CO-04 (Special Election) See Full Big Line

(R) Greg Lopez

(R) Trisha Calvarese

90%

10%

President (To Win Colorado) See Full Big Line

(D) Joe Biden*

(R) Donald Trump

80%

20%↓

CO-01 (Denver) See Full Big Line

(D) Diana DeGette*

90%

CO-02 (Boulder-ish) See Full Big Line

(D) Joe Neguse*

90%

CO-03 (West & Southern CO) See Full Big Line

(D) Adam Frisch

(R) Jeff Hurd

(R) Ron Hanks

40%

30%

20%

CO-04 (Northeast-ish Colorado) See Full Big Line

(R) Lauren Boebert

(R) Deborah Flora

(R) J. Sonnenberg

30%↑

15%↑

10%↓

CO-05 (Colorado Springs) See Full Big Line

(R) Dave Williams

(R) Jeff Crank

50%↓

50%↑

CO-06 (Aurora) See Full Big Line

(D) Jason Crow*

90%

CO-07 (Jefferson County) See Full Big Line

(D) Brittany Pettersen

85%↑

CO-08 (Northern Colo.) See Full Big Line

(D) Yadira Caraveo

(R) Gabe Evans

(R) Janak Joshi

60%↑

35%↓

30%↑

State Senate Majority See Full Big Line

DEMOCRATS

REPUBLICANS

80%

20%

State House Majority See Full Big Line

DEMOCRATS

REPUBLICANS

95%

August 27, 2015 10:51 AM UTC

Get More Smarter on Thursday (Aug. 27)

1 Comments
by: Colorado Pols

Get More Smarter

Remember when two deadly shootings in one day would have been shocking? 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…

► The first two states to legalize marijuana — Colorado and Washington — are doing a pretty good job of implementing regulations and other requirements for the legal sale of weed. From the Huffington Post:

Now more than a year after sales first began in Colorado and Washington, perhaps the most profound shift of all is the normalcy in which marijuana policy, and the revenue it generates, is seen by state government.

J. Skyler McKinley, deputy director of Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper’s (D) Office of Marijuana Coordination, said that Colorado officials look at marijuana the same way they look at any other commodity market in Colorado — just another place where the state gets some revenue, but doesn’t stake its whole budget on it.

“This was a lot less vexing than we once thought it would be,” McKinley said, repeating what his boss said about regulating the drug earlier this year. “It turns out government can be pretty good at this.”

► Officials in Silverton and San Juan County have asked for federal assistance in cleaning up polluted mining sites, but they want to make sure that you understand they might not want federal help. Or something. From the Durango Herald:

In a letter from Silverton Mayor Christine Tookey and San Juan County Commissioner Ernie Kuhlman, the officials state that while Superfund status should be on the table, they have not “foreclosed any options.” The federal listing offers additional resources to clean up blighted areas that could be toxic to humans.

Silverton and San Juan County have been fighting accusations that the town and county are partially responsible for the Gold King Mine disaster because they resisted Superfund status. Some in the community feared that a federal listing would be a black eye and endanger tourism…

…A recent joint resolution from the town and county stated that they would work to petition Congress for federal disaster dollars. Reports suggested that the move was a reversal, or a paradigm shift. But county and town officials say otherwise, arguing that the reports were filled with “misinformation.” [Pols emphasis]

To summarize, Silverton and San Juan County officials want to make it clear that they haven’t “committed” to doing anything specific to deal with toxic mines in the aftermath of the Gold King minewater spill. It’s good to know that local officials are still paralyzed by indecision.

Get even more smarter after the jump…

IN CASE YOU ARE STANDING NEAR A WATER COOLER…

► Having a bad week? Cheer up — at least you didn’t almost kill Usain Bolt with a Segway:

► Colorado Senators Michael Bennet (D-Denver) and Cory Gardner (R-Yuma) were on handfor a panel discussion at the Rocky Mountain Energy Summit. Cathy Proctor of the Denver Business Journal has the details on discussions about energy and Iran, including a frank admission from Sen. Bennet:

Bennet said he has spoken to President Barack Obama about the deal and hasn’t yet taken a position on the deal, but, he added, “I have come to the conclusion that there is not a better deal available.”

“We are faced with a lot of bad choices now because we eliminated a lot of choices along the way,” Bennet said.

► The 2016 ballot may include a measure to permit doctor-assisted suicide in Colorado.

► Opponents of an effort to recall three right-wing members of the Jefferson County School Board say they will not challenge petitions submitted to initiate the recall. Embattled Board members John Newark, Julie Williams, and Ken Witt will continue to bellyache about the process, however.

► Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman announced earlier this week that she will not push for an investigation of Planned Parenthood, but Colorado Republicans aren’t done grandstanding quite yet. Meanwhile, a new report finds that the “sting” videos produced in an attempt to smear Planned Parenthood are filled with “intentionally deceptive edits, missing footage and inaccurately transcribed conversations.”

► Speaking of grandstanding, State Treasurer Walker “Buy Gold” Stapleton took another opportunity to pound on the table at a PERA board meeting on Wednesday. As John Frank reports for the Denver Post, Stapleton’s tantrum did not go over well among board members:

Stapleton, a Republican, cast the lone “no” vote in the 12-1 decision [on a new contract]. He argued that the new contract should include performance measures rather than set them in a separate process each year. He also harped on the plan’s $26 billion unfunded liability.

“There’s no accountability for missing investment targets,” Stapleton said on a conference phone line, as he sent his deputy to attend the meeting in person. “There’s no accountability in the contract for increasing the unfunded liability of PERA. There’s no sort of performance-related investment returns of the funds.”

His remark drew a sharp retort from Lynn Turner, a trustee appointed by the governor. Turner noted that the unfunded liability is a long-standing issue and not related Smith.

“To sit there and say Greg’s going to be held accountable for that, that’s asinine, quite frankly,” he said. “Walker … I’ve never heard anyone propose such a stupid idea.” [Pols emphasis]

Really? Never? Turner is apparently not as familiar with Stapleton as we might have guessed.

► Colorado Springs Rep. Gordon “Dr. Chaps” Klingenschmitt has a theory on the sexual preference of certain Boy Scout leaders. As a great philosopher once said, He who maketh asinine statements of questionable logic should shuteth up.

ICYMI

► During a campaign stop in Colorado on Tuesday, Republican Presidential candidate JEB! Bush said that Planned Parenthood “is not actually doing women’s health issues.” Politifact finds that Jeb’s statement gets a full “Pants on Fire” rating.

Get More Smarter by liking Colorado Pols on Facebook!

One thought on “Get More Smarter on Thursday (Aug. 27)”

mamajama55 says:

August 27, 2015 at 8:25 pm

That's great news about the corporate education crowd not challenging the Jeffco recall petitions.

Now, if only lockdown "active shooter" drills were not becoming as common in school life as the old "duck and cover" nuclear bomb drills were in the bad old cold war days.

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