(D) J. Hickenlooper*
(D) Julie Gonzales
(R) Janak Joshi
80%
40%
20%
(D) Jena Griswold
(D) M. Dougherty
(D) Hetal Doshi
50%
40%↓
30%
(D) Jeff Bridges
(D) Brianna Titone
(R) Kevin Grantham
50%↑
40%↓
30%
(D) Diana DeGette*
(D) Wanda James
(D) Milat Kiros
80%
20%
10%↓
(D) Joe Neguse*
(R) Somebody
90%
2%
(R) Jeff Hurd*
(D) Alex Kelloff
(R) H. Scheppelman
60%↓
40%↓
30%↑
(R) Lauren Boebert*
(D) E. Laubacher
(D) Trisha Calvarese
90%
30%↑
20%
(R) Jeff Crank*
(D) Jessica Killin
55%↓
45%↑
(D) Jason Crow*
(R) Somebody
90%
2%
(D) B. Pettersen*
(R) Somebody
90%
2%
(R) Gabe Evans*
(D) Shannon Bird
(D) Manny Rutinel
45%↓
30%
30%
DEMOCRATS
REPUBLICANS
80%
20%
DEMOCRATS
REPUBLICANS
95%
5%
It seems that Mike Coffman of Colorado is doing his best to hand his congressional seat over to the Blue column, but for those not familiar with Mr Coffman, he is not just a dumb birther caught with a live microphone. Mike Coffman was Colorado’s former Secretary of State before running for Congress. And in […]
( – promoted by Colorado Pols) When KBNO radio host Fernando Sergio launched his weekday Spanish-language talk show in 2004, you’d have been completely crazy to predict that the President of the United States would call in for a chat about seven years later. But now, who’s surprised? Well, I was, but I shouldn’t have […]
As the Colorado Independent’s John Tomasic reports: In the last two years, Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler has made voter fraud prevention a top priority. His efforts have included working to stop county clerks from sending absentee ballots to inactive voters, lobbying for a controversial voter ID law and leading an unprecedented effort to […]
With Wednesday’s close of this year’s special legislative session, several Jeffco legislators will be saying farewell to their respective chambers under the gold dome. Indeed, Wednesday marked the last day in the Capitol for many members of the Jeffco delegation because of term limits and last year’s turbulent reapportionment process.
State Senator Betty Boyd has risen to the upper ranks of the legislature, serving as the Senate’s president pro tempore. Boyd’s also been a fixture in Lakewood – she’s been in the Senate for eight years after spending four in the House. Boyd is unable to run for office due to term limits and her SD-21 seat was drawn out of Lakewood as part of the reapportionment process.
State Representative Jim Kerr is also falling prey to term limits. Kerr, first elected in 2004, made a bid for the State Senate following Senate Minority Leader Mike Kopp‘s resignation last year. He narrowly lost his campaign for that seat to Tim Neville at a contentious vacancy committee meeting. Term limits preclude Kerr from serving another term in the House, so he’ll no longer be present at the Capitol next year. Given his recent proclivity for biting remarks, perhaps that’s for the best.
If it’s any consolation for Kerr, his vacancy committee opponent Tim Neville won’t have any Capitol office space next session, either. Neville was drawn out of his current district during reapportionment and now resides in the same seat as Jeanne Nicholson, who’s not up for re-election until 2014. Neville, then, simply does not have a Senate seat to run for – Wednesday marked his first and last Sine Die as a legislator (setting aside, of course, the close of the regular session this year).
Neither State Representative Ken Summers nor his Democratic colleague Andy Kerr will be seeking re-election to the House. Although the legislators are both in their third term and are eligible to run for and serve in another legislative session, both were drawn into the same House district as State Representative Max Tyler. Instead of a three-way battle between incumbents, Kerr and Summers are facing off to fill the seat Neville will be leaving vacant. So while one of the two veteran lawmakers will be indeed returning to the Capitol, neither will spend any more time in the House.
Former Arvada City Council candidate Cody McNutt has pivoted from his loss last year and is now working as the field director on Lang Sias‘ bid for the SD-19 seat against Evie Hudak.
McNutt scored 45% of the vote in 2011, losing to incumbent City Councilman Mark McGoff by about 500 votes. McNutt ran a decent campaign. Sure, he made a couple major mistakes, but we heard good things about McNutt’s ground game. His campaign was doomed from the outset, but it was a good foray into politics for the twenty-something first time candidate.
