(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%
Another from the unfortunate campaign mailers department (a regular favorite of ours), here’s a new piece that just arrived in Senate District 19 mailboxes–the key race in northern Jefferson County between Democratic incumbent Sen. Evie Hudak and Republican Lang Sias. From the flagship Republican Senate “independent effort,” the Senate Majority Fund: Got that, swing voter? […]
Aurora Voters Ask Coffman to Put the Represent Back in Representative Aurora – Since they can’t find Mike Coffman in Aurora, Aurora residents are now trying to find him on the Internet on www.wheresmikecoffman.com. The new website documents the multiple attempts members of Aurora’s 99% voters – workers, seniors, and students – have made to […]
In light of the fact Colorado will most likely be one of the key states in the November election and in the shadow of Rep. Akin’s comments in Missouri, it is time to ask Gov. Romney where he stands on a woman’s right to make her own choices about her health, especially medical procedures she […]
I came across this story from Energywire. The decision about re-establishing more reasonable setbacks from homes when locating drilling rigs has been “on the table” at the COGCC for three or four years. Now that discussions are underway, they have been talking for over five months. The O&G industry will try to stall a decision […]
( – promoted by Colorado Pols) This week we released the 2012 Colorado Legislative Conservation Scorecard which highlights the priorities of the conservation community and key conservation votes from each legislator during the 2012 Colorado legislative session. This is where the rubber meets the road for state level conservation issues in Colorado. Our scorecard […]
The Colorado Independent’s John Tomasic: “The only news is that it’s no longer news that a Republican lawmaker spews anti-Muslim bigotry,” said Ibrahim Hooper, communications director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Hooper was referring to the fact that state Senator Kevin Grantham, a Cañon City Republican, recently said he saw merit in a proposal […]
Since Rep. Coffman’s constituents weren’t having much luck finding Rep. Mike Coffman in his district or in his Congressional office, we thought we might have better luck at his campaign office. There’s a single page on the Web that has a mailing address listed in Highlands Ranch, so we drove out there and this is […]
In two new “Where’s Mike?” videos, Rep. Mike Coffman’s constituents visit the Meadow Hills golf course, which backs up to his house, and the offices of RIM Operating, an oil and gas company that’s a supporter of the Congressman. Despite talking to a number of people, including an actual golfer, nobody has seen the Congressman. […]
All this week, Rep. Mike Coffman’s constituents will be visiting parts of his new congressional district trying to find him. They have previously visited and reached out to his office to see if he was making any public appearances or town halls, but couldn’t get an answer. Videos of the attempts will be posted on […]
Apparently it’s not just Colorado Republicans who are freaked out about some U.N. conspiracy to take over America, or something. From MSNBC: Arizona lawmakers appear close to sending to Gov. Jan Brewer a tea party-backed bill that proponents say would stop a United Nations takeover conspiracy but that critics claim could end state and cities’ […]
The Pueblo Chieftain’s Patrick Malone–known locally as “the good one”–reports: Public Policy Polling conducted the survey during the past week in battleground districts where Republican incumbents are vulnerable. Overall, the poll showed Democrats hold the upper hand, but voters in the 3rd currently favor Tipton (46 percent) over Pace (39 percent). The poll forecasts that […]
As anticipated, State Representative Andy Kerr on Monday announced his intentions to run for Jefferson County’s Senate District 22.
From Fox 31’s Eli Stokols:
DENVER — Like their Republican counterparts, Democratic state lawmakers are now scrambling to adapt to reapportionment and the new map of state House and Senate districts.
On Monday, state Rep. Andy Kerr, D-Lakewood, who’s been drawn into a House district that is now home to three sitting lawmakers, announced that he will be running for the new Senate District 22 in 2012.
Kerr, who’d have been term-limited out of the House in 2014, made the announcement Monday at the Belmar Shopping Center in Lakewood.
“The new map surprised all of us in Lakewood as much as people anywhere in the state,” Kerr told FOX31 Denver. “Republicans complained about how they’ve been affected, but it’s happened to some of us Democrats as well.”
