Category Archives: Colorado Senate

Two Down–Hudak Recall Attempt “Suspended”

2
  by: Colorado Pols Wed May 22, 2013 at 4:53 PM MDT

Vic Vela of the Arvada Press reports today:

Organizers who were seeking to recall Sen. Evie Hudak, D-Westminster, are suspending their petition-gathering efforts, according to an email obtained by Colorado Community Media on May 22.

Organizers told recall volunteers in the email that they are making a “strategic decision” to suspend their efforts to recall Hudak, so that they could focus on the ongoing recall efforts aimed at state Senate President John Morse of Colorado Springs, and Sen. Angela Giron of Pueblo, both of whom are Democrats.

The organizers said in the email that they intend to “restart” their petition-gathering efforts against Hudak after they are successful in their recall attempts against Morse and Giron.

However, the clock is ticking on that effort. Organizers only have until June 10 to submit more than 18,000 recall petition signatures to the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office.

Over the past few weekends, the number of volunteers working the recall petition beat against Sen. Evie Hudak is said to have consistently dwindled, and it became apparent early on to organizers that they wouldn't come anywhere near the 18,000 signatures needed to successfully place her recall on the ballot. Hudak's signature requirement was the highest of any of the four Democrats who had recall petition attempts begin against them, and as soon as it was clear that opponents wouldn't be mounting paid signature drives against her, Hudak was safe.

With Rep. Mike McLachlan's recall drive having ended in failure yesterday, that leaves only Sens. Angela Giron of Pueblo and John Morse of Colorado Springs as possible legislators up for recall. The statement above about volunteers heading to Pueblo is worth noting, but the fact remains that Morse is the only recall most likely headed for the ballot at this point–and that, should it occur, only the result of a paid signature gathering effort.

Notwithstanding pay-to-play, folks, there's no sign in these developments any "sleeping giant" has "awakened."


Full story: Two Down–Hudak Recall Attempt “Suspended”

BREAKING: Hickenlooper Grants Temporary Reprieve for Dunlap

23
  by: Colorado Pols Wed May 22, 2013 at 1:40 PM MDT

UPDATE: #3: Attorney General John Suthers fires off a highly political response to today's decision:

The defendant was eligible for the death penalty under Colorado law. The district attorney believed the defendant deserved the death penalty. A jury of twelve citizens of Colorado determined that he deserved the death penalty. And a plethora of appellate courts have upheld the jury’s decision. But Governor Hickenlooper simply cannot cope with the task of carrying out the execution of Nathan Dunlap or exercising his constitutional mandate.

Executive authority to modify criminal punishment is part of our constitutional system, and I respect that. However, the citizens of Colorado deserve honesty and the victims deserve finality. I believe the governor’s decision does not stem from anything but his personal discomfort about the death penalty. I also believe that the governor should have been much more up front with the voters when he ran for office if he couldn’t carry out the death penalty.

I have an excellent working relationship with the governor and I respect him very much. Yet it’s been apparent to me that issues of crime and punishment are not his strength. John Hickenlooper is an optimist. He has proven to be uncomfortable confronting the perpetrators of evil in our society. I saw this when I discussed last year’s juvenile direct-file bill with him. He had trouble comprehending that a 16 or 17-year-old is capable of brutal acts deserves adult punishment. I saw it in his naïve views about the role of administrative segregation in our prisons. And I’ve heard it in my discussions with him about the death penalty. The governor is certainly entitled to these views, but granting a reprieve simply means that his successor will have to make the tough choice that he cannot.

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UPDATE #2: Press release announcing today's executive order after the jump.

—–

UPDATE: 9NEWS' Blair Schiff:

Under a reprieve, Dunlap could conceivably be executed some day. The reprieve will stay in place until Hickenlooper or another governor lifts it.

Arguably the most difficult decision of his political career, Hickenlooper's decision may earn him blowback as prosecutors are currently seeking the death penalty against James Holmes for the mass murder at an Aurora movie theater.

The death toll in the Dunlap case is not as high as the 2012 Aurora theater shooting, but it shares similarities. Dunlap was convicted in 1996 of killing four employees at a Denver-area Chuck E. Cheese restaurant in 1993. The jury sentenced him to die. His last guaranteed appeal was rejected this year. His execution was scheduled for August 2013.

