Good news heading into the weekend: School district financial transparency is still alive at the Colorado State Capitol. Also, the Denver Post's Jessica Fender highlighted my recent Independence Institute report (PDF) in an article on the topic today. The fight led by citizens and state senator Ted Harvey, R-Highlands Ranch, for Senate Bill 57 (PDF) and shining the light on school spending resumes Monday. From the Greeley Tribune:“I anticipate it will be a very close vote — one vote either way — to take it back to mandatory,†said Harvey, before continuing later, “I am encouraged by the conversations I’ve been having with the senators.†Keep your chin up, and don't forget to remind your taxpayer-supported … [Read more...]
Unions Lobby State Democrats to Slow Down School Building Inspections
Who's in charge at the Colorado State Capitol these days? Big Labor:A bill whose only aim was to make it easier for local school districts to get their new buildings inspected was blindsided today on the Senate floor by union-led opposition, with all but two of the chamber's Democrats voting to kill the measure. Three of the Democrats who voted with the majority against Senate Bill 64 [PDF]--Sens. Bob Bacon, of Fort Collins, Rollie Heath, of Boulder, and Evie Hudak, of Arvada--had voted in favor of it in the Senate Education Committee only two weeks earlier. What changed their minds? The bill's sponsor, the GOP's Sen. Keith King, of Colorado Springs, says it was the fact that the Journeyman Plumbers and Gas Fitters Union began lobbying … [Read more...]
Is This How John Sweeney Will Convince Michael Bennet to Kill the Secret Ballot?
Courtesy of Hot Air, a great video exposing the hypocrisy and dubious logic behind Big Labor's poorly-named Employee Free Choice Act: Of course, the removal of the secret ballot process from workplace elections only presents the more sensational half of the problems posed by this legislation. Costly binding arbitration makes up the other half. But if AFL-CIO president John Sweeney of all people can't tell you why the secret ballot should go (but liberal icon George McGovern can tell you why not), isn't the case rather clear cut? All eyes are on Colorado's newly-selected U.S. Senator Michael Bennet to see where he comes down on this issue. … [Read more...]
My 2.5 Minutes on KOA’s Morning Show – Taxpayer-Friendly School Reform
Yesterday morning I made a hit-and-run appearance on Colorado's Morning News (850 KOA) to discuss a couple simple education reform ideas in the context of announced state budget cutbacks and the so-called federal "stimulus" bill. Thanks to producer Jason Borgmann, here's the audio: Not quite as delirious as I thought I sounded at 7:00 AM. Clearly, this wasn't the medium for going in-depth and really tackling subject matter, but I think I got a couple provocative points across. … [Read more...]
Colorado Democrats Working Hard to Become the Party of Toll Roads
Update, 8:50 PM: 19 Democrats voted for the taxes and tolls in the transportation bill. Lefties are in turmoil, with some angry that the Dems are responsible for passing a regressive tax. Yesterday I asked if Colorado Democrats would try to overreach in sticking taxpayers for state transportation costs. It didn't take long to see where the ruling party at the State Capitol stands. In a bizarre about-face, the Democrats decided to toss bipartisan compromise out the window to push a provision that would allow tolling on some of Colorado's busiest highways:Republicans and a handful of Democrats first voted to remove provisions allowing local authorities to toll existing roads. After a break in the debate, the bill sponsor and Democratic … [Read more...]
Cast Your Non-Binding Vote for 2010 U.S. Senate GOP Candidate
Rocky Mountain Right has posted a great straw poll that's just begging your participation. You have until noon on Wednesday, February 11, to vote for your favorite potential GOP candidate to challenge the newly-selected Michael Bennet for Colorado's U.S. Senate seat in 2010. As of this posting, Mark Hillman and Ryan Frazier are deadlocked at 42 percent each. Bob Beauprez lags the pack at 12 percent, while Bentley Rayburn barely registers at 4 percent. … [Read more...]
Jon Henke’s Advice: Keep Our Eyes on The Real Problem Before Us
If you really want to engage in a serious debate about how to implement free market conservative policy solutions with a practical eye on messaging and political coalition building, then you ought to be reading what Jon Henke has to say. Be prepared: you won't get a rosy-eyed view or a mealy-mouthed answer. I appreciated what Jon wrote yesterday about a Republican response to the growing push toward government-sponsored universal health care (Tom Daschle's distracting tax problems aside). I'm not interested in the particularities of the health care debate right now, but if you are, might I recommend you check out the following: Patient Power WE Stand Firm State Policy Network blog However, it's Henke's conclusion that … [Read more...]
Will Colorado Democrats Overreach on Sticking Taxpayers for Transportation?
As we discussed on last night's Blog Talk Radio show with the Grand Junction Sentinel's Mike Saccone (to listen to a recording, you can go to the sidebar or directly to the RMA page) - the fight over transportation dollars is the big story brewing at the State Capitol. Senate minority leader Josh Penry and the Republicans say their proposals haven't been taken seriously in negotiations and are willing to let the Democrats own measures like the unpopular interstate highway tolls and the controversial Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) fee. Reasonable compromise is part of lawmakers' job, but I hope that conservatives in the House demand a little more from Governor Bill Ritter and the majority Democrats. Namely, the legislature needs to … [Read more...]
Another Landmark Day for Colorado Citizens Fighting for Open Government
Today was another landmark day in the struggle for open, transparent government spending in Colorado. On CBS4 Denver, the Associated Press reports:About 30 people turned out at the state Capitol Tuesday to show their support for a bill from Sen. Ted Harvey, R-Highlands Ranch, which originally would have required such reports to be posted monthly in a searchable database. [link added] A memorable line from the bill sponsor:"If you can't defend it, don't spend it," Harvey said, echoing one of the slogans on the signs at the group's rally. Where have I seen that phrase before? … [Read more...]
RMA Blog Talk Radio at 8:30: Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, Mike Saccone
Tune in starting at 8:30 PM local Mountain Time this evening for the 12th edition of Rocky Mountain Alliance Blog Talk Radio as we launch headlong into February 2009. Tonight's scheduled guests are Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, vice president of research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, and the Grand Junction Sentinel's ace political reporter and blogger Mike Saccone. Don't forget. If you miss the live broadcast of tonight’s show, you can go back and download the podcast, or just use the handy widget on my sidebar to listen directly from Mount Virtus. … [Read more...]
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