Coming off this weekend's big Republican State Assembly, we have heard both leading Republican candidates for governor -- Dan Maes and Scott McInnis -- declare the repeal of Bill Ritter's union executive order. I think we all get the point of how the policy is a raw deal for Colorado taxpayers. But what about state employees themselves? Enter Dave Ohmart, with his latest report:In a recent incident in Pueblo, Colorado WINS prevented Sgt. Jeff Hotchkiss, of the Department of Corrections, from participating in a vote that would have affected his work schedule. A few union members, very few, voted to make the correction officers’ work schedule 12 hours per day. The sergeant, and pretty much all other officers, were not allowed to … [Read more...]
Search Results for: Bill Ritter executive order
Post Smacks Bill Ritter on Education Reform: What Did You Expect?
Update, 3/5: Better late than never, I guess. At least Ritter has finally named members to his "educator effectiveness" panel, for whatever that's worth. I don't mean to kick a man when he's down, especially when he's biked his way into the hospital with broken ribs. But it was quite the experience to open the virtual pages of the Denver Post this morning and read the lead editorial raking Governor Bill Ritter over the coals for his weak-kneed half-efforts at education reform:The governor's executive order was quite clear: Members of a panel who were to devise ways of linking teacher evaluations to student achievement were to meet on or before March 1. They have not. But don't blame panel members. Gov. Bill Ritter hasn't bothered … [Read more...]
How Bill Ritter Has Made Union Leaders Feel at Home on Taxpayers’ Time
Have any doubts that Ritter's union executive order has made Big Labor feel all cozy at home in state government? The intrepid Colorado Loses team reports on their union counterparts soliciting for members at an official meeting, on taxpayers' time:This past week, WINS organized and held a budget information meeting at the unemployment office. There was some budget guy from the state, there, along with a couple of union thugs. After the budget guy showed us the state of the state economy, a union guy got up and started soliciting for members. “We need to organize in our communities and in our offices.” WINS used a formal budget information format to seek membership. THIS IS INAPPROPRIATE USE OF GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS! … [Read more...]
Bill Ritter Needs Public Shame to Ensure Ethical Disclosures from Cabinet
Yesterday I brought to your attention the fact that Colorado Governor Bill Ritter publicly thanked the Independence Institute -- and speaking of thanks, thankfully no one (to the best of my knowledge) was hurt from overreacting to the shock while driving a vehicle or operating heavy machinery. Read Jessica Corry's new piece in the Denver section of the Huffington Post to find out exactly what sort of ethical shortcoming Bill Ritter had:Ahh, wouldn't it be nice? When you fail to comply with a law, just rewrite it. This is the strategy of Gov. Bill Ritter, a Colorado Democrat and former elected district attorney, who was questioned publicly this week after failing to enforce a major ethics executive order. Under the mandate, put into place … [Read more...]
Call Colorado Ethics Watch: Only One Ritter Cabinet “Conflict of Interest” Report
(H/T Complete Colorado) In his latest edition of Independence Investigates, my colleague Todd Shepherd reports a troubling fact about the Bill Ritter administration:Governor Ritter's office has only one "conflict of interest" report on file for the fifteen members of his cabinet, despite an executive order that requires each and every member of his cabinet to file such a disclosure. With this revelation, it's easy to say now that it hasn't been a great PR day for Ritter. Memo to the governor: Get your cabinet members to file the disclosures, or revoke the order and end the ethical pretense. Simple as that. Hey, why doesn't somebody call Colorado Ethics Watch and see if they'll file an official complaint about this apparent breach of … [Read more...]
Western Slope Pressure Heightens Bill Ritter’s Bad Policy SB 180 Dilemma
As the Grand Junction Sentinel reports today, the day of reckoning draws closer for Colorado Governor Bill Ritter to decide on the bad policy that is SB 180 -- a costly favor to Big Labor. The Sentinel today also editorializes strongly against SB 180 -- using many of the same arguments I've brought forward before, and even one I haven't really emphasized:Strikes would be prohibited under the legislation, but there are no sanctions listed in the bill for those who violate the provision. Now it would seem that Bill Ritter has an opportunity to start mending fences with folks on the Western Slope, where his popularity is low and heckling is a common greeting for him, by vetoing SB 180. He could listen to Grand Junction mayor Bruce Hill, … [Read more...]
Senate Bill 180: Another Big Labor Veto Dilemma for Vulnerable Bill Ritter
Two years ago Governor Bill Ritter came right out of the gate and ran smack into a tough veto choice that caused friction with his Big Labor supporters. Ritter made up for the nixing of House Bill 1072 later in 2007 with an executive order giving union organizers a gold-plated invitation into Colorado state government. Now, to some extent, history is replaying itself. As the Denver Post's John Ingold reports, the choice Bill Ritter is confronted with now is whether to sign or veto the bad policy that is Senate Bill 180. The bogus argument used for SB 180 -- which narrowly passed the Democrat-controlled legislature -- is that firefighters need greater union bargaining rights to ensure they get needed safety equipment. … [Read more...]
Dress Down: Bill Ritter’s Big Idea
Let it never be said that Governor Bill Ritter is not a man of big ideas:In a recent letter to state employees in the state publication Stateline, Ritter talks about the hard economic times and thanks employees for their hard work. He then applauds a stress-reducing move by the Department for Health Care Policy and Financing to extend “‘dress down Fridays’ to every day of the week.†Senator Ted Harvey wondered whether it might be an April Fools Day joke. I'm wondering if it was an idea hatched as the result of his executive order authorizing collective bargaining -- er, employee partnerships. Whatever it is, somehow methinks this wasn't the dressing down being cited by our governor. Five days a week of that would make most … [Read more...]
Ask Colorado LOSES Why the Union Card-Check Bill is Such a Bad Idea
Do you still need more reason to understand why union bosses are so keen on taking away the secret ballot from workplace elections? On the Colorado LOSES website, state employee Dave Ohmart gives an account of his experience trying to attend the Colorado WINS union's rally / lobbying event at the State Capitol on Wednesday:Ryan Webber, a union organizer, immediately came to me and asked, “You’re not going to say anything, are you Dave? I’ll have to toss you out of here if you do.†Another security-type person came over and stood behind me. Ryan then asked, “You’re not going to write more lies about me, are you Dave?†(Don’t think I ever have!) I assured him I was not there to make a scene. Governor Ritter spoke … [Read more...]
Gov. Bill Ritter’s “Slow (Hiring) Freeze” vs. Bill Owens’ Immediate Action
Here's a nice, clear contrast in leadership for you. Last Thursday, Gov. Bill Ritter sent out a press release announcing ways to save state taxpayers money. First on the list:Implementing a hiring freeze for the Executive Branch effective Oct. 1. For those doing the math, that left a few extra days to give all departments notice to fill all open positions. In 2002, then-Gov. Bill Owens, also facing a fiscal crunch, issued an executive order with a similar purpose:Pursuant to C.R.S. § 24-2-102(4), I order a hiring freeze applicable to state government. This hiring freeze is effective immediately. [emphasis added] It will be interesting to see how many last-minute hires came in before Bill Ritter's "slow freeze" went into effect. … [Read more...]
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