FOX 31:

The reprieve can only be lifted with another executive order, and Hickenlooper said at a 2 p.m. news conference it’s highly unlikely he will revisit the issue again.  That means it would be up to his successor to decide to stay the execution or allow it to resume.

“This weighed on me heavily for a year,” Hickenlooper said in explaining his decision to reporters.  He spoke slowly and deliberately.

“I could not find the justice in making” a decision to allow Dunlap to die, he said.

—–

We'll update shortly with coverage and the full text of the statement–word breaking now that Gov. John Hickenlooper has granted a temporary reprieve to death-row inmate Nathan Dunlap,  citing questions about the application of the death penalty generally–while acknowledging the "horrific" nature of Dunlap's crime. 

(more…)


Full story: BREAKING: Hickenlooper Grants Temporary Reprieve for Dunlap

Congrats Sen. Pat Steadman, Colorado’s “Champion of Change”

4
  by: ProgressNow Colorado Wed May 22, 2013 at 1:21 PM MDT

Colorado Sen. Pat Steadman is being recognized today at the White House as a "Harvey Milk Champion of Change." From Fox 31:

Over the last few years, as LGBT advocates have pushed for a new civil unions law, many of them lauded the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Pat Steadman, a long-time lobbyist on equality issues, as “Colorado’s own Harvey Milk.”

…The Champions of Change program was created as an opportunity for the White house to feature groups of Americans – individuals, businesses and organizations – who are doing extraordinary things to empower and inspire members of their communities.

In 1992, Steadman organized the lawsuit challenging “Amendment 2,” the voter-approved anti-gay initiative that made Colorado known for a time as the “Hate State”; the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the statute in 1996 in the landmark Romer v. Evans ruling.

The civil unions legislation was finally passed this year and signed into law in March.

Thank you, Sen. Steadman, for decades spent fighting for equality for every Colorado family! Your work honors Harvey Milk's legacy every day.


Full story: Congrats Sen. Pat Steadman, Colorado’s “Champion of Change”

Dick Wadhams Gets Another Shot at Glory

2
  by: Colorado Pols Wed May 22, 2013 at 12:06 PM MDT

We missed Dick.

We missed Dick.

​With a H/T To Marianne Goodland of the Colorado Statesman, Roll Call's Kyle Trygstad:

Veteran GOP operative Dick Wadhams has signed on as general consultant for the leading candidate in one of the GOP’s top Senate pickup opportunities.

Former South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds announced on Wednesday that he has retained Wadhams to help lead his campaign.

The election next year will come a decade after Wadhams’ last triumph in the state — managing now-Sen. John Thune’s 2004 upset of Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle.

“Dick’s reputation as a battle tested strategist, coupled with his insight into South Dakota’s political landscape make him the perfect complement to our team,” Rounds said in a statement. “We’ve been considering individuals to fill this role for months and we continued to come back to Mr. Wadhams.”

It's been a rough few years for the formerly legendary Colorado GOP chairman Dick Wadhams. Arguably Wadhams' greatest triumph as a campaign manager came in South Dakota, though, when he masterminded Sen. John Thune's 2004 victory. Wadhams gained his reputation after massaging former Sen. Wayne Allard of Colorado, one of the least inspiring men to ever serve in the United States Senate, into two election wins over Democratic challenger Tom Strickland. Since 2004, however, Wadhams has presided over a string of defeats for Senate candidates in several states including Colorado continued losses for the GOP as Colorado party chairman, and the 2010 gubernatorial debacle that more or less broke the party's back here. Wadhams fell so far, so fast, that it's easy to forget that he was once near the pinnacle of his profession; Wadhams managed the 2006 re-election campaign of Sen. George Allen in Virginia, which was supposed to have been a formality along the way toward a run for President in 2008. But then "Macaca" happened.

Perhaps Gov. Mike Rounds will be Wadhams' ticket back to winner's circle. His résumé‎ hopes so.


Full story: Dick Wadhams Gets Another Shot at Glory

Today In BS: How It Gets Spread (Even If You’re Dead)

9
  by: Colorado Pols Wed May 22, 2013 at 9:13 AM MDT

Stop Whining About OverreachingLast Saturday, reporter Hendrik Sybrandy of FOX 31 News dropped quite the bombshell:

An executive with a prominent gun manufacturer is on his way back to his native Italy after a taxi driver mistook him for a terrorist on Saturday.

