This morning's must-read for Colorado political junkies ... Face The State digs beneath the public relations stunt that was Gov. Bill Ritter's public feedback email address to help him determine who should be the next Secretary of State:The responses were overwhelmingly in support of [former state senator Ken] Gordon, who received 1,815 votes on a ProgressNow informal online poll. [Former House Speaker Andrew] Romanoff came in second with 632 votes,while [now-Secretary of State Bernie] Buescher trailed with 173 votes. Of the nearly 100 e-mails made public by Ritter's administration (constituents must specifically waive their right to confidential communication), nearly 90 percent favored Gordon. Not that popularity is the best … [Read more...]
More GOP Candidates Enter the Arena
It's January 2009. 'Tis the season for candidates to throw their hat into the ring. Face The State breaks the news that conservative Denver election attorney Scott Gessler has filed the paperwork to run as a Republican candidate for Secretary of State in 2010. Keep up with all Colorado's announced Republican candidates for public office in 2010 at Rocky Mountain Right's official listing. In local Republican Party news, blogger and recent state legislative candidate Joshua Sharf has announced he's running on a ticket to serve on the Denver County Republican executive committee. Even better, he has a plan. Are there more people in counties across the state working along the same lines to improve the Republican Party? I certainly hope so. … [Read more...]
Bill Ritter Publicly Endorses Posting State Check Register Online
Update: Colorado Spending Transparency has a similar response about the devil being in the details. Read the post to get a sense of just what some of those details might be. Face The State's report was correct: During his State of the State speech, just a moment ago, Gov. Bill Ritter announced he would back the Republican plan to post the state government's check register online. It's good to see transparency go forward as a non-partisan effort. The governor's announcement foresees a landmark moment for Colorado government, one that promises to empower the citizens of the state. The city of Fort Collins has set the standard for transparency. With the state moving forward, too, now it would be good to see other local governments - … [Read more...]
Democrat Moe Keller Happy to Spend Your Money While Spending is Good
Hey, Colorado, guess what? Leave the Democrats in charge in your state for too long, and taste the fruits of bad fiscal judgment. Witness this Face The State story about my own state senator:Audio from April 3 uncovered by Face The State reveals Sen. Moe Keller, a Wheat Ridge Democrat and chairwoman of the Joint Budget Committee, optimistically arguing that Colorado’s economic future is a bright one, even though Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke predicted on that same day the country was headed into a recession. "We do not have a projection from our economists that we are going into a fiscal train wreck," she said. Moe Keller and her fellow Democrats at the State Capitol are just happy to spend your money while the spending is … [Read more...]
Questions Linger as Colorado Supremes Sit on Ritter Tax Hike Decision
The Colorado Department of Education (CDE) and Governor Bill Ritter are defendants in a case filed by the Independence Institute (disclosure: where I work) and numerous aggrieved taxpayers over a 2007 law that raised property taxes without a proper vote of the people, as required by the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights. Denver District Court Judge Christine Habas came down on the side of the people nearly seven months ago, but the Colorado Supreme Court has been silent since - despite reasonable expectations that critical tax revenue issues be addressed in a timely manner. As Face The State reports, CDE needs the Supreme Court to "hurry up":In June, Ritter, a defendant alongside CDE, appealed the decision to the state's highest court. Oral … [Read more...]
Blog Talk Radio Links
The following are links to odds and ends I mentioned this evening as co-host of the Rocky Mountain Alliance Blog Talk Radio show: Neal Gabler's ironic Los Angeles Times column on Joe McCarthy and the American conservative movement: a true "triumph of the American imagination" Historian Arthur Herman's sage insights into lessons America should take from the grim Islamist terrorist attacks last week in India Chicago Tribune editorial from 2006 justifying jeers for U.S. Senator Dick Durbin's attempt to secure a pardon for corrupt former Republican Gov. George Ryan - in particular, the tragic but inspiring story of the Willis family - featured in the Tribune editorial - is worth a read And, of course, thanks to guest Todd Bensman - check … [Read more...]
What Does It Really Take To Be Colorado’s Next Secretary of State?
Via Face The State, judging by the plethora of applicants for Colorado's Secretary of State job, perhaps I should have sent in a resume myself. I've never taught yoga, played lacrosse, or met Ross Perot, but what the heck? You can cast your own vote for which one of the 20 applicants is most deserving of Bill Ritter's appointment as the next Secretary of State. Too bad for you and me. We missed our chance at statewide office after yesterday's deadline. … [Read more...]
Colorado’s Amendment 47 Poster Child Living High off Workers’ Dues
Face The State reports on the poster child for Amendment 47:Ernest Duran, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7, paid himself and two of his children combined salaries of over $430,000 in 2007. Duran collected a salary of $162,368 for 2007, according to records with the U.S. Department of Labor. Two of Duran's children also work for the UFCW Local 7. His daughter Crisanta Duran, an associate counsel, pulled in $133,410 in 2007. His son, Ernie Duran, III, earned $134,378 in 2007 as an executive staffer. According to Salary.com, a Denver-area grocery cashier can earn about $24,377 annually, an assistant manager at the same store earns approximately $48,950, and a store manager earns about $66,800 a year. The … [Read more...]
Krista Kafer’s New Face The State Column Brings Needed Perspective
My Leadership Program of the Rockies (LPR) classmate, sometimes Backbone America radio co-host, and Independence Institute senior fellow Krista Kafer debuted a weekly Face The State column today. Here's the timely conclusion of this first installment:Special interests that have much to gain from the demise of Amendments 47 and 49 are funneling millions of dollars into the election. Slick campaigns from candidates and groups lure voters with the promise to “Protect Colorado’s Future.†The advocacy groups, leftist candidates, and sadly, even the media, are banking on the public’s fears for the economy to turn the election in their favor. Unfortunately, conservatives and libertarians have had trouble articulating what’s at stake. … [Read more...]
Do You Think Maybe Political Yard Sign Theft Has Gotten Out of Hand?
(Face The State) Do you think maybe the sign stealing has gotten a bit out of hand? This kind of repeated vandalous behavior has all the trademarks of *union goon activity. Hey, union goons, don't pretend like you don't know what I'm talking about. Less than a week. Take a deep breath. It will all be over soon. (*Of course, there are fiends and idiots on all sides of the political spectrum who pilfer political signs off people's private property. But I come from Michigan. No one is as skilled and prolific at this sort of activity as the union goons.) … [Read more...]
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