Polis' Thanksgiving trip to Iraq and insists its executive vice president used vacation days for the week he spent in the Middle East with the Democratic congressional candidate.

"It's inconceivable to me that we would knowingly walk into a situation where we were seen as participating in a candidate's trip," Paul Franke, chairman of the United Way's board of trustees, said Thursday. "It was not a United Way-sponsored trip."

A campaign news release sent the day before Polis left for Iraq said he would travel "as a supporter of the United Way's efforts to assist in the development of Iraqi nonprofit and humanitarian organizations."

Polis campaign manager Wanda James said Thursday that the United Way did not "in any way organize or pay for the trip." Polis, a multimillionaire Internet entrepreneur, went as a "potential donor to see the projects in the region for himself," she said.

The trip sparked a firestorm of criticism from his opponents, who called it a campaign stunt in disguise.

Polis, who is vying against two fellow Democrats to replace U.S. Rep. Mark Udall, paid for the trip for himself and United Way executive vice president Rich Audsley.

The Boulder Democrat has not said how much the trip cost, only that his attorney will sort out what he needs to disclose publicly on his next campaign finance report...

...At a town-hall meeting Wednesday night, Polis said he went to Iraq "with the United Way Denver chapter" to work on "building ties between Iraqis" and relief agencies.

United Way board member Ric Padilla said the board recently received a "clarification document" from Mile High United Way "that the trip was indeed a personal one and not sanctioned" by the organization. Another board member, Xcel Energy executive Roy Palmer, said through a spokesman that Audsley "did this as a private citizen on vacation time."

Polis Swift-Boats Himself

by: Colorado Pols

Thu Nov 29, 2007 at 13:57:05 PM MST

The story just keeps getting worse for Polis, as the Rocky Mountain News reports:

A Nashville, Tenn., auto dealer who has donated thousands of dollars to Republican causes - including the Swift Boat attack group - said he contributed to Jared Polis' congressional campaign because he considers the Boulder resident "a good conservative."...

...Another donor, Arthur Gray Jr., of New Hampshire, said his friend Arthur Laffer, economist and former adviser to President Reagan, asked him to donate to Polis.

Gray said Laffer knows Polis and described the Internet entrepreneur as a "very good guy" who believes in "supply side economics."

Asked about the donations, Polis said, "If conservatives want to support me in stopping the flow of hundreds of millions of dollars to the war in Iraq, then so be it."

"I'm not surprised that people of all walks of life and across the political spectrum are supporting my efforts," he added.

But Polis' two Democratic rivals in the 2nd Congressional District, Joan Fitz-Gerald and Will Shafroth, attacked the donations because Beaman and Gray also contributed in 2004 to Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. The group paid for ads attacking Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry's Vietnam War record.

That story certainly hurts, but not as bad as what appeared in this Associated Press story:

Congressional candidate Jared Polis began a town hall meeting Wednesday to discuss his trip to Iraq by taking issue with an attack from a rival Democrat.

Joan Fitz-Gerald, who is running against Polis for Rep. Mark Udall's seat, questioned why Polis accepted contributions from former supporters of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. The criticism Tuesday came just as Polis returned from Iraq.

"I say, 'How dare they,'" Polis told the crowd of about 100, calling the attack "hypocritical."

Polis did not deny taking more than $6,000 from five people who also gave to the Swift Boat group that attacked John Kerry in the 2004 presidential campaign, but said, "My vote is not for sale."

He said after the meeting that "even many conservatives are fed up" with the war in Iraq, leading to a change of heart. If that is the case with the five people in question, Polis said, he was "happy" to have their support.

So...Polis is "happy" to have the support of the Swift Boaters, and he thinks its hypocritical of anyone to question that. Being proud to have the support of Republicans is swell - unless you're running in a three-way DEMOCRATIC primary.

The Polis campaign has nobody to blame but themselves for this, and they're not making things better with this response. And whose idea was it to bring this up as the first subject at his town hall meeting?

It's too late now, but we're clueless as to why Polis didn't just plead innocence and return the checks when he had the chance. It would have been easy to claim that he didn't know the connection between the Swift Boat ads and that he returned the checks voluntarily. That was the obvious response here, and it would have prevented the story from continuing like this (not to mention that it has completely stopped any visit to Iraq momentum).

Cranberg Donation Bites Polis...Again

by: Colorado Pols

Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 15:44:49 PM MST

Among the donors who have given to Polis are Republican Alex Cranberg, the foremost proponent of vouchers in Colorado (click below for the full press release from Fitz-Gerald's campaign). Cranberg's donation likely cost Polis the endorsement of the Colorado Education Association and has made it hard for him to get away from his prior support of vouchers, which is a no-no in a Democratic primary.

We've questioned the Cranberg donation before, and these other donations are also odd. Polis doesn't need any help, raising money, and he has the personal wealth to fund his campaign anyway. So why risk negative press for a $2,000 check when you don't need it? For some candidates, the check is worth the bad press, but not for Polis.

CD-2 Is One Expensive Primary

by: Colorado Pols

Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 10:35:17 AM MST

1) Jared Polis Democrat, Colorado's 2nd District: $828,000 ( Mark Udall , Democrat)

2) Joan Fitz-Gerald, Democrat, Colorado's 2nd District: $624,000 ( Mark Udall , Democrat)

3) Chris Lauzen, Republican, Illinois' 14th District: $546,000 ( J. Dennis Hastert , Republican)

4) Bill Foster, Democrat, Illinois' 14th District: $541,000 ( J. Dennis Hastert , Republican)

5) Will Shafroth, Democrat, Colorado's 2nd District: $509,000 ( Mark Udall , Democrat)

(h/t to Square State)

Who Will Win? (CO-2)

by: Colorado Pols

Fri Nov 09, 2007 at 12:09:18 PM MST

The last poll is here. Remember to cast your vote based on who you think will win, not on who you support.