Daniele Perazzi took a cab to the Colorado Gun Collectors Association trade show at the Denver Merchandise Mart around noon.

He had seven shotguns at the time and apparently the guns scared Perazzi’s cab driver who called police and told them he’d just dropped off a terrorist…

The story of the "arrest" of Daniele Perazzi, the president of the Italian firearms manufacturer Perazzi Shotguns, spread like wildfire across gun-rights friendly social media spaces, websites, and talk radio. The Independence Institute's Amy Oliver warned Twitter followers darkly:

olivercivilliberties

There's just one little problem, as 9NEWS' Kyle Clark reported last night: none of it ever happened. 

(more…)


Full story: Today In BS: How It Gets Spread (Even If You’re Dead)

BLM Colorado: Public Has No Need to Know About Public Lands, Public Monies, Public Employees

5
  by: ClubTwitty Wed May 22, 2013 at 7:37 AM MDT

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

In a show of arrogance that has become too typical of the Colorado State Office of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the agency is ignoring a Federal judge, media requests, stakeholders, and the public in denying public information about public activities on the public lands, according to the Durango Herald:

“This isn’t a widespread issue of public concern. It is primarily press that are concerned about oil and gas leasing and activists that are opposed to oil and gas leasing.”

The state 'Communications Director', one might assume, has the job as a public employee working on public lands issues and spending public monies, of informing the public and managing media relations.  The 'press' and public are–this common-sense assumption goes–the PRIMARY purpose of his receiving a Federal salary as a taxpayer-funded public employee.

But apparently not for BLM Colorado–where public information is no such thing, and the public and media are merely distractions from what ever other self-determined more important things, like defending illegal agency actions perhaps, or intentionally seeking to divide communities. 

(more…)


Full story: BLM Colorado: Public Has No Need to Know About Public Lands, Public Monies, Public Employees

Betty Boyd for Lakewood City Council in Interesting Matchup

0
  by: Colorado Pols Tue May 21, 2013 at 12:57 PM MDT

Betty Boyd

Former Lakewood legislator Betty Boyd

Longtime legislator Betty Boyd, a Lakewood Democrat who served in both the House and Senate before term-limits forced her out of office in 2012, has decided to continue her political career with a run for Lakewood City Council in Ward 4. From Our Colorado News:

Boyd served 12 years in the state legislature, starting in the house in 2000. She was reelected twice, and in 2006 Boyd was elected to fill the vacancy in the Senate District 21 seat. She ran again and won in 2008.

“I was in the first class of leadership in Lakewood, and was first interested in running for city council, but due to urging of others, I went to the state level and my focus changed to work there,” she said. “Now it’s coming full circle, because I’m back to try for council.”

David Wiechman

Incumbent Wiechman has his sights set on Mayor in 2015

Boyd's candidacy is certainly bad news for incumbent councilman David Wiechman, who desperately wants to run for Lakewood Mayor in 2015 but would be hampered significantly if he loses his bid for re-election.

Wiechman is a bit of an odd bird to say the least. He was in the news earlier this year for an "IT problem" related to pornography on his iPad, and in 2011 he drew the ire of fellow council members for basically offering to underwrite the campaign of anyone who ran against a handful of people Wiechman didn't like.

One of the people who took him up on the offer, Pete Roybal, did get elected; his campaign committee was later fined for improper reporting around a loan from Wiechman. Several other potential candidates reportedly declined Wiechman's overtures.


Full story: Betty Boyd for Lakewood City Council in Interesting Matchup

McLachlan Recall Effort Sputters Out

16
  by: Colorado Pols Tue May 21, 2013 at 11:30 AM MDT

From Lynn Bartels at "The Spot":

The first of four efforts to recall Democratic lawmakers over their gun votes has failed, with the secretary of state’s office reporting no signatures will be turned in an effort to oust Rep. Mike McLachlan of Durango.

Today was the deadline to turn in signatures for the first-term lawmaker’s recall, but the secretary of state’s office was informed that no signatures will be forthcoming. Those spearheading the recall effort against McLachlan needed to collect 10,586 signatures in order to force a recall election.

