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April 06, 2018 01:48 PM UTC

Walker Stapleton Makes Primary Ballot...Barely

  • 6 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols
Walker Stapleton

The Colorado Secretary of State’s (SOS) office announced this afternoon that Republican Walker Stapleton submitted just enough valid signatures to get his name on the June Primary ballot in the race for Governor.

Here’s the district-by-district breakdown of Stapleton’s petition signatures, which shows a validity rate of about 59%. In order to qualify for the Primary ballot, candidates for Governor need 1,500 valid signatures from each of Colorado’s seven Congressional districts (for a total of 10,500). The SOS office counted 11,325 valid signatures for Stapleton, and it was a close call in two congressional districts: CD1 (1,589) and CD7 (1,553).

We wrote last month that Stapleton’s campaign was sweating it out on the signature front, and these numbers prove that out. Stapleton’s campaign submitted just 19,214 total signatures on February 23 (after telling the media that they had collected 21,000) — two days after Democrat Michael Johnston became the first statewide candidate to turn in petitions. Johnston found out that he had qualified for the ballot on March 16, but it took three more weeks for Stapleton’s signatures to be approved.

As we explained a few weeks ago, Stapleton’s close call with petition signatures despite a massive advantage in financial resources does not speak well for his campaign operation.

Comments

6 thoughts on “Walker Stapleton Makes Primary Ballot…Barely

  1. Well, of course he did!  

    And you’re wrong, this foregone conclusion speaks volumes about Walker Roberts’s massive advantage in financial resources . . . 

  2. He's made the ballot … unless and until someone asks questions in a court about those carrying the petitions. Corey Hutchins wrote in the Colorado Independent about a challenge to Rep. Lamborn's signatures. He then noted: 

    The [Stapleton] campaign used the same petition-gathering company as Lamborn, Kennedy Enterprises of Colorado Springs. Asked about the Lamborn petitions, Dan Kennedy, who runs the firm, said to the best of his knowledge all of the petition circulators “are Colorado residents,” and all the signatures “were gathered legally.”

    Apparently, 5 voters (and their lawyer, Michael Francisco) sued, and the suit says

    Based on public sources, several of these circulators are from Michigan, not Colorado. None appear to have a Colorado driver’s license. None appear to have a vehicle registered in Colorado. Four suspiciously registered to vote on the same day, just before circulating petitions—January 23, 2018, two registered on the same day even later—February 16, 2018, and one was never registered to vote. One began collecting signatures one day after registering to vote.

    Francisco said he hopes Lamborn’s team can produce the seven circulators as witnesses so he can cross-examine them.

    1. Kennedy Enterprises was also the same petition gathering outfit that gathered petition signatures for the recall of Senators Angela Giron and John Morse in 2013.  There were some  complaints about sketchy collectors then.

      A Facebook search also turned up that Kennedy Enterprises collected signatures in Wisconsin, against the recall of Scott Walker. They are apparently a go-to signature firm for extreme right wingers.

      Now I'm curious about if there is a connection to Katie Kennedy,  who is the registered agent for hundreds of conservative pop-up dark money groups.

      Maybe the surnames are just a coinkidink – or maybe they're keeping the right wing money laundering and signature gathering all in the family?? I'll dig a little deeper.

      1. Got to love the website [ http://www.kennedyenterprises.us/?page_id=55 ]. It promises [emphasis is mine – highlighting aspects I would criticize if I saw them coming from a university student on a class assignment.]

        Kennedy Enterprises LLC shall:

        • Scrutinize 1005 of the petitions collected, before delivering them to you.
        • Validate as many of the signatures as agreed upon, utilizing an up-to-date data base of registered voters supplied by each areas appropriate governmental agency.
        • Deliver petitions quickly and on a regular basis to allow your committe to have an accurate, up-to-date status on the campaign.
        • Be directly overseen by the owner (Dan Kennedy) to assre precision during the entire campaign.
        • Be flexible to the needs of the committee and make adjustments quickly as circumstances change, and stop production within a 72 hour notice.
        • Not overextend, bt concentrate its efforts on your campaign and finish what we start.
        • Not raise the price after commencing operation or have hidden fees (in other words, we treat our clients like we want to be treated).
        • Utilize its 20 years of experience by offering as much consultation as requested, in all aspects of the campaign, for the duration of the signature drive(s) at no additional cost.
        • The proposed fee includes all overhead/aspects of the signature collection process including, travel/lodging, notarization (where needed), validation of signatures and weekly delivery. The only items that are not included are the printing of the petitions and the oveter data list (this is so your legal team is sure you have the correct forms and information).

        Parallel structure is another one of my points of emphasis … and this list triggered several shudders.

        1. You missed these gems, on the "successes" page for Kennedy Enterprises:

          (italics mine)

          · Petition Rights – #38
          · School District Expendentures – #39 (for those toothless education policies)
          · Term Limits for Judges – #40
          · Minimum Wage – #43
          · Marriage Amendment – #42
          · Ethics in Government (Lobbiest Gifts) – #41 (in case you need a gift that lobs the best)

          I wonder if they are as careful about their signatures as they are about their website proofreading.

           

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