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Home Archives for Jefferson County

4/16/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Good News, Bad News Today at Colorado State Capitol

This morning, good news comes from the Colorado State Capitol: the state house approved House Bill 1288 (PDF), the Colorado Taxpayer Transparency Act, by the overwhelming margin of 61-4. This legislation will create a detailed online searchable database of state government revenues and expenditures. The bad news? Among the four (all Democrats) voting against open government are my own representative Sara Gagliardi and Gwyn Green, also from Jefferson County. Rest assured, I will do my part to make it known their No votes will not be forgotten. And I will be watching how the senate votes, as well. In other bad news, Senate Bill 180 (PDF) squeaked past the finish line in the state senate, 18-17. This union-backed bill is bad for a host … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, Labor, liberty, PPC Tagged With: bad news, bill, Bill Ritter, Colorado, consequences, costly, Democrats, desk, difference, elections, expenditures, fail, finish line, good news, good sense, Governor, Gwyn Green, House, House Bill 1288, intrusive, Jefferson County, Jim Isgar, Joyce Foster, legislation, measure, Moe Keller, not forgotten, online searchable database, open government, pass, positive note, rest assured, revenues, Sara Gagliardi, Senate, Senate Bill 180, Senate District 26, signature, State Capitol, state government, Taxpayer Transparency Act, union-backed, votes

3/18/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Bill Ritter Has an Official Republican Challenger for 2010: Who?

I agree with Rocky Mountain Right: Who? I've been reasonably involved in the Jefferson County Republican Party for six years, and have never heard of this fellow from Evergreen. Methinks he's not the Republicans' best hope to take on Bill Ritter. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General, My Life, PPC, Random and Miscellaneous Tagged With: Bill Ritter, Dan Maes, Evergreen, Governor, Jefferson County, Republican Party, who

3/1/2009 By Ben 3 Comments

“Stand Up for Liberty!”

Update: El Presidente has posted a video recap of the different speakers at yesterday's rally. Earlier today was the kickoff rally for Colorado's new Gadsden Society. About 70 to 80 people showed up on a Sunday afternoon at the State Capitol. Tell your friends to come out and join us for the next one. Check back for updates. Pictures of today's gathering below the fold (more pictures and video of the event should be available soon at Slapstick Politics and the People's Press Collective): … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, liberty, My Life, National Politics, PPC Tagged With: air guitar, audience, Aurora, candidate, chants, Christopher Gadsden, citizen activists, city councilman, CU Regent, David Williams, Democrat, Denver Post, flag, Gadsden Society, higher education, Jeff Sacco, Jefferson County, Justin Longo, landmark, Lenina Close, Liberty for All, Liberty on the Rocks, Linda Sasenick, Morgan Carroll, Peoples Press Collective, rally, Rand, Republican, Ross Kaminsky, Ryan Frazier, special districts, Stand Up for Liberty, State Capitol, state senator, surreal, Tom Lucero, Transparency, U.S. Senate, Wes Dickinson

2/10/2009 By Ben 1 Comment

Jeffco GOP Unites Behind New Chair Don Ytterberg – Ready to Go Forward?

I was at the Jefferson County Republican Party Central Committee meeting this evening. Fortunately, there wasn't a lot of drama (but a wonderful deal of hot dog, chips, and bottled water for $2). Special guest speeches were made by state senate minority leader Josh Penry and Colorado GOP chairman Dick Wadhams. I was told the Arapahoe County GOP meeting was at the same time, which may have prevented us from being greeted by more ambitious politicos. Don Ytterberg was elected by acclamation to be the new chairman. Tina Francone was elected by acclamation to be the new secretary. The only contest was for vice-chair - as current vice-chair Art Onweller lost to outgoing chair Renee Nelson. God bless her, Renee has been a fantastic leader for … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General Tagged With: accounts, ambitious politicos, Arapahoe County, Art Onweller, best of luck, bonus members, campaign, Central Committee, chairman, Colorado, commendable, Congratulations, continuity, county chair, Dick Wadhams, Don Ytterberg, drama, El Presidente, election, Facebook, fortunate, gavel, GOP chairman, guest speeches, hard-fought, helpful roundup, hopeful, incoming leader, Jefferson County, Josh Penry, Matt Knoedler, meeting, meetings, minority leader, paper balloting, Renee Nelson, Republican Party, results, secretary, Senate District 16, sentiments, special, state senate, teller committee, theme, Tina Francone, unity, vacancy committees, valuable lessons, vice-chair

1/16/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Congrats to D’Evelyn JH/HS

Via the Rocky Mountain News, Jefferson County's own D'Evelyn Junior High-High School received another well-earned recognition yesterday as Business Week and GreatSchools.Net teamed up to name D'Evelyn the top-performing school in Colorado:D'Evelyn is a Jeffco public school started by a group of parents in 1994. It accepts students from across the district starting in grade seven and runs through grade 12. It emphasizes structured academics and strict discipline. The school's test scores are among the best in Colorado, and the remediation rates of its graduates attending state colleges and universities are among the lowest. D'Evelyn - named for the late Independence Institute co-founder David D'Evelyn - is a school with which I have … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Education, General, My Life Tagged With: Business Week, colleges, Colorado, competition, complete list, connections, D'Evelyn, David D'Evelyn, Great Schools, Independence Institute, Jefferson County, model, option school, parents, remediation rates, Rocky Mountain News, school board, strict discipline, structured academics, success, test scores, top-performing school, universities, well-earned recognition

1/10/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Introducing Senator Kevin Lundberg

