(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%
The Colorado Independent’s David O. Williams reports: Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler, according to the Denver Post, will be proposing a new set of rules that would waive or reduce a significant number of campaign finance fines for political committees that fail to file disclosure reports… “If someone is willfully blowing it off [Pols […]
We’ve held off from discussing a late bill introduced last week affecting the congressional redistricting process currently underway–to be perfectly honest, the potential import of House Bill 1276 is such that we wanted to be sure it is what it seems to be. And if what we’re hearing about HB-1276 is right, this late bill […]
We’re not sure what to say about this story about potential Republican Presidential candidate Newt Ginrich other than: Huh? Former House speaker and likely GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich, who has been married three times and has acknowledged an extramarital affair, said in an interview this week that his past indiscretions were driven in part […]
( – promoted by Colorado Pols) On February 14 I declared Jared Polis King of Colorado because his online presence was the strongest of all the Colorado Delegation. As of today, Polis is still king. However, maybe some legislators do listen to CPolsters because in the three weeks since that diary, our legislator’s online presence […]
Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler is holding a news conference today with Rep. Chris Holbert to discuss yet another voter citizenship verification bill, House Bill 1252. This bill, peddled by Gessler as a “compromise approach” following the death yesterday of House Bill 1003, would give the Secretary of State authority to request proof of […]
(While I still think TABOR and the revenue problems are #1 (tied with water) this is #2. And when we get real about severance tax, this is tied for #1. – promoted by MADCO) Rep. Tipton has just sent out a weekly update to subscribers touting his work this past week in Washington D.C. Top […]
No disrespect to the brave individuals fighting for their freedoms in North Africa. I believe the Tyrant will fall but I worry of the damage which will come in the meanwhile. My hopes are with the new generation. This got me thinking of an oppressive thumb we live under here. One I believe we […]
(Sometimes I wish the two major parties were not so dominant in Colorado politics. But I haven’t won the lottery yet either. And while they are, this matters to every voter, even those who think it doesn’t. – promoted by MADCO) Something magical happened yesterday. Parking at the Colorado Convention Center involves driving up a […]
As the New York Times reports, the League of Conservation Voters took a look at the continuing resolution to fund the government through September that passed the House last month, and–surprise–the cuts proposed would be bad for, among other things, the environment. This has reportedly mystified Colorado freshman Rep. Scott Tipton. Freshmen scored an average […]
Former Jefferson County Commissioner Kevin McCasky had a parting gift for the county upon his departure: An ethics complaint filed with the Independent Ethics Commission over his lobbying for extra money to the Jefferson Economic Council — which happened to hire him as its new president.
Here’s the press release from Colorado Ethics Watch:
Colorado Ethics Watch filed a complaint with the Independent Ethics Commission (IEC) against Kevin McCasky, former member of the Jefferson County Board of County Commissioners and current CEO of the Jefferson Economic Council (JEC), for violating state ethics laws when he voted to increase the county government’s contribution to the JEC reportedly in the midst of negotiating his own future employment at the organization.
This is the second complaint Ethics Watch has filed with the Independent Ethics Commission since it was approved by voters in November 2006. The first, a complaint against former Secretary of State Mike Coffman, resulted in the first public hearing of an ethics complaint by the IEC.
On February 16, it was revealed in the Columbine Courier that McCasky had encouraged his fellow county commissioners to increase JEC funding from $380,000 to $400,000 even while he was being considered for the high-paying position at the JEC. At the time, the county was facing significant budget cuts.
“It appears as though McCasky abused his position as county commissioner for private gain, either gaining increased consideration of his candidacy for the position at the JEC, or an increased budget for the organization he would work for in the future, or both,” said Luis Toro, director of Colorado Ethics Watch. “The IEC should investigate this matter immediately to determine if a violation of state ethics laws occurred, and impose the proper penalty.”
While Commissioner McCasky’s salary as CEO of JEC is not publicly known, JEC’s Form 990 filed with the Internal Revenue Service for 2009 reported that the salary of the previous CEO was $121,000. Salary for a Jefferson County Commissioner is set at $87,300.
If Commissioner McCasky was involved in negotiations for future employment with the JEC at the time he took direct official action benefiting the JEC in December 2010, then Ethics Watch believes McClasky violated Colorado’s Ethics Code, which includes “prospective employment for which negotiations have begun” as a type of financial interest that could create a conflict of interest. In addition, the gift ban provisions of Article XXIX of the Colorado Constitution include “promises or negotiations of future employment” within the definition of gifts that are generally limited to $50 per person per year.
The Independent Ethics Commission was established in 2006 as this state’s primary recourse for ethics complaints and investigations. It is authorized to conduct investigations, hold public hearings, and render findings on complaints regarding allegations that any public official failed to comply with appropriate standards of conduct under state law.
For the complaint and all related documentation, or for more information on Colorado Ethics Watch, visit www.coloradoforethics.org.
We received the toplines today for a new poll commissioned by Mayors Against Illegal Guns from Harstad Research, part of a multistate survey using local pollsters from both sides of the aisle. The survey dug into attitudes in Colorado on gun safety legislation–not surprisingly, the poll finds overwhelming opposition to handgun bans in Colorado, and […]
If you’re a political activist, whether PETA or Tea Party or whatever, you spend a lot of time thinking about how to get media attention. I’ve done a lot of this myself, and even wrote a book about it (hint), and I can tell you that activists love to steal media attention that rightfully belongs to […]
Republican leaders in Washington and in many states – including Colorado – are overplaying their hand. The message many of them seem to have taken from the 2010 election is that they were given a mandate it is not clear they actually got. The mandate they think they got includes more than just reasonable efforts […]
UPDATE: House Minority Leader Sal Pace fires back: “This is clearly just political posturing by a Republican party that’s more interested in throwing red meat to their base than governing.” —– Colorado House Majority Leader Amy Stephens, together with Senate Minority Leader Mike Kopp, today introduced new legislation designed to nullify federal health care reform–apparently […]
At long last, we’ve updated The Denver Line. We won’t delve into more detail on the other races here so that we can focus on the Mayoral Line and a quick explanation for how we see the race today. This all may change once the new finance reports are made available next week, but here’s our view today:
Chris Romer
Romer is the favorite at this point for two big reasons: Fundraising and name ID. This has been an incredibly quiet race for one of the biggest prizes in Colorado politics, and that gives a huge advantage to the son of a popular former governor (Roy Romer). Whether or not Romer can win a runoff is a different question, but it’s hard to see how he won’t at least make it into the top two in April.
