U.S. Senate
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(D) J. Hickenlooper*
(R) Somebody
80%
20%
Governor
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(D) Phil Weiser
(D) Joe Neguse
(D) Michael Bennet
50%
50%
50%
Att. General
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(D) M. Dougherty
(D) Jena Griswold
(D) Brian Mason
60%↑
30%↑
20%↓
Sec. of State
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(D) A. Gonzalez
(D) George Stern
(R) Sheri Davis
50%↑
40%
30%
State Treasurer
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(D) Brianna Titone
(R) Kevin Grantham
(D) Jerry DiTullio
60%↑
30%
20%↓
CO-01 (Denver)
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(D) Diana DeGette*
(R) Somebody
90%
2%
CO-02 (Boulder-ish)
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(D) Joe Neguse*
(R) Somebody
90%
2%
CO-03 (West & Southern CO)
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(R) Jeff Hurd*
(D) Somebody
80%
40%
CO-04 (Northeast-ish Colorado)
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(R) Lauren Boebert*
(D) Somebody
90%
10%
CO-05 (Colorado Springs)
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(R) Jeff Crank*
(D) Somebody
80%
20%
CO-06 (Aurora)
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(D) Jason Crow*
(R) Somebody
90%
10%
CO-07 (Jefferson County)
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(D) B. Pettersen*
(R) Somebody
90%
10%
CO-08 (Northern Colo.)
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(R) Gabe Evans*
(D) Manny Rutinel
(D) Yadira Caraveo
45%↓
40%↑
30%
State Senate Majority
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DEMOCRATS
REPUBLICANS
80%
20%
State House Majority
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DEMOCRATS
REPUBLICANS
95%
5%
December 27, 2011 07:23 PM UTC
56 Comments
Is that Obama and the Dems in D.C. started fighting back.
Read the headline and the first sentence.
at Chatfield,
we shall fight at DIA,
we shall fight at Invesco, Mile High, Sports Authority, hell, . . . whatever,
we shall never surrender, . . .
(Suitable for politicians and quarterbacks.)
And not just because it was so recent as to be the most familiar.
Bruce is much-loved by one side of the political spectrum; much-hated by the other.
Up until now, he seems to have been teflon-coated. No more, at least pending appeal.
I’m seeing a musical in production. Ted Haggard can be the director
Goldie Hawn gets to play Dougie. (You did mean musical comedy, right?)
by his mom. His ideas make him not loathed by the other side. Most of them started seeing other people when the foot landed on the knee. Sure, they kept his favorite T-shirt and albums, but the phone number was deleted from memory.
but his mom died to get away from him.
Last disgustingly crude thing I’ll say in ’11. Unless Mark G comes around
’12 is just around the corner–and a fresh start. 🙂
local electeds getting termed out
waste time creating and backing legislation to stop the EPA from doing something they had no intention of doing
So to speak.
election; redistricting puts Coffman’s seat in play; Bruce jail bound.
but, if he pays the fine, taxes, interest and penalties he’ll avoid jail. But, he will be on probation for a substantial period of time which means he will show up late for those appointments, treat his PO with contempt, etc.
Including a Class 4 felony. No way there isn’t jail time.
Plus, the Feds have yet to bring their own tax evasion and 501(c)(3) fraud charges.
First conviction on those charges is likely to be probation, fines, etc. Prison is certainly possible but probably not likely unless there was a sentence enhancer I’ve not read about.
And does being a general scumbag count as an enhancer?
he’ll kick a bailiff?
wait, no, that’s my sentencing hope . . .
1. Governor AWOL.
2. Partisan vindictiveness . . . er, Dems win across the board on redistricting.
3. Lights out in Somalia Springs.
4. Revenge of the non-tokers.
5 . Campfires out at Civic Center.
6. Lamborn gets stuck on some lovely little asphalt children.
7. Mayor Player.
8. Court says more classrooms, even if you have to cut back on football prep ciriculum.
9. Tebow.. Admit it, in this state it’s story 1 – 10 regardless of the poll category.
10. Doug Bruce hired as local spokesman for H&R Block.
I copyrighted that tagline!
🙂
might be a little premature. And sorry about the drubbing your “uncles” Doug and Newt are coming in for, Ali, but you must admit, they both richly deserve it. Try adopting some uncles who are a little less, ummm… reptilian? No offense, reptile lovers. It’s a figure of speech for cold blooded and slimy.