Republican Tim Neville was chosen by a vacancy committee to replace Senate Minority Leader Mike Kopp in S.D. 22, but because of changes to the district under the map, he’s likely to lose his grip on the seat.
Kerr’s decision will avoid a primary for his House District, which is now also home to Rep. Max Tyler, D-Golden.
Republican Rep. Ken Summers has yet to decide whether he’ll challenge Tyler for the House seat or take on Kerr for the right to move to the Senate.
Kerr and Representative Max Tyler clearly worked things out behind the scenes regarding their mutual residency – term-limits made Kerr the logical choice to leave the House in favor of the Senate.
But what’s Ken Summers running for? Like Kerr, Summers has just one term left in the House before being termed out. To win that term, he’d have to take down Tyler in a district that former State Treasurer Cary Kennedy won in 2010 with nearly 55% of the vote. That’d be an incredibly tough race, particularly because it would be Summers’ last: even if he wins in 2012, the seat will be open in 2014.
It’s that much more likely, then, that Summers will challenge Kerr in SD-22. Kennedy won that district by less than one percentage point in 2010, so it’s that much more favorable for Ken or any other Republican.
Still, Summers hasn’t indicated which incumbent Democrat he’d rather challenge. He told the Colorado Statesman that he was planning on making a decision as of last Friday, but that deadline (and Kerr’s announcement) came and went without a peep from the south Jeffco Republican. We think that’s part of his strategy: by waiting to declare his candidacy until just before session, Summers can prevent both Tyler and Kerr from gaining any ground in campaign fundraising. Democrats will pour money into whichever race Summers jumps into, but until he makes that call, he’ll be able to keep donors guessing.
It’s a smart strategy, especially considering that not one of the three Jeffco representatives are able to fundraise from lobbyists once the legislature convenes next month. By staying quiet, Summers helps to ensure that the real campaign against him can’t effectively start until May.
Like many, we’ve been keeping a keen eye on Kyle Clark’s reporting on Jeffco’s so-called “Bridge to Nowhere,” a rarely used pedestrian bridge at Wadsworth Boulevard and Bowles Avenue in south Jeffco.
It’s a story with legs, so to speak. In fact, taxpayers (aided by Clark and 9News) have raised such a stir that even Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has had to defend the use of federal funds on the project.
From 9News:
9Wants to Know asked U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood about the project during a recent interview opportunity provided by White House officials.
LaHood bristled at the suggestion that federal funds were being spent on expensive and unnecessary projects.
“These are hard earned tax dollars and we take serious our responsibility to make sure that the money that we allocate is spent correctly on projects that people want in their communities,” LaHood said.
LaHood’s staff subsequently reached out to 9Wants to Know for more information on the pedestrian bridge project but then did not respond to multiple phone calls offering additional information and seeking comment on federal involvement in the project
The real story here – given Jeffco’s rather unique history of commissioner corruption – isn’t that the commissioners wasted millions of tax dollars on a useless bridge. It’s who convinced them to make that decision.
With a $1.5 million contract awarded to build the bridge, we’re pretty sure Muller Engineering knows the answer. Somebody within the Jefferson County government needs to provide a (real) answer as well.
Clark agrees:
Bauer said an engineering study was done to determine projected usage of the bridge. In emails to concerned taxpayers, Bauer cited the study’s projection of 100 pedestrians/bicyclists per day, not mentioning that the figure was for the year 2030.
The study was conducted by Muller Engineering of Lakewood. In one internal email, Jeffco Transportation and Engineering Director Kevin French says Muller “milked” the project for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
County records indicate that Muller was awarded about $1.6 million in contracts for the entire Wadsworth-Bowles intersection improvement project that, including the pedestrian bridge, totaled $8 to $9 million.
Additionally, two Muller employees are listed on the membership roster of a steering committee that recommended building the bridge. Muller president Robert Carlson denied that his employees were on the steering committee but could not explain why the names of two Muller engineers appear on a steering committee list provided by the county.
In a written statement, Carlson denied “milking” the project for money, as suggested by French.
