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Home Archives for Bob Bacon

5/7/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Peter Groff Departs Denver with Nonpartisan Education Reform Gesture

A month ago I asked which party will miss Democrat Senate President Peter Groff more under Colorado's Golden Dome. Several days ago Senator Nancy Spence told me that Groff's parting gesture as Senate President before heading off to work for the Obama administration in Washington D.C. would be to appoint her -- a Republican -- to an interim committee on school finance. It didn't really surprise me, but I didn't want to spoil the surprise for everyone else either. Then today we learn: … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Education, General, liberty, National Politics, PPC Tagged With: administration, Arne Duncan, Barack Obama, Bob Bacon, Chris Romer, Colorado, Democrat, education reform, golden dome, icing on the cake, interim committee, Josh Penry, kids, missed, Nancy Spence, opportunity, participate, parting gesture, Party, Peter Groff, Republican, school finance, Senate Education Committee, Senate President, successful, surprise, voucher program, Washington DC

2/13/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Gazette Columnist: Democrat Senators Bowing to Plumbers Union Lobby

Last week I brought to your attention an organized labor power play at the State Capitol that shot down a simple effort to make school plumbing inspections more efficient. Today in the Colorado Springs Gazette, guest columnist Daniel Cole tells the story at greater length and offers a forceful conclusion:The unpleasant reality is that Democratic campaigns in Colorado are often financed by unions, so only the strongest Democrats dare defy a union's wishes. Union camaraderie means that a Democrat who votes against a single union can earn a reputation for disloyalty and untrustworthiness. Considering that unions gave [state senators Bob] Bacon and [Evie] Hudak $90,000 for their most recent campaign - [Senator Keith] King's entire war chest … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Education, General, Labor, PPC Tagged With: Bob Bacon, careers, Colorado Springs Gazette, commonsense, conservative, contrast, Daniel Cole, Democrat, Democratic campaigns, efficient, Evie Hudak, federal stimulus package, forceful conclusion, guest columnist, heated debates, Keith King, laid over, legislation, mindless bullying, organized labor, organized plumbing, plumbers, plumbing inspections, power play, pro-liberty, Republican, Rollie Heath, school, simple effort, special interests, state budget crisis, State Capitol, state level, state senator, story, union, votes, welcome addition, whim

2/6/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

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...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Education, General, Labor, PPC Tagged With: Arvada, Big Labor, bill, Bob Bacon, Boulder, buildings, California, chamber, clean-up bill, clout, Colorado, Colorado Senate News, Colorado Springs, committee, cool, Democrats, efficient, Evie Hudak, exchange, flabbergasted, flip-flops, Fort Collins, General Assembly, hearing, inspections, Journeyman Plumbers, Keith King, lobbying, Michigan, New Jersey, opposition, Republican, reserved, Rollie Heath, school districts, school inspections, Senate, Senate Bill 64, Senate Education Committee, sponsor, State Capitol, union, union interests, voting, wow

1/29/2009 By Ben 1 Comment

Colorado Senate Democrats Flee from True School Financial Transparency

Last night I told you about the inspiring testimony of citizens in support of financial transparency for Colorado schools. Today, it was the legislators' turn to do the damage. And damage they did:Senator Bob Bacon introduced an amendment that establishes a “voluntary pilot program” for transparency. It passed and is now on its way to the full floor of the Senate. Senator [Ted] Harvey asked to open up the bill for additional testimony since it had been altered dramatically. Bacon, chair of the committee, said no. Senator Harvey also tried to kill his own bill. Harvey did say he would bring the bill back next year. Bacon, a former educator, used words like “cruel” and “fear” to describe how school districts may respond to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Education, General, PPC Tagged With: amendment, bill, bill sponsor, Bob Bacon, Chris Romer, citizens, Colorado schools, cruel, damage, Evie Hudak, fear, financial transparency, floor, former educator, grassroots army, hide, inspiring testimony, legislators, obligatory quote, online, passed, Peter Groff, respond, Rollie Heath, school districts, searchable format, senator, students, taxpayers, teaching, Ted Harvey, trend, voluntary pilot program