James Mejia
For someone who started his campaign well before any of the other candidates, Mejia should be in a better position than he is. His fundraising has been disappointing, and that’s his biggest problem; Mejia has no built-in name recognition from holding prior office, so he must be able to have a strong paid media presence to have any hope of winning. If Mejia had a poor February raising money, he’ll need a minor miracle to have any real chance at winning.
Carol Boigon
We wouldn’t normally put much stock in a message of “Denver’s first female mayor” (ask Hillary Clinton how much the “first female” thing mattered), but the Mayoral race has been so boring and devoid of interesting story lines that it might actually get some traction. Boigon’s biggest advantage, however, is the fact that she’ll be able to raise or contribute whatever she needs financially — that alone puts her in a great position coming down the stretch.
Michael Hancock
Hancock’s campaign was clearly designed to make him look like the frontrunner from the beginning, but the problem with that approach is that it leaves you with nowhere to go but down. His comments that the Denver Mayor should oversee the school system looked like a bit of a Hail Mary to us, and in a close race it’s going to cost him dearly. Voters may not be happy with the school district, but the idea of putting all control in the hands of one person won’t ease their concerns. The fact that Hancock hasn’t heavily promoted his “Mayoral control” idea tells us that it wasn’t well-received.
Momentum is definitely not on Hancock’s side, but there’s time to fix that. The concern now is whether he’ll be able to afford the kind of TV presence to compete with Romer and Boigon’s money.
Doug Linkhart
Linkhart has not been raising much money and thus suffers the most from the lack of media coverage of the race. Linkhart’s not a bad candidate — he’s just not interesting enough to intrigue voters without paid or earned media support. Unless Linkhart has a couple of aces up his sleeve, we just don’t see how he’s going to be able to get attention once the TV ads begin.
Theresa Spahn
If there was ever a race where a relative nobody had a chance to pull off the upset, this is it. If she can go up on TV with a big buy, then anything goes…but we kind of doubt that’s going to happen. Her campaign touts that she “is on the list of the Top 6 Mayoral fundraisers,” which would be cool if there was a prize for sixth place.
(An honest report–but what’s the alternative? – promoted by Colorado Pols) In the ongoing effort to “trim the fat” in the federal budget and terminate programs that are deemed ineffective, House Republicans are looking to eliminate housing programs that were put in place to address the foreclosure crisis. House Financial Services Committee Chariman Spencer Bachus […]
The front of Friday’s Denver & The West section (in The Denver Post) had a photo of Gov. Hickenlooper, looking serious, even though he had no tie on. Next to Hick, a headline announced that biz execs have advice for Hick. The summary of their advice, that Colorado needs to be friendly to biz, was […]
Yesterday, I commented on another thread, calling Wisconsin governor, Scott Walker, “mealy-mouthed”…among other epithets. Lest some readers think this an unfair evaluation of Gov. Walker, I submit the definition of the word: avoiding the use of direct and plain language I will give him this. He is an automaton when it comes to staying on […]
Readers will no doubt recall that there has been a massive hostile takeover of six different schools in the greater Montbello area. For those that aren’t familiar, this is a neighborhood in Denver, traditionally predominantly African-American but now populated by large numbers of Latinos. Montbello High School will now be broken up into three different […]
(Read it and weep – promoted by Colorado Pols) Yesterday, members of DU’s Center for Economic Progress presented their findings from the first comprehensive study of Colorado’s tax system commissioned by the legislature since 1958. The findings of the study should reinvigorate supporters of a proposed ballot measure. The presenters were adamant that Colorado’s revenue […]
( – promoted by Colorado Pols) Big news today when Secretary of State Gessler hired a new Chief Administrative Officer in the form of Gary Zimmerman. OK, maybe not so big news. Gessler seems to think the pundits and chattering class will be suspicious because he knew Zimmerman in his pre-SoS professional life. That’s not […]
Today’s main event in the House Finance Committee is a very interesting bill that could, if passed, provide a great deal of information about where–and how effectively–Colorado tax dollars are directed. House Bill 1104 would require the Department of Revenue to draw up an annual report on how much money is being “expended” in the […]
( – promoted by Colorado Pols) Today’s Denver Post reported that Attorney General John Suthers didn’t have much to say about the Obama Administration’s decision to stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act. But Suthers discussed Obama’s decision for about 15 minutes on KOA’s Mike Rosen show this morning. He told Rosen he doesn’t want […]
( – promoted by Colorado Pols) Recently elected Colorado representative Ray Scott, in keeping with a tradition among western slope Republican legislators, has now performed his first rite of passage. He has introduced his first “whatever the oil and gas industry lobby wants me to do” bill. His dance partner in the senate is the […]
As one of many politicos who live outside of Denver, I am watching the Denver Mayoral election with great interest. Do people outside of Denver have a vote? No. Does Denver’s Mayoral race affect us? Absolutely. Is it the rest of the state’s business who is elected Mayor in Denver? Definitely. As Colorado’s largest city, […]
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