“Muller Engineering’s involvement in the pedestrian bridge project on Wadsworth Boulevard north of Bowles Avenue came as a result of Jefferson County contracting Muller to provide a feasibility study for the bridge,” Carlson said. “At no time was it Muller’s position to be an advocate for the bridge.”
The final paragraph of the Muller study used to justify the building of the bridge reads in part that the bridge “will provide a viable and desirable transportation enhancement.”
Reached via telephone and asked whether that summary constituted advocacy for the bridge, Carlson hung up the phone
Jeffco’s Transportation and Engineering Director Kevin French best encapsulates the whole situation in noting that that Muller was “milking” the project.
But who helped Muller “milk” the county, and why? Two Muller employees sitting on the committee that ultimately recommended the bridge certainly raises questions about conflicts-of-interest. But considering the historic relationship county commissioners have had with interested third parties when it comes time to divvy out county funds, we’re sure Clark and his team at 9News will start focusing on the conversations Muller had with the Board of Commissioners at the time the bridge was approved.
With former Commissioner Kevin McCasky already having to answer uncomfortable questions about the Jefferson Economic Council and Faye Griffin facing re-election next year, neither could be thrilled that this story is starting to turn heads nationally.
The thing is, though, taxpayers really hate when their money gets wasted. Somebody’s going to have to explain why Muller was awarded such a lucrative contract despite the county’s financial woes. When that explanation is unearthed, we wouldn’t be surprised if it’s just the latest scandal to rock county politics here in Jeffco.
It’s a shocking story, but it’s not surprising. Welcome to Jefferson County.
We highly recommend you check out 9News’ Kyle Clark’s two pieces on Jeffco’s “Bridge to Nowhere” for examples of truly great investigative reporting.
Clark centers his story on the pedestrian bridge located at Wadsworth Boulevard and Bowles Avenue in South Jeffco, which links Southwest Plaza and Bowles Crossing shopping centers. We’ve seen that bridge before, but we’ve never seen anybody actually use it. Neither mall is really vibrant, and we have a creeping suspicion that the bridge will remain standing much longer than the shipping centers it links.
The most bizarre aspect of this story, though, is that Jefferson County can’t even justify the $3 million they spent on the bridge. At least, they can’t justify it privately.
From 9News:
As Jefferson County publicly defended a $3 million pedestrian bridge at Wadsworth Boulevard and Bowles Avenue as a “lasting asset,” the county’s engineer on the project privately acknowledged it was expensive and unnecessary, 9Wants to Know has learned.
Internal emails obtained by 9Wants to Know using Colorado Open Records Act show county officials struggling to justify the pedestrian bridge, completed in the spring of 2011 using a combination of federal and local tax dollars.
The bridge spanning Wadsworth just north of Bowles, connects two aging shopping malls, Southwest Plaza and Bowles Crossing. Some citizens, including resident Gary Michelson, have dubbed it: “The Bridge To, And From, Nowhere.”
When Michelson wrote to county leaders calling the bridge a “terrible waste of funds,” he received a stock answer from project engineer Brad Bauer that was similar to the two-page defense of the project sent to other concerned citizens. In one such response, Bauer writes the bridge will be a “lasting asset” that will “significantly improve the pedestrian safety at the intersection.”
That is not what the county’s point-man on the project was saying behind the scenes.
After an email exchange with Michelson, Bauer emailed his supervisor on June 22 saying he was “having a hard time coming up with any good response,” adding that he could agree with Michelson’s points about “the bridge being an expensive unnecessary expense.”
Just to make it clear: the liaison for the project is unable to respond to constituent complaints about the bridge, because he agrees with them.
Clark interviews Kevin French, with Jeffco’s Transportation and Engineering Department, and French is about as eloquent as Rick Perry in his most recent debate performance. You really have to watch the interview to get the full effect, but French doesn’t really answer any of Clark’s questions. When asked how French’s department can justify, well, their justification of the bridge to concerned taxpayers, French responds “it’s the best we have.” That’s the answer he finally comes to, at least, after first responding that he “wasn’t sure he had a good answer to that.” If you’re a big fan of deer caught in headlights, it’s a must watch.