It's official. Colorado's newest state senator is Kevin Lundberg. A press release from the senate minority office earlier this afternoon confirmed the story:Larimer County Republican House Representative Kevin Lundberg has been appointed as the newest Larimer County State Senator. Lundberg was appointed after an election by the Senate District 15 vacancy committee. “I was greatly encouraged to have support from such a large majority of the committee. I intend to continue to represent Larimer County in the Senate as I did in the House,” Lundberg said. “We have a tough job ahead of us, and I can’t wait to get started working on solutions that help Coloradans during these tough economic times.” Lundberg will fill the seat … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General Tagged With: challenging times, Colorado, common sense, conservative, constituents, fiscal conservative, good news, Grand Junction, Greg Brophy, Jefferson County, Josh Penry, Kevin Lundberg, Larimer County, majority, Mike Kopp, press release, principled legislator, Republican, Senate District 15, state senator, Steve Johnson, vacancy committee

10/30/2008 By Ben 1 Comment

Front Range County Sheriffs Refute Campaign Lies against Amendment 49

Readers of this blog are now well familiar with the orchestrated deception by a group called Protect Colorado's Future (PCF) against Amendment 49, the Ethical Standards initiative. In addition to numerous Colorado newspaper editorial boards, respected public figures like former U.S. Senator Hank Brown and former state treasurer Mark Hillman have refuted the lies. Many of PCF's false claims center around purported negative effects on the ability of law enforcement and public safety workers to do their jobs. Who better to refute the lies than respected law enforcement officials whose jurisdictions already have an Ethical Standards policy in place? In today's Denver Post, three Colorado county sheriffs took their turn at batting down the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General, Labor Tagged With: Arapahoe County, audio, body armor, Boulder County, Boulder Daily Camera, county sheriffs, David Weaver, deceptive attacks, Denver Post, Douglas County, El Paso County, Ethical Standards, Hank Brown, Jeff Shaw, Jefferson County, John Cooke, law enforcement, letter, lies, Mark Hillman, modern equipment, multi-million dollar ad campaign, orchestrated deception, Protect Colorado's Future, public safety workers, refuted, Rocky Mountain News, Sheriff, similar theme, Ted Mink, Weld County

10/13/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Jeffco School Tax Hike to Kick Granny Out, Create “Socialist Utopia”?

Update: The story has been picked up in the Denver Post. Conservative activist Tom Graham of Arvada is the culprit. Not the best tactical approach from my point of view. Why? Because now we have to watch and make sure that government public relations teams don't make Mr. Graham the election issue instead of the burdensome tax hike. Also, a copy of the booklet is viewable online. Voters in Jefferson County, have you seen the official published arguments for Jeffco Schools 3A, a $34 million-per-year property tax increase to fund Colorado's largest school district? I looked in vain for a copy of the voter booklet on the Jefferson County Elections Office web page, but little Eddie has helped us out by typing out a copy and providing his own … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Education, Fiscal Policy, General Tagged With: 3A, arguments, clever joke, Eddie, Jeffco Schools, Jefferson County, new teachers, Property Tax Increase, school district, senior citizens, six-digit salaries, socialist utopia, voter booklet, voters

10/6/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

“Real” Public School Teacher Speaks Out for Colorado Amendment 49

The Rocky Mountain News today takes a closer look at Protect Colorado's Future and its use of "real" people in advertisements to foist its deceptive messages on the public:Firefighter Joel Heinemann says he would rather run into a burning building than face a movie camera. Yet it's his face Coloradans are seeing in television ads and home flyers urging a "no" vote on Amendments 47, 49 and 54. Heinemann is a "messenger," one of about a dozen firefighters, police officers, nurses and teachers who volunteered to enter the political limelight to speak against three ballot initiatives they believe are anti-union. Of course, it's also important to note that Joel Heinemann is president of the Littleton firefighters union, and that Denver … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General, Labor Tagged With: "real" people, advertisements, Amendment 47, Amendment 49, Amendment 54, anti-union, body armor, Boulder Daily Camera, burning building, Coloradans, deceptive messages, Denver, Denver Post, deputy sheriff, endorsements, episode, Ethical Standards, firefighter, firefighters union, Fraternal Order of Police, host, Independence Institute, Independent Thinking, Jeff Shaw, Jefferson County, Joel Heinemann, Jon Caldara, law enforcement, Littleton, lobbying, Michael Alcorn, movie camera, opposition, politically active groups, President, Protect Colorado's Future, public school teacher, public servants, Rocky Mountain News, safety equipment, safety issues, scare tactics, teacher, television ads, unethical business, union contract, YouTube

10/3/2008 By Ben 1 Comment

I’m On KBDI Channel 12 Tonight to Discuss Colorado Amendment 49

Update: A trusted reader says you can also watch on Channel 23 in Colorado Springs. Update: I added a link to Michael's blog. Please tune in tonight at 7:30 PM to KBDI 12 (in the Denver metro area) for an important episode of Independent Thinking with host Jon Caldara. Guests Jefferson County teacher Michael Alcorn and I will discuss what Amendment 49, the Ethical Standards initiative, does, and the effects it has (and doesn't have) on teachers and other public employees. For those of you heading out to theaters to catch the premiere of An American Carol, please don't forget to set your TiVo or VCR to record. But in case you forget, the episode is scheduled to re-air next Tuesday, October 7, at 5:00 PM on KBDI. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General, My Life Tagged With: Amendment 49, An American Carol, Ethical Standards initiative, Independent Thinking, Jefferson County, Jon Caldara, KBDI Channel 12, Michael Alcorn, premiere, public employees, record, teacher, teachers, TiVo, VCR

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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

  • AI-Enhanced Cyberbullying: The Dark Side of Teen Innovation
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