It's not often I break news on this site, but just remember it was reported here first: As of today, the entirety of Colorado state government is officially unionized. Previously, the "Colorado WINS" union coalition won the right to represent six of eight occupational groups in state government - despite being outvoted by the "don't give a crap" coalition. While political junkies in Colorado await the results of candidate primary campaigns, results from mail-in ballot elections for the final two occupational groups of Colorado state government were counted and tabulated today. Via an email from the state labor department, here are the results (which should be posted here shortly):Financial Services Group: Colorado WINS was successful in … [Read more...]
A Different Perspective on Metro Denver School District Bond Elections
When 9News reporter Nelson Garcia wanted a different perspective on school district bond elections, he asked to interview me. If you want to see the video - or just read it in print so to avoid having to look at me - the story is here:Ben DeGrow is the education policy analyst for the Education Policy Center within the Independence Institute, which is a conservative political think tank. DeGrow says too many middle class families are coping with high gas prices and a poor real estate market to think about raising their own property taxes for schools. "This may be a tough year for JeffCo and other metro school districts to be asking for money," said DeGrow. JeffCo is just one of the major districts around Denver poised to ask voters … [Read more...]
Jeff Crank for Congress
Admittedly I haven't followed the Republican primary in Colorado's 5th Congressional District too closely. But I have paid enough attention to know that Jeff Crank is the candidate most worthy of support. A friend e-mailed me to say that, given the positive effect of my endorsement on Wil Armstrong's candidacy, I also ought to come forward and publicly endorse Jeff Crank, too. Some of the reasons are the same - the need for fresh, outside business experience and leadership in the halls of Congress. But Crank also has a clear and principled stand against earmarks and pork (of the costly government variety), and would stand up for taxpayers not only with his words and his votes, but also with his actions. I am proud to officially … [Read more...]
Union Leaders Push Economy-Busting Initiatives to Make Election Interesting
Face The State reports that Big Labor interests are about ready to turn in their signatures on four ballot initiatives that would bust Colorado's economy. You know, it's union leaders' way of protesting Amendment 47, aka Right-to-Work, which would prevent the forced collection of union fees from non-members. Setting aside the Presidential race and even the U.S. Senate showdown between Bob Schaffer and Boulder liberal Mark Udall, this may be a very interesting election season in Colorado yet. … [Read more...]
Turn That Thermostat Up: Remedial Education in Bill Ritter’s Climate Plan
From the Examiner:Saving energy may not be so easy after all. A television commercial featuring Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter was meant to show viewers how easy it is to save energy, but it showed Ritter using more, not less. The original, which aired for weeks, showed Ritter turning a thermostat down from 72 degrees to 68. But during the summer, that means the air conditioner would work harder - and use more energy. I would need to see this commercial to believe it. Apparently, some remedial education is needed as part of Gov. Ritter's "Climate Action Plan". Bill Ritter would have known he couldn't turn his thermostat down to 68 if Barack Obama had been on his shoulder: … [Read more...]
Despite Ambiguities, Plan to Clean Up No-Bid Contracts Merits Support
The Rocky Mountain News reports about another citizens' initiative that may be on its way for Colorado voters to decide this November:Backers of a proposal to bar no-bid government contractors from contributing to political candidates submitted more than 125,000 signatures to the state Wednesday.... Colorado state government granted more than $386 million in contracts without taking competitive bids over the past year, said Tom Lucero, campaign chairman of Clean Government Colorado. This practice drives up the price of services, and current law that lets these contractors pad the campaign accounts of officials who may award the contracts creates tremendous cynicism among voters, said Lucero, a University of Colorado regent. Like … [Read more...]
Hear Bill Owens, Hank Brown Endorse Amendment 49 on Colorado Ballot
Two of Colorado's most respected political heavy hitters - former Gov. Bill Owens and elder statesman former U.S. Senator Hank Brown both have endorsed Amendment 49 (Ethical Standards Initiative) on the November ballot:Government should not be the bagman for special interests. Amendment 49 will prohibit governments from bundling money from public employees' paychecks and delivering the cash to special interests who use it to lobby politicians. Government should be using our tax dollars to provide crucial public services, not to funnel money to political organizations. Amendment 49 keeps lobbyists in line. Bill Owens gave a thumbs-up to Ethical Standards when he guest-hosted the Mike Rosen Show last week: Listen to the audio here. You … [Read more...]
Colorado Education Association Reports Zero Dollars Spent on Politics?
The Colorado Supreme Court may have given the Colorado Education Association (CEA) a pass from the state's electioneering laws, but the Landmark Legal Foundation has taken the same evidence to file a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service that the union violated its tax-exempt status. In other words, CEA spent members' general dues money on union employees to coordinate political campaigns but reported zero dollars spent on politics to the IRS. Listen to Landmark's Pete Hutchison tell the story on this newly-released iVoices podcast. … [Read more...]
Live-Blogging First Campaign Debate between Bob Schaffer and Mark Udall
Today I'm taking a few personal hours from work to go cover the first debate of Colorado's 2008 U.S. Senate campaign. Hopefully, El Presidente and I will be live-blogging the event between Bob Schaffer and Mark Udall over at the Schaffer v Udall blog. Doors open to the public at 9:30 AM local time, with the debate scheduled to take place from 10:00 to 11:00 AM. … [Read more...]
Colorado’s Initiative Deadline Today
In Colorado, today is the last day initiative proponents can hand over their signatures to the Secretary of State to certify measures on November's statewide ballot. By the end of the day, we should have a fairly clear idea of how crowded the ballot will be -- though we have to await the roughly two-week certification process. Currently, the ballot contains: Amendment 46, the Colorado Civil Rights Initiative Amendment 47, the Right-to-Work Amendment Amendment 48, the Personhood Amendment Amendment 49, the Ethical Standards Initiative Another measure to clean up the government contracting process turned in more than 120,000 signatures a few days ago, and figures to make the ballot, too - likely as Amendment 50. Last week we … [Read more...]
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