This is one of the most asinine government decisions we’ve ever seen, and that’s saying something for Jefferson County. $3 million for a bridge? The August 2009 resolution which Clark discusses is even worse: then Commissioners Kevin McCasky and Kathy Hartman voted for it, as did current Commissioner Faye Griffin. They approved an “expenditure of an amount not to exceed $376,600.00 to Muller Engineering Company, Inc. for final design, and additional services as needed.”
Nearly $400,000 for the “final design,” huh? 400 grand for a couple of drawings of a bridge? We assume the “additional services as needed” are in case Muller Engineering ran out of graph paper or erasers.
This is an important story for champions of good, transparent government, of course. But it also carries with it political implications. The folks in south Jeffco – those who see this bridge during their daily commutes – historically support the election of Republicans to the Board of Commissioners. But this same bridge, this “monument of government waste,” was approved with the votes of Republicans Kevin McCasky and Faye Griffin. If the vote on this bridge was before 2008’s election, we’re not sure if McCasky could’ve recovered.
(Keep after ’em, Jason! – promoted by ProgressiveCowgirl) It seems crazy that in Colorado, you won’t necessarily get a ballot in the mail, like other good and decent registered voters, if you missed voting in just one election I haven’t seen much info reported locally on how other states deal with this issue. So I […]
One of the quirks that come in a redistricting year is that the Federal Election Commission is a bit lax on requiring candidates seeking a Congressional office to actually state which office they plan to run for. Take, for example, the case of Democrat Perry Haney, a wealthy Greenwood Village chiropractor who wants to run […]
(Between this and Stapleton’s PERA concern trolling, he set the bar pretty high for his own performance–will they sing Stapleton’s praises come audit time like they did Cary Kennedy? – promoted by Colorado Pols) Just sayin’… From veteran political reporter Ed Sealover at the Denver Business Journal: The audit that has set off a conversation […]
As FOX 31’s Eli Stokols reports: A bill that would have allowed some licensed gun owners to carry their weapons concealed without undergoing a second $150 background check is dead… Rep. Chris Holbert, R-Parker, the bill’s sponsor who already shepherded the bill through the House, referred to the current weapons permit system as a “coat […]
The AP reports today via the Durango Herald: Colorado’s state constitution is confusing and easy to change. New Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper says efforts to revise the state constitution are “a huge issue” – but Hickenlooper isn’t ready to say what he thinks should be done. The governor talked about Colorado’s muddy state constitution in […]
( – promoted by Colorado Pols) Comments accompanying yesterday’s post on the state budget indicate some folks have a hard time sorting through Colorado’s many fiscal constraints — which is completely understandable. We’ve summarized them in a handy two-page pdf that we call The Road to 2011, but we’ll post it here, too. Almost three […]
In case you missed it, there was a great comment from nancycronk in the Friday Jams Fest post last weekend: Shout-out to Dr. J.M. I was in her office yesterday and once again, she asked me questions about Colorado Pols and the people who blog here. She is one of the many lurkers. At the […]
We’re surprised that this bill from Rep. Chris Holbert hasn’t gotten more attention, beyond this report from the Denver Daily News’ Peter Marcus: Written in partnership with pro-gun group Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, House Bill 1205 is being sponsored by freshman Rep. Chris Holbert, R-Parker. It would make it optional to carry a concealed-carry permit… […]
Did I get your attention? Good. Westword front page story last week, “Black and Blue”…. Two friends, one Black, one White. Marijuana in the car. Black kid beaten beyond recognition, White kid given $160 ticket and sent home. Eventually, Landau blacked out. When he came to, he was being dragged out of the bloody gutter. […]
I first encountered him when I was 10. I know this with certainty because it was my fifth grade teacher, Ms. Rosen, who announced one morning, “We’re going to have an Illinois yearling with us today.” I remember a certain sense of wonder: are we having a young calf in class? Within an hour the […]
The county voted for Obama, voted for Bennet, voted for Hickenlooper. voted for Perlmutter, Tyler, Andy Kerr, Jahn.
A good democrat with a good campaign can win here.
So what do we have? At the county level, nobody, nothing, zip, nada.
Is it the candidates? The campaigns? The party leadership?
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