That said, finding a few friends to knock on doors for your upstart city council bid is a lot different than recruiting volunteers for an expansive State Senate race. We’re not sure that McNutt’s skills as a candidate will translate well into working on someone else’s campaign, especially given his incredibly odd personality. McNutt’s enthusiasm may be charming when he appears on your doorstep as a candidate, but in a campaign as competitive as Sias’, perhaps someone a little less caustic and with a little more experience would be a better fit to manage field efforts.
The Denver Civic Center – spanning between the City and County Building and the Colorado State Capitol – is on track to become a National Historical Landmark as designated by the United States National Park Service.
From Denver Mayor Michael Hancock:
WASHINGTON D.C. – Denver Civic Center was recommended by a U.S. Department of the Interior agency to become a National Historic Landmark – moving Denver one step closer to receiving the first designation of this kind in the city.
On Tuesday, at the Spring 2012 National Park System Advisory Board Landmarks Committee Meeting, Mayor Michael B. Hancock gave personal testimony to support Civic Center’s candidacy.
“Civic Center serves as the keystone for the entire Denver Parks system and sits literally where the City’s cultural, community and commercial realms converge,” Mayor Hancock said at the Meeting. “For Civic Center to receive the honor of becoming National Historic Landmark would shine a spotlight on this city treasure and help to deliver Denver as a world-class city.”
The Denver Civic Center recommended for designation includes Civic Center Park, Veteran’s Park, the McNichols Building, the City and County Building and the Colorado State Capitol.
A legacy park from Mayor Speer’s City Beautiful Movement, Civic Center would join a list of some of the most iconic, treasured and historically significant spaces in the United States. Designation would place Civic Center alongside such sites as the Empire State Building, the Alamo and the Library of Congress.
On May 22 and 23, Civic Center’s recommendation will go to the National Park Service Advisory Board for further consideration. The board will advance their recommendations to U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who will officially designate the new National Historic Landmarks.
For more details, go to: www.nps.gov.
As noted in the press release, there are currently no National Historic Landmarks within Denver’s borders. If selected, however, the Denver Civic Center would join the ranks of 22 other sites within Colorado, including Bent’s Fort and Pike’s Peak.
While the Civic Center’s selection is by no means certain, it’s safe to assume that former Colorado Attorney General, Senator, and current Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has a considerable voice in the process. Salazar, in fact, has the final say, and his ties to the Square State may indeed give the Denver Civic Center a leg up in the competition for nomination.
In light of the scrutiny the area has received as part of this nomination process, perhaps Denver’s urban camping ban – which takes effect in just over ten days – was designed less as an effort to deal with the Occupy Movement and more as one to put Denver’s best foot forward. What kind of historic landmark would the Civic Center be if people slept in it overnight, after all? God forbid.
Yesterday, right-wing news site Breitbart.com released a new video from conservative “gotcha” artist James O’Keefe, purportedly showing how easy it is for “non-citizens” to vote: In the video, William Romero, an apparent non-citizen, is shown to be registered to vote in North Carolina. According to jury refusal records obtained by Project Veritas, Romero was recused […]
UPDATE: FOX 31’s Eli Stokols: Rep. Don Coram, who cast the deciding vote Monday to kill the revived civil unions bill during this week’s special legislative session, told FOX 31 Denver Wednesday that he stands behind his vote, despite criticism from his gay son… “If you’re going to lead, you need to sometimes set aside […]
Politico: As the Obama campaign this week began a concerted attack on the presumptive GOP nominee for his tenure at the private equity firm he managed, strategists in both parties say the Republican has yet to give a confident, detailed explanation of his Bain Capital tenure that silences questions about his biography as a businessman. […]
UPDATE: FOX 31’s Eli Stokols begins to tally the damage: On Monday morning, as supporters of civil unions rallied on the Capitol’s west steps, Dan Ritchie and Greg Stevinson, two reliable, deep-pocketed GOP donors, stood with them. Sources have told FOX 31 that Stevinson, along with Charlie Gallagher, another big GOP donor, are so upset […]
