So yesterday I receive this verbatim email message from a mysterious "Victorila Rasheem" (all errors of spelling and syntax preserved):I think taht your website should do a think on Cleve Tidwell. Most say that he has the support of most if not all of the major donors in the state. Also much of the grassroots is excited for him and is backing him to be the senator for colorado. I do not know if Dick Wadhams found him or not but if he did it was a good find because he is a good candidaet and wiill win. He is a very good speaker and will be at most events when he is senator because he will represent people in Colorado. Also, he has not spoken with the press so whatever you might hear if anything is probably just their way of trying to create … [Read more...]
House Education Committee Democrats Killed Spending Transparency… Fast
One of my favorite aphorisms about Colorado politics is that the House Education Committee is where good education reform goes to die. Case in point is Senate Bill 57, the school spending transparency legislation that committee Democrats shot down after hearing more than 30 citizens and activists who volunteered to come down and testify for the bill. Thanks to a Face The State mini-investigation, we learn today it was even worse than that:Also known as Senate Bill 57, the bill was postponed indefinitely after four hours of committee debate that lasted late into the evening. [Democrat] Speaker Terrance Carroll and [Republican] House Minority Leader Mike May arrived to work the next morning ready to revive it. But they were too … [Read more...]
Follow Me: You Can Help in Thursday’s Fight for Transparent School Spending
Tomorrow (Thursday) afternoon is the moment of truth at the Colorado state legislature for Senate Bill 57, a measure that would require school districts to open up their financial books online so citizens can search them. It goes before the House Education Committee. Here are things you can do: Starting at sometime shortly after 1:30 PM local Mountain time, listen to the hearing online (House Committee Room 0112) Follow me on Twitter during the proceedings, or join the Tweeting yourself Show up at HCR 0112 and testify yourself, or just pack the room and provide moral support - nothing like an extra concerned citizen or two to remind lawmakers whom they serve Call or email members of the House Education Committee to make your voice … [Read more...]
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...]