Juuusst a bit outside.

If you’re going to take a big swing…you had better connect.

It's true that a recall of Senate President John Morse is the primary target for RMGO, Dudley Brown and crew (as well as the NRA), and recall efforts against Democrat Senators Evie Hudak (Arvada) and Angela Giron (Pueblo) also continue. But that doesn't mean that such a poor effort on the McLachlan recall is not important. In fact, failing to turn in any signatures in a recall effort against McLachlan will have political repercussions beyond 2013.

As we've discussed before, it is incredibly difficult to succeed in a recall effort, which is why threatening such a maneuver carries so much risk. The threats from Brown and his RMGO lobbyists during the 2013 legislative session (threats like this one) only work if there is a real risk that a recall will succeed. Next time, for McLachlan and other "threatened" legislators, they'll have some recent history to consider when another "threat" comes their way.

What could make the difference in the remaining recall attempt, against Senate President John Morse in Colorado Springs, is the presence of paid petition gatherers and growing national interest in the effort. Due in part to Morse's last election being in the 2010 off-year, Morse always represented the lowest hurdle for recall organizers, and the highest-profile target as Senate President. It's worth nothing that the first, stillborn recall question against Morse technically failed last week–but that doesn't matter now that the NRA-endorsed, fully funded signature gathering campaign is on the ground, and they can try again and again if they wish. In interviews this past week, Morse appears to accept the fact that his recall will probably go to the ballot, and he vows to fight–not just for his seat, but to defend all of the many policy goals the General Assembly accomplished this year.


Full story: McLachlan Recall Effort Sputters Out

Attention Journalists: Mike Coffman is NOT a “Moderate”

20
  by: Colorado Pols Tue May 21, 2013 at 11:16 AM MDT

endangeredcoffmanUPDATE: Jason Salzman weighs in with a similar conclusion.​

—–

Somebody help out Tim Alberta at National Journal, please:

Heritage Action, an influential group that works closely with the Republican Study Committee and its conservative members, wrote a letter Thursday to House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., urging them not to bring two bills to the floor…

But the notion that House Republicans should steer clear of any potentially discordant votes did not sit well with some lawmakers.

“This is the House of Representatives,” said Rep. David Schweikert of Arizona, a conservative RSC member who said he normally supports Heritage Action’s efforts. “We need to step up and do our work.”

At the opposite end of the GOP’s ideological spectrum, Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Colo., a moderate who sometimes refers to himself as an independent, [Pols emphasis] scoffed at the suggestion…

Okay, obviously, full stop. We don't claim to know who Tim Alberta is, whether he's been a political reporter for decades, just graduated from college or what. We could find out, of course, but we frankly aren't going to bother. What we will do is say again, as succinctly as we can, that Rep. Mike Coffman is no "moderate"–and that this reporter is facilitating an underway wholesale reinvention that Coffman is trying desperately to pull off without too much scrutiny. Little aside references like this one slowly aggregate into a body of such references, and presto!

The guy who only last year told fellow Republicans that President Barack Obama "is not an American," who co-sponsored Todd Akin's "legitimate rape" bill, H.R.3 in 2011, who tried to restrict the delivery of bilingual ballots to U.S. citizens, who called Social Security a "Ponzi scheme," and who served as loony-right Rick Perry's campaign chair in Colorado is now a "moderate who sometimes refers to himself as an independent."

It's painfully obvious to everyone who knows the history here that Coffman's breakneck-speed reinvention from hard-right to "moderate" is happening to facilitate his continued survival in a district that is no longer overwhelmingly conservative, as his seat was prior to the 2010 redistricting cycle in Colorado–the extremist Rep. Tom Tancredo's former district, in fact. The only question is whether or not he will be allowed by the media to get away with it.


Full story: Attention Journalists: Mike Coffman is NOT a “Moderate”

IRS troubles light up CO Springs talk radio

8
  by: Jason Salzman Tue May 21, 2013 at 9:56 AM MDT

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

Jeff Crank works for Koch-Brothers-funded Americans for Prosperity and doubles as a poster child for conservative talk-radio host, holding forth on KVOR in Colorado Springs.

I offer Crank's comments below, from Saturday's show, to illustrate how the troubles at the IRS give echoers like Crank the perfect springboard to reach for their deepest anti-government rhetoric, while demonizing Obama at the same time in the most extreme and shadowy ways.

