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Bill Ritter Leaving a Trail of Legal Defense Fund Victims in His Wake

Greg Kolomitz, once upon a time the campaign manager for Gov. Bill Ritter, is now embroiled in a bitter legal showdown with his former boss over campaign violations totaling $300,000 (or more). Interestingly, Kolomitz's laptop computer (containing relevant, important records) disappeared under mysterious circumstances just as the story went public. Now the Denver Post reports that Greg Kolomitz now is raising money to defend himself legally against alleged "false accusations," apparently made by Bill Ritter:The e-mail plea never mentions Ritter by name, but leaves no doubt about who the family thinks is responsible for the "false" accusations that led to an ongoing investigation of Kolomitz. "We have found ourselves in a legal battle … [Read more...]

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Bob Ewegen’s Crocodile Tears for GOP Ironically Show Need for Right-to-Work

Liberal Denver Post editorialist Bob Ewegen wants readers to believe he is really concerned about the plight of the Republican Party, so he sends us this warning:...[U]nions are enjoying something of a revival in Colorado, especially in the public sector, and they are a vital source of political volunteers and campaign funds. That's why spitting in labor's face in the name of "right to work" may well awaken the sleeping giant of the Colorado union movement in 2008 just as it did a half-century ago — with similar woeful results to the GOP. Bob Ewegen is cloaking his antipathy for workplace freedom in the garb of concern for the Grand Old Party's political welfare. While it's unclear how well Amendment 47 will fare at the ballot box … [Read more...]

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Vince Chowdhury Should Resign Both the School Board and House Race

There is an interesting contrast in two blog commentaries on the recent story of Vince Chowdhury, the Jefferson County Board of Education member and Democrat state house candidate who allegedly choked his daughter in a recent incident reported by The Columbine Courier. He denied the choking, but admitted to losing his temper and slapping her. In any case, Chowdhury was arrested for domestic violence. Denise at Colorado Charter Schools makes the adamant point that Vince Chowdhury should resign from the school board:Elected officials responsible for making decisions on behalf of children must adhere to high moral standards. They act on behalf of tens of thousands of children every day. Our children are too precious to have someone with … [Read more...]

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Wrangling Colorado Center-Right Blogs

Hooray, a positive - and promising - development in Colorado's center-right blogosphere has emerged. The conservative-leaning news site Face The State announces its "Blog Wrangler". The Wrangler features some of the latest posts on this page. It doesn't update as quickly as the Rocky Mountain Alliance feed (see sidebar of any member's page), but then again it's more attractively laid out and covers a broader collection of blogs. Face The State also has what looks like a comprehensive list of Colorado center-right bloggers - I'll have to compare it to my own blogroll some time. Several of us bloggers out here are glad to see Face The State take on this complementary role, even if we wished it had come sooner. (But "don't look … [Read more...]

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Bill Ritter’s Fox News Stumble May Point to Bigger Problems Lurking

Rocky Mountain Right has posted a video from last night's Bill O'Reilly Show that demonstrates Colorado Governor Bill Ritter isn't ready for primetime:Bill Ritter recently was approached by a Fox News reporter asking a simple question about sex offender laws. Ritter proceeded to stammer, become visibly frustrated, and try to escape as soon as possible. Other Governors approached with the same question (Butch Otter of Idaho and Dave Freudenthal of Wyoming) performed far better and calmly responded. The observation is correct: Bill Ritter sure doesn't look ready for primetime in this video. But maybe there's another explanation, or some sort of mitigating circumstances that haven't been explored. The stresses and frustrations could … [Read more...]

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Mark Hillman’s Turn to Ask Taxpayers’ Nagging Question for Bill Ritter

In a column for the Sterling Journal-Advocate, newly elected Republican National Committeeman Mark Hillman (be ready to be greeted by his smiling face) asks the nagging question on the minds of many Colorado taxpayers:Is it typical political spin or something more tangible that makes Gov. Bill Ritter so incredibly confident that the Colorado Supreme Court will vindicate his strategy to raise your property taxes without your permission? If you get a chance, read the whole thing. Last week I similarly asked what Bill Ritter knows about the court's coming ruling that makes him so confident to wager taxpayer money on the previous ruling being overturned. I'll second Mark Hillman's question, but I'm not very confident the governor is … [Read more...]

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Mark Udall’s Dishonesty about 9/11 and Other Recent SvU Blog Highlights

Today at the Schaffer v Udall blog, I gladly take the opportunity to quickly correct a small mistake while getting another chance to emphasize a major point:As the National Republican Senatorial Committee documented well, it took Mark Udall two-and-a-half years after 9/11 to drop his co-sponsorship of the Department of Peace: March 17, 2004. Coincidentally, though, it came one week after he first announced he was running for U.S. Senate. Does anyone still want to argue credibly that he changed his position on the issue because of 9/11? Or is it much clearer now that the move is part of Boulder liberal Mark Udall's careful calculation to remake his image as he runs for statewide office? You can read the whole thing here. Other recent … [Read more...]

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Bob Ewegen Uses Less Than Complete Facts to Attack Right-to-Work

In his weekend column, liberal Denver Post editorialist Bob Ewegen carried the water for Big Labor leaders who are working to undermine Colorado's Right-to-Work initiative. Once you move past his weak attempt at irony, you find problems with the facts he chose to use to make his case:If you're lucky enough to find a job at all, the only right the Coors plan gives you is the right to work for less. Quite a bit less, actually. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that an average worker in the 22 states with right-to-work laws earns about $7,131 a year less than workers in free bargaining states ($30,656 versus $37,787). Nationwide, union members earn $9,308 a year more than non-union workers, $41,652 versus $32,344. These facts … [Read more...]

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Bill Ritter: MORE Campaign Violations?

From KRDO in Colorado Springs:Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter has notified prosecutors that more spending violations have been uncovered from his 2006 campaign, and that a former aide has written his campaign a check for $10,340 to correct the problem. Sure, it's not as much as the $200,000+ illegally spent out of Bill Ritter's inaugural fund that got him into hot water in the first place. But every time another one of these campaign violations trickles out - or word spreads that a computer with key facts pertaining to the investigation conveniently disappeared - it further calls into question the governor's leadership. If Bill Ritter can't provide oversight to his own campaign funds, how can he provide oversight to the state budget and … [Read more...]