1. Judge picks Democratic congressional maps.
2. The Reapportionment Commission saga; and subsequent Republican meltdown.
3. Occupy Denver and City of Denver’s police crackdowns.
4. Michael Hancock defeats Chris Romer for Denver Mayor.
5. Scott Gessler’s various debacles.
6. Moonlighting stories.
7. Mike Coffman’s English-only race-baiting, and how that affects his electability in the new CO-06.
8. Colorado Democratic Party picks openly gay Latino as its chair; Colorado Republican Party picks young go-getter as its chair after Dick Wadhams was pushed aside.
while the rest of CO does care who gets elected Mayor we don’t care much about the moonlighting stories unless you’re referring to Gessler and Stapeleton’s desires to moonlight
Second those. Still need two more. How about:
9. Dan Maes writing tell-all book.
10. Doug Bruce convicted.
I’m kidding about #9, obviously. I’d second Tebow and add in the resurgence of Elway to replace Bowlen as Broncos ownership spokesperson.
with the introduction of more competitive districts. So far, in the early 21st, Colorado has been at or near the forefront of many trends. Things like Doug Bruce’s anti-tax crusade, Dem victories here in 2004 that softened the edge of the presidential loss for Dems that year and preceded the great Dem elections of 2006 and 2008.
Heck, even our wackier 2010 GOP candidates who were so instrumental in our keeping Dem Bennet in the Senate and electing a Dem Governor in a generally bad year for Dems now seems a lot like what’s happening been happening in the GOP presidential follies.
Will the switch to more competitive and fewer safe districts lead to some big changes here over the next couple of elections and prove to be another case of Colorado being ahead of the historic (what with redistricting taking place only every ten years it certainly can’t be immediate) curve?
Will people nationwide start clamoring for more real choice via more districts with potential for true competition and representation by candidates who will have to listen to more than just one type of constituent?
Because it seems to me that there is a direct line between the locking in of safe districts that has been the hallmark of redistricting in our era and the increasing failure of government to function at all. Part of the way to start getting back to functional government must be by doing what we’re doing here with the creation of more competitive districts nationwide.
NOTHING was bigger at the state level this year.
Could well be the biggest story of the year. (BTW – Iowa has had a system like ours for some time.)
1. Dems winning at the redistricting/reapportionment map battle
2. Occupy movements make an impact across state
3. SOS Gessler slapped down for his voter intimidation policy attempts
4. Michael Hancock’s perseverance through run-offs
5. Douglas County’s school-voucher payment legal fiasco
6. Colorado’s energy focus shifts from renewables to natural gas
7. Denver School Board race influenced by outside financing
8. Lobato case changes school financing, possibly
9. Medicinal marijuana in question after federal crack-down in California and added restrictive local ordinances
10. Growing cynicism and distrust of partisan politics. Note rise in registered Unaffiliateds.
10. Denver school board recall fiasco.
9. The failure of Prop 103 at the ballot box.
8. Doug Bruce convicted of tax evasion.
7. The debate over fracking regulation.
6. Mayor Hancock’s election.
5. SoS Gessler’s various partisan moves grabbed a lot of column inches; he is saved from a more prominent position in this list by the fact that the media haven’t tried to put them all together in a single narrative.
4. The economy and ongoing budget crisis would be a #1 story candidate if it weren’t a repeat from the past few years.
3. The Occupy movement has garnered a lot of air time but with mixed messaging results, diluting it from taking the #2 or #1 slots.
2. The initial Lobato ruling. Would be #1 if it wasn’t stuck in appeal, may very well be the #1 story of 2012.
.
.
.
1. The redistricting and reapportionment battles have to win as the most visible and impacting story of 2011.
in the Governor’s race needs to be high on the list.
A governor who is neither fish nor fowl.
that he had such an easy coast. Talk about shoot first and ask questions later. It’s one reason you guys have to start paying attention to our mayors. We’re obviously too oblivious to vet them for higher office.
Scrapple induced flashback?
your alibi. ;~)
Besides, given your top-of-the-page drubbing of . . . anyway, irresistible.
Then he was sworn in. Look what we got.
It’s pork roll. Big difference – scrapple’s a country thing; pork roll is definitely more of a city thing. You can even tell by the appearance.
with lots of onion and red pepper flakes. Same with head cheese and pickled pork hocks. Mmmm. Ok, that settles supper tonight. Homemade, too.