1/28/2009 By Ben 1 Comment

Coloradans, You Can Make a Difference for School Financial Transparency

Update, 1/29: More coverage on Colorado Spending Transparency and Ed News Colorado, as well as a kind link from the Open Records blog. This morning the Colorado Senate Education Committee got a bit of a surprise, it might seem, with a slew of concerned citizens coming forward to testify in support of Senate Bill 57 (PDF) (sponsored by state senator Ted Harvey) - which would bring something akin to full-fledged financial transparency to Colorado public schools. It's unusual to see more than 15 average citizens come forward to testify for a piece of legislation - and rarer yet, to have many of them do so quite eloquently. Most were from the metro Denver area, a couple hailed from Weld County, and one of them drove three hours over the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Christianity and Faith, clean government, Colorado Politics, Education, Fiscal Policy, General, Labor, My Life, PPC Tagged With: against, Arvada, bloggers, Bob Bacon, bureaucrat, centennial, Chris Romer, Colorado, Colorado Association of School Boards, Colorado Association of School Executives, Colorado Open Records Act, Colorado Press Association, Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs School District 11, concerned citizens, corporate executives, cost savings, cripples, David Williams, Denver, Eagle County, eloquently, employee support, everyday apathy, Evie Hudak, financial information, financial transparency, Fort Collins, golden dome, government books, grassroots, Jack Ott, Keith King, legislation, legislative audio, little victory, Littleton, lobbyists, local government officials, metro Denver, Mike Kopp, Nancy Spence, Natalie Menten, online spending database, open government, parents, Peter Groff, political activists, prolonged testimony, proud moment, public eyes, public schools, reconvene, reliable ally, requests, Rollie Heath, searchable database, Senate Bill 57, Senate Education Committee, slew, small business owners, support, surprise, Ted Harvey, testify, Tom Stone, vacation, Weld County

8/15/2008 By Ben 1 Comment

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...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General, Labor Tagged With: Bob Bacon, campaign coordination, Colorado Education Association, Colorado Supreme Court, electioneering laws, Internal Revenue Service, iVoices podcast, labor union, Landmark Legal Foundation, legal complaint, Pete Hutchison, political campaigns, tax-exempt status, union dues

8/6/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Face The State: Colorado Ethics Watch Still in the Tank for Democrats

Face The State calls out Colorado Ethics Watch for its deafening silence on Bill Ritter's admitted campaign violation. But we already knew Colorado Ethics Watch was a partisan tool. Face The State also notes:Additionally, Judge Michelle Norcross took the bizarre step of ordering the Republican who filed the complaint to pay Ritter’s legal fees. Interestingly, Michelle Norcross is the same judge who initially let the teachers union off the hook in its case of campaign coordination with state senator Bob Bacon. Legal ethics reform, anyone? You won't hear Colorado Ethics Watch crowing about that issue - not with the trial lawyers' association sitting on their side of the partisan fence. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Education, General, Labor Tagged With: Bill Ritter, Bob Bacon, campaign coordination, campaign finance violation, Colorado Ethics Watch, Face the State, legal ethics reform, Michelle Norcross, Poudre Education Association, teachers union

6/11/2008 By Ben 1 Comment

Fort Collins Rejects Government Union Advance, Local Dems Given a Pass

Good news from the north. Fort Collins voters have overwhelmingly rejected the costly and ill-advised proposal to mandate collective bargaining and binding arbitration on city employees. Unions are on the move - they have the ear of our Governor "Backroom" Bill Ritter - but the people have spoken out clearly against the expansion of public employee unionism. Meanwhile, a disturbing sidelight: a Fort Collins blogger points out that the local rag couldn't bother to report on a local Republican candidate's outspoken opposition to the measure:Do you mean to tell me that the Coloradoan doesn't believe it's important for the citizens of Fort Collins to know where their candidates stand on public-employee unions? (This is, after all, a major … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General, Labor Tagged With: Bill Ritter, binding arbitration, Bob Bacon, Collective Bargaining, Colorado, Colorado Supreme Court, Fort Collins, Fort Collins Coloradoan, John Kefalas, Matt Fries, Northern Colorado Politics, public employee unionism, Randy Fischer

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About Me

Ben DeGrow
Grateful and growing Christian, devoted husband and father of 3, public policy analyst, returned to Michigan by way of Colorado, conservative writer, lifelong learner, Detroit Tigers fan.

Recent Posts

  • Common Learning Disabilities in Children
  • Tips to Teach Kids to Set and Achieve Goals
  • The Christmas Music Countdown You’ve Been Looking For: 2022 Edition
  • Sleep Deprivation and Parental Controls: How to Ensure Your Kids are Safe from Media Exposure
  • 8 Original Ways To Leverage Influencer Marketing

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Completing the Blogroll

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Rocky Mountain Alliance 2.0

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To Contact Me:
bendegrow-at-gmail.com

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