Crank: “This is the moment to stand up and say we need to rip the IRS out by its roots! Grab it and throw it away and eliminate it! Get RID of the IRS! Throw it out the window! Let it be—throw it on the ash heap of history! Make it be the Soviet Union! Something that we remember in the disant past! No federal agency should be feared like this – and bureaucrats should never ever have this kind of power. It’s sickening! It’s absolutely sickening to see this kind of thing.”

He added that it’s sicker that we don’t have a leader in the White House who will stand up and get rid of these Jack Booted thugs at the IRS. Then later, he got more specific about Obama:

Caller (Mrs. Youngblood): "The reason I thought why the IRS is attacking most of the religious organizations was that to silence them because he [Obama] is wanting to establish a One World Religion…which would be Muslim. These religious organizations just didn’t meet his standards. [he’s trying to] Keep them from growing. I know he’s Muslim."

Crank: "…Some people will argue, 'Oh, he’s not Muslim.' Whatever, I’ll tell you this — He’s no friend of Christianity. When you’re attacking churches left and right and their tax status… there’s not one mosque that’s come forward and said, 'You know what? The IRS is really attacking us' Did you notice that, Mrs. Youngblood?"

Asked via Twitter if Crank really thinks Obama is "no friend of Christianity," Crank replied: "I said there weren't any Mosques that got an IRS root canal. Christian ministries did. True?"


Full story: IRS troubles light up CO Springs talk radio

What Happens When You Have No Candidate

21
  by: Colorado Pols Tue May 21, 2013 at 8:42 AM MDT
They too would like to be Governor.

They too would like to be Governor.

FOX 31's Eli Stokols:

If Colorado Republicans are looking for a fresh face to take on Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper next year, one of them just appeared.

Out of nowhere.

Well, Rhode Island, really.

Steve Laffey, a former mayor and GOP Senate candidate who moved to Colorado just three years ago, has filed papers to run for governor in 2014.

Laffey’s campaign manager, Patrick Davis, began dropping hints on Facebook Monday night. Laffey is expected to officially announce his campaign Tuesday morning on the Amy Oliver Show.

We wrote yesterday about Colorado GOP chairman Ryan Call's surprisingly frank admission this weekend in the Durango Herald that the Republican bench of eligible candidates for high office has "suffered" after years of losses. Yesterday afternoon, FOX 31 put up a story with Call speculating about as many as five candidates, and a "robust primary" to include such GOP luminaries as Secretary of State Scott Gessler, Sen. Greg Brophy, and perhaps even Attorney General John Suthers–though the story notes later that Suthers has already ruled this out.

Well folks, now you know why Call was so eager to get other names out there. Back in the real world, outside observers are increasingly confused as to why nobody has formally jumped into either of the two top-ticket races in Colorado for 2014. It's incongruous, especially given presumptions about having "awakened the sleeping giant" over gun control, that nobody is serious about taking on Hickenlooper. And it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that Brophy, the likeliest candidate so far along with the polarizing Gessler, has no appreciable chance.

Bottom line: something had better happen, and soon, because the Dan Maes clown car is en route.


Full story: What Happens When You Have No Candidate

Udall Promises “Bold and Productive Action” To Fight Sexual Assaults In The Military

3
  by: nancycronk Mon May 20, 2013 at 4:35 PM MDT

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

Responding to growing reports of sexual abuse and harassment within the United States military, U.S. Senator Mark Udall announced today he will take a leading role by working on both sides of the aisle to address sexual violence in the armed services. He outlined his plan to find solutions, hold perpetrators accountable, and protect victims from retaliation.

His plans include co-sponsoring "a number of bills" on the issue, and pushing for a provision to the National Defense Authorization Act. One of the bills he intends to support is the Murray-Ayotte Sexual Assault bill, a bipartisan piece of legislation from Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), which will establish a special military counsel to provide legal advice and assistance requested by any military sexual assault victim. The law will require cases to be automatically referred to a general or admiral to ensure greater oversight. The bill will allow cases to be shifted outside of the chain of command if an appropriate investigation does not occur in a timely fashion.

(more…)


Full story: Udall Promises “Bold and Productive Action” To Fight Sexual Assaults In The Military