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Bill Ritter Might Wish $250,000 Had Covered Misspent Campaign Debt

The Denver Post's Politics West today reports about recent corporate contributions to Denver's Democratic National Convention:Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter "wrote a thank-you note to Chicago Democratic donor Fred Eychaner for his $250,000 contribution, and got Safeway and Amgen on board in a trip to Washington." Bill Ritter must be wishing it could be easy to find that much money to cover his campaign - er, inaugural committee - debt. With more than enough money left over to fund an investigation to find the conveniently vanished computer potentially containing key evidence about Ritter's campaign fund scandal. If you were hoping for real analysis of the Democratic National Convention, then stop by Slapstick Politics. … [Read more...]

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John LeGrew, Who Are You?

If you want to know how bad a state the national Republican Congressional campaign is in, look no further than my own backyard: Colorado's 7th Congressional District. Once a nationally targeted toss-up swing district defended by Republican incumbent Bob Beauprez, the GOP cannot find anything approaching a credible candidate to square off against the first-time Democrat incumbent Ed Perlmutter. According to the Colorado Statesman handed out at Saturday's Republican State Convention, the GOP's candidate for the 7th is none other than (drumroll, please) ... John LeGrew. "No information was available to the Party as of press time," it reads under his picture. No offense or anything, I'm sure Mr. LeGrew is a nice guy and all. But just who … [Read more...]

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NEA Endorses Obama, Giving the Rest of Us a Reason to Vote McCain

Did you need a reason not to vote for Barack Obama? Perhaps need a reason to vote for John McCain? If I'm not convinced already, this press release from the National Education Association sure helps to push me in that direction:National Education Association President Reg Weaver announced today that he will ask the 9,000 locally elected delegates to the Association's Representative Assembly to take a formal vote to recommend that NEA's 3.2 million members support Barack Obama in his bid to become President of the United States.... The contrast between Obama and McCain on issues that matter most to NEA members – the economy, education and health care – is indeed stark. Obama opposes using public tax dollars to provide financial … [Read more...]

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Bill Ritter Could Be Left All Alone to Defend His Property Tax Increase

From Face The State today:While Gov. Bill Ritter has eagerly insisted that he will appeal a Friday court ruling establishing that a mill levy freeze amounts to an unconstitutional tax increase under Colorado law, members of the state Board of Education, a defendant in the case, remain undecided about whether they will formally join in support of Ritter's challenge. It appears the District Court ruling may have emboldened the two Republicans on the State Board to change their mind. The Board meets in executive session tomorrow:Vice Chairman Bob Schaffer, R-Fort Collins, introduced in April a motion for the board to take a formal position, by way of public vote, on whether the department would “defend the lawsuit or [agree with] the … [Read more...]

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Closing the Loop on Labor Union Disclosure of Member Dues Money

Union members in Colorado and across the nation stand to gain from newly proposed federal rules that would provide a clearer picture of how union leaders are spending their hard-earned dues money. If you're a glutton for punishment, there's the official 103-page document with the new rules. For the rest of us, compliments of the Public Service Research Foundation, there is a layman's version of the new pro-worker rules:They require that unions specify the costs of benefits being provided to officers and employees. Under the present system the cost of benefits is only reported as one big lump sum. The new regulations will allow union members to see how much they are paying in benefits for each officer and employee. This will … [Read more...]

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Bill Ritter and the Democrats’ Senate Bill 200 Also Bad for Business

I haven't written much about Senate Bill 200, so-called "anti-discrimination" legislation, recently signed into law by Gov. Bill Ritter. But I certainly took notice when libertarian Ross Kaminsky assailed it in his latest Human Events column:In the quadrennial marathon to see who can be the nation’s worst governor, Colorado’s Bill Ritter is in a full sprint. On Thursday, Ritter signed Senate Bill 200 which expands “anti-discrimination” law to cover sexual orientation, meaning not only homosexuality or bisexuality, but also “transgender status or another person’s perception thereof.” The bill is so ripe for abuse and creates so much risk for private business that it’s no surprise the ordinarily media-hungry Ritter signed … [Read more...]

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Hillary Supporter Lashes Out at Obama, Democrats; Promises McCain Victory

As much as Republicans are less than enthusiastic about their Presidential nominee, a video like this helps to confirm my suspicions that the Democrats have bigger problems: The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza has more details here on what exactly made this woman and so many other Hillary supporters angry. Clinton's overwhelming primary win in Puerto Rico doesn't add any more clarity - or confidence -to the Democrat nomination picture. … [Read more...]

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Professional Teacher Organization Leader Condemns Denver “Sick-Outs”

In a letter at the Denver Post, the executive director of the Professional Association of Colorado Educators (PACE) offers his opinion about the recent "sick-outs" in Denver Public Schools:It is disheartening to see some Denver teachers abandon the children they teach, instead choosing to participate in “sick-outs” and “park-outs” to protest the district’s generous and unprecedented offer. Sadly, for these individuals the education of children is not a priority. Districts and communities deserve the opportunity to invest in hard-working, quality teachers who are committed to educational excellence and should be able to reward teachers for the important work they do. Teachers deserve an association which promotes the … [Read more...]