Search Results for: gessler

The Big Line Updated

9
  by: Colorado Pols Fri May 17, 2013 at 12:03 PM MDT

With the 2013 legislative session behind us, we've updated The Big Line with our latest projections. Of note:

  • It looks more and more as though Republican Scott Gessler will run for Governor rather than Secretary of State (as we suggested last year), so we've moved his line "off" the board for SOS.
  • With Gessler off the board, the race for SOS is anybody's guess. Maybe Democrat Ken Gordon will arise from his five-month slumber, or perhaps there will even be a Joe Neguse sighting. Either way, the big news will be if Jefferson County Clerk & Recorder Pam Anderson decides to enter the race, as expected.
  • There aren't any real scenarios whereby Democratic Sen. Mark Udall does not get re-elected, so we've adjusted his odds accordingly.
  • We've changed CD-6 to make Democrat Andrew Romanoff a slight favorite over Republican Rep. Mike Coffman. Romanoff is off to a strong start, and the DCCC seems particularly enthused about a race Democrats probably should have won in 2012.


Full story: The Big Line Updated

Confirmed: Gessler Considering 2014 Gubernatorial Run

19
  by: Colorado Pols Thu May 16, 2013 at 5:31 PM MDT
Scott Gessler.

Gov. Scott Gessler, anyone?

That's the word late today from the Denver Post's Kurtis Lee:

Republican sources have told The Denver Post Gessler is strongly considering dropping a re-election effort for his post as secretary of state — where he's served since being elected in 2010 — to seek the GOP nomination to challenge Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper.

"No doubt, Gessler is frustrated with the state's current leadership and he's evaluating how best he can serve the people of Colorado," Rory McShane, political director of Gessler for Colorado, said via e-mail Thursday.​

Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler has been listed on our 2014 Big Line as a possible gubernatorial candidate since last November, so this shouldn't come as a big surprise. As the possibility of a vanity Tom Tancredo rematch against Hickenlooper, or the statewide-unelectable Sen. Greg Brophy's name is batted around, it's become obvious that Colorado Republicans just don't have many options.

And no, we don't think Gessler would fare much better than any of these other candidates against the popular Gov. Hickenlooper–but his popularity on the hard right would certainly be good for base turnout. Above all, we've heard that Gessler is not terribly happy in the job of Secretary of State, laden as it is with mundane responsibilities for relatively low pay compared to what he could be earning in the private sector. Following the principle that it's better to burn out than fade away, a hard-fought Gessler gubernatorial bid would raise his profile for a glorious re-entry into the world of Republican campaign lawyering–or maybe something else with a suitably plump salary.

As usual, you heard it here first.


Full story: Confirmed: Gessler Considering 2014 Gubernatorial Run

Hickenlooper To Sign Elections Bill

6
  by: Colorado Pols Thu May 9, 2013 at 1:01 PM MDT

UPDATE: Washington Post's Greg Sargent:

As Reid Wilson recently put it, the Colorado measure is “the Democratic comeback to voter ID.”

Reform advocates who have been briefed on Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper’s plans tell me they expect him to sign the legislation tomorrow. The measure, which has cleared both houses in Colorado, contains a number of key provisions. It requires a ballot to be mailed to every registered voter; voters choose how to vote, whether by mail or dropping off the ballot, or even in person, early or on election day. It lengthens the early voting period and shortens the time required for state residency in order to qualify to vote. It expands voter registration through Election Day. And it allows people to vote at any precinct within their county.

“The biggest problem is people showing up at the wrong precinct,” Ellen Dumm, spokesperson for Coloradans for Voter Access and Modernized Elections, tells me. “This is unique in that expands all options. It really does expand access to voting at a time when we’ve seen a lot of restriction of voting. This makes voting a lot easier.”

—–

AP's Ivan Moreno reports via the Colorado Springs Gazette:

The governor is expected to sign a measure into law that would redefine how elections in Colorado are run, allowing same-day voter registration and ballots to be mailed to all registered voters.

Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper is expected to sign the Democrat-sponsored bill Friday, according to two people working closely with the measure. They asked to remain anonymous because an official announcement had not been made.

The bill passed with unanimous support from Democrats, but not a single Republican voted for it, citing concerns about voter fraud with same-day registration. Republicans also argued the measure would be a game-changer for future elections, and some called the measure the most important of the session that was packed with contentious legislation.

The signing into law of House Bill 1303, the Voter Access and Modernized Elections Act, is one of the last major pieces of the Democratic legislative agenda to fall into place. Hickenlooper's signature was never really in doubt, it was more a question of getting the bill through without a surprise gutting or sacrifice of a major provision. Despite the over-the-top freakout that legislative Republicans and Secretary of State Scott Gessler had over the bill, the fact that it had wide bipartisan support among Colorado county clerks–the officials responsible in the first person for carrying out elections in this state–caused Gessler's increasingly strained and hyperbolic "concerns" to ring hollow. Given that the bill solved problems that Gessler had proven faithless and intransigent on, such as the unresolved status of so-called "inactive failed to vote" voters, his credibility was always weak.

Throughout the long debate over House Bill 1303, no Republican opponent was ever able to explain why this "election stealing" bill had support from county clerks in both parties–or why the most "contentious" of the bill's provisions, same-day voter registration, hasn't resulted in the avalanche of fraud they seem sure is going to result in Colorado in all the other states where it already exists.

The effect same-day registration has had in other states is an estimated 10% increase in overall voter turnout. We foresee, like the gun debate, an unpleasant reckoning for the GOP when their warnings of disaster fail to materialize. With one caveat: we do wish Gessler wasn't the one in charge of implementing this bill.


Full story: Hickenlooper To Sign Elections Bill

Winners and Losers of the 2013 Legislative Session

3
  by: ProgressNow Colorado Wed May 8, 2013 at 2:22 PM MDT

(Here come the recaps – Promoted by Colorado Pols)

This year's session of the Colorado General Assembly was truly historic. After two years of divided control and stagnation in the legislature, a large backlog of high-priority, common-sense reforms awaited lawmakers in January. Working tirelessly in the face of right-wing obstruction, smear campaigns, and even threats of violence, the progressive majorities in the Colorado House and Senate passed historic legislation to