Brian Carroll runs for State House against Andy Kerr
Everyone FREAKS OUT
Brian Carroll steps down
Andy Kerr goes on to run for State Senate
No harm, no foul… but some activists (ME) get concerned that our Colorado Democratic Party is starting to emulate the Colorado GOP
scheming to become either politicians or lobbyists.
The treatment of Proposition 103 by them and the cavalier way they shunned advocating for an affordable education for all should be one of the disturbing 2011 stories for Democrats.
I don’t know how many times I will agree with everything you write and want to add a “+1”, and then get to reading your sig line and feel very confused. 😛
I know Brian Carroll, I like Brian Carroll, and I wish Brian Carroll all the best, but he made the right choice to get out, the abortive “primary” put a good chunk of change in Kerr’s vault, and we’re all better off not dealing with a ridiculous, one-sided primary that didn’t even end up having any relationship to how the Jeffco races shook out in the end, anyway.
If you’re ever in town and want to meet what passes for the “party elite” in Jeffco, I’ll introduce ya to our chair. He’s about as far from cigar smoke filled back room dealing as they get. And so is Palacio, for that matter.
It’s not elitism to suggest that perhaps a young guy with potential might be better of if he didn’t enter a race where he doesn’t have a prayer (no matter HOW hard he “Tebows”) in a district that he doesn’t know anything about, where he doesn’t know anyone. I’m not talking about “anyone who’s anyone,” I’m talking about ANYONE. He just moved there. And he didn’t even START walking precincts during the entire time he was “running.”
I hope we haven’t seen the back of Brian, but I’d like to see the front of him walking for Andy and Max and Evie a few times before he runs again. Not because he hasn’t “paid his dues,” but because actually knowing the people and issues in the area is kinda mandatory if you want to be its elected representative.
and Amen.
The major story will be the Lobato case, even though now it’s still ongoing.
Top story Dec. 31, ’11, is the map redraw.
A lot of good suggestions above. You guys are good thinkers.
Should definitely be among the top ten with potential to lead to fundamental and no doubt highly controversial reexamination of what constitutes fair distribution of education funding to provide a truly “uniform” quality of public education for all of our students. Depending on the outcome, it could certainly influence the same kind of reexamination in other states as well. Whatever the outcome, it’s a very big deal.
Just as we are unique among the modern industrialized nations in failing to provide universal access to quality health care, we also cling to a system unique in failing to provide universal access to quality public education.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/…
Clearly the number one, top and away, is the griping 1st person account of spycraft on the way to the Governor’s mansion, and the dastardly deeds Turncoat Tom.
EVERY “non-partisan” Jeffco off-year race, pretty much, goes in the direction Democrats prefer.
James Mejia and Chris Romer join forces, albeit unsuccessfully.
Reapportionment writes off Betty Boyd and forces Jeannie Nicholson to take on more of Jeffco in what was formerly a mountain district.
School Board race in Denver turns so nasty that, by the end, nobody seems to actually like ANY of the candidates.
New Era Colorado holds coolest mayoral “debate” ever (Candidate Survivor)
Tebow finally shuts the hell up and plays some football, but chokes in the last couple games and loses his starting spot by this time next year.
(Oh wait, that’s a 2012 prediction…)
Betty was term limited so she wasn’t written off by the reapportionment committee. But, yes, Jeannie did get a significant chunk of Jeffco even if it wasn’t the same chunk as the original plan had created.
As to Muhammed’s comment, no one FREAKED OUT about Brian Carroll’s announcement. And any conversations with him couldn’t have looked anything like the GOP behavior in the last election. They just wondered what was he thinking and who was advising him to think this was a good idea.
It was already going to be a tough run for someone who had just moved into the district but especially taking on a popular incumbent in what might have been a critical race to gain the House Majority back. And what’s worse, if he had by some miracle beaten that popular incumbent, he would have then had to run against another strong incumbent, one whose reelection would have been the very opposite of what he wished to accomplish in the House. I look forward to meeting Brian some day and finding out about his desire to serve Lakewood.
In the end, the districts changed to give Andy the opportunity to run for State Senate which is going to be good for the Democratic party and good for Colorado.
I did my best to reassure that person that Brian Carroll was simply trying to get his name out there. It worked.
I conceded. NO ONE was perhaps a strong reaction to MAH’s EVERYONE. I’m sure SOMEONE freaked out. But anyone who was concerned about the Democratic Party and its values (and well-informed about the situation) had more of the reaction that I described.