Nearing the middle of September, it’s about seven weeks until Election Day. And in many counties ballots will start going out weeks before November 2. One oft-overlooked piece of the electoral puzzle comes down to which party will have control of Colorado’s state legislature for the next two years — a critical piece of setting state policy and the next round of Congressional re-districting. Today is Mount Virtus’ final big picture look at the 2010 state senate races before Election Day.
First, a little overview. The Colorado State Senate has 35 seats, with senators serving up to two four-year terms. Democrats currently hold a 21-14 majority. Roughly half of the 35 districts are up for election in any given cycle. In 2010, Colorado voters in 19 districts will decide who represents them in the upper chamber of the state legislature.
Of the 19 seats up for grabs, 11 are held by Democrats and 8 by Republicans. Of the 8 Republican-held seats, 1 has no opponent and 6 more are non-competitive. Of the 11 Democrat-held seats, 1 has no opponent and 4 others are essentially non-competitive (with the caveat that in this wild election year, I would not be terribly surprised to see one of the “non-competitive” seats flip).
The formula I use for the rankings is based on a district’s latest reported active voter registration numbers, the most recent campaign finance reports (factoring both cash on hand and total contributions from the last reporting period that covers the month of August), incumbency status and intangible factors from media reports. Here then are the most competitive state senate races ranked in order they are likely to switch party control: (more…)
Now nine years past, the pain of September 11, 2001, seems like such a distant memory. But as always, the anniversary ought to be honored and observed — in compassion for those most directly affected, in humble gratitude for noble sacrifices, in righteous resolve for peace through strength, in eternal vigilance for God’s great gift of liberty. Take a moment today to pause and remember.
Earlier this week Fox News’ Ed Barnes featured a story, “Accident Victims Being Hit Again — With ‘Crash Taxes’.” You know what I’m talking about, the ordinances adopted in some cities to impose fines on non-resident motorists for getting in an accident. It’s become a growing trend nationally, as tax revenues have taken a hit during the current recession.
As Barnes details, sometimes municipalities contract with debt collection services to go after accident victims for money: (more…)
I recently reported on the Department of Defense (DoD) denying Ritter-appointed Colorado Secretary of State Bernie Buescher’s request for a waiver from the law requiring ballots be sent out to military personnel no later than 45 days before the general election.
Less widely reported has been Buescher’s call to address the problem by urging the legislature to move Colorado’s primary election earlier on the calendar. Based on the waiver request sent to the DoD, it looks like the Democratic official would like to see the primary moved up 7 weeks — from August 14 to June 26 in the upcoming 2012 election year. Of course, a change in the law would have an impact on the timing of the caucus and assembly process. (Statewide assemblies would have to be held by April 10.)
Is the question of whether to move up Colorado’s election calendar a viable campaign issue for the Secretary of State’s race? It’s easy for it to get lost in the clutter of a lot of campaign issues, some more serious than others. But why not? After all, maybe there is (or was) another solution to comply with the MOVE Act and ensure Colorado military personnel are able to receive and return their ballots in a timely manner. (more…)
Complete Colorado broke a story late last night that adds another twist to the governor’s race — specifically tying Democratic candidate John Hickenlooper and the Chinook Fund he founded to timely financial support of the “Transform Columbus Day Alliance” and its 2007 Denver protests that led to 83 arrests. Featuring a somewhat disturbing original picture, Complete Colorado notes:
The 2007 Columbus Day Parade protests included bloodied fake babies in the streets.
The Complete Colorado report helps provide a snapshot of how donating to “Transform Columbus Day Alliance” type groups causes these kinds of spectacle leads to real-life trouble for city officials and taxpayers.
They also contributed to fears that led Denver officials to prepare for worst-case scenarios that racked up big expenses.
Stories like this one help to answer the question: Why is Hickenlooper hiding from Caplis and Silverman? But given the revelation, don’t you think it’s time for the Denver mayor to provide some more transparency about his history of charitable giving? It’s not asking too much.
…Hank Brown, a former U.S. senator and former University of Colorado president, withdrew his endorsement, setting off a domino effect not only among prominent Republicans, but Maes’ core, grassroots base.
Tea Party leaders across the state today said in often harsh terms that they wanted Maes to drop out….
The WhoSaidYouSaid crew is on a roll of late. Witness the following footage of my soon-to-be-retired liberal Democratic Congressman Ed Perlmutter extolling the virtues of the death tax:
What happens when the union becomes management? Just wanted to bring your attention to a couple of recent stories that highlight two different ironic approaches to their separate labor situations:
Take the hard line in staff bargaining negotiations: Mike Antonucci of the Education Intelligence Agency (EIA) reports on the plight of the Ohio Education Association — whose employees today went on strike against the state teachers union
Contract picketing duty to non-union workers at minimum wage: Christine Hall of the Competitive Enterprise Institute highlights a new video of CEI’s Vincent Vernuccio crashing a carpenters’ union protest in Washington, D.C., only to find the picketers marching and chanting in the August humidity were non-union
Hey, you can’t make this stuff up. Great work as usual by EIA and CEI.
Now nine years past, the pain of September 11, 2001, seems like such a distant memory. But as always, the anniversary ought to be honored and observed — in compassion for those most directly affected, in humble gratitude for noble sacrifices, in righteous resolve for peace through strength, in eternal vigilance for God’s great gift of liberty. Take a moment today to pause and remember.