THE COLORADO SUPREME COURT . . . "POLITICIANS IN BLACK ROBES." (AS IT TURNS OUT.) "Truth is the daughter of time, not of authority," Bacon. For decades I refused to believe it, but it is now incontrovertibly established. The Colorado Supreme Court is indisputably a political actor. Our Colorado Supreme Court exists to serve Colorado […]
“News” today from the doomed Paul campaign, as the Conngressman ends his active campaign but declines to endorse Mitt Romney. Instead, Paul will pursue a “delegate strategy” — as seen at the CO GOP state convention already — intended to give his “liberty movement” legs at this year’s RNC. So, essentially, the status quo continues […]
GOP Rep. Spencer Swalm shares a decidedly cynical view of the legislative special session convening tomorrow morning–writing in this weekend’s Centennial Citizen: In this country, elections are the usual method for resolving important public policy issues. However, given Gov. Hickenlooper’s decision to convene a special session to deal with what he must believe is a […]
( – promoted by Colorado Pols) By now we’re all aware the pivotal role Hispanics will play in swing states (like Colorado) in November’s election. As the political parties strategize and tune their message machines to reach Hispanics in Colorado and secure their votes, we wondered how well Denver’s English language TV news broadcasts cover […]
( – promoted by Colorado Pols) I can think of a couple reasons why Mitt Romney chose to take questions from local TV reporters and KOA radio hosts yesterday, while blowing off all those “print” journalists in Denver. The most obvious reason is that Romney thinks local TV news is watched by the swing voters […]
UPDATE #4: Speaker Frank McNulty responds not too happily, via Out Front Colorado: “If the governor wants to make this special session about gay marriage, than that’s his prerogative,” McNulty said. “It is ironic to me that the governor would choose to use his bully pulpit for the purpose of gay marriage but stand on […]
UPDATE 1:20 PM: Hickenlooper WILL call a special session including civil unions, according to reliable sources including Eli Stokols and Lynn Bartels. Details from the Governlooper’s office at 1:45 PM MST. I don’t get to go home until I’ve completed my work each day. I certainly don’t get a months-long holiday to work on improving […]
Somewhere near Ft. Lupton, CO. FOX 31’s Eli Stokols: Mitt Romney, who’s now a sure bet to be the Republican Party’s presidential nominee this fall, will speak on energy issues at a drill site in Fort Lupton on Wednesday. The speech is set for 10 a.m. at K.P. Kauffman Company. It’s Romney’s first visit to […]
A New Review of the Monahan Paper, “Public Pension Plan Reform: The Legal Framework.” Many of you are familiar with the public pension law analysis, “Public Pension Plan Reform: The Legal Framework,” by Professor Amy Monahan at the University of Minnesota School of Law. Monahan’s paper addresses the legal obligations of state and local pension […]
The AP reports via the Durango Herald: Colorado legislators agreed Thursday with a compromise suggestion from Attorney General John Suthers, a Republican who chastised members of his own party in the state House for seeking a way to give victims of the Lower North Fork Fire compensation beyond the $600,000 allowed under the Colorado Governmental […]
UPDATE: Colorado Ethics Watch responds to the full Jessica Peck video: In response to ColoradoPols.com’s release of the complete, unedited video of OGI Director Peck’s speech to the Colorado Republican Business Coalition, Ethics Watch Director Luis Toro released the following statement: “We’re pleased that the complete video has come to light and believe it confirms […]
UPDATE 9:35PM: With a politically huge “yes” vote from GOP Rep. B.J. Nikkel, Senate Bill 2 passes House Judiciary and heads for the House Finance Committee. —– UPDATE: Lynn Bartels of the Denver paper reports that Speaker Frank McNulty will not remove Rep. B.J. Nikkel from her post on the House Judiciary Committee ahead of […]
UPDATE: This could be about to get even worse for Jessica Peck. Another video clip forwarded to us of Ms. Peck at the same Colorado Republican Business Coalition luncheon appears to show her bragging about making a political donation that “will not be reported.” This is, safe to say, odd behavior for the executive director […]
( – promoted by Colorado Pols) I have to preface this blog post by telling you I’m a critic of the American Legislative Exchange Council, known as ALEC. I don’t like the legislation that the outfit promotes (for example, discouraging registered voters from voting, encouraging people to fire guns at innocent people). I also don’t […]
( – promoted by Colorado Pols) As much as I squawk about Sec. of State Scott Gessler misinterpreting the law to his own ends, I feel I have to give him props when he is actually right about something. Today the AP is reporting about a dispute between Gessler and the El Paso County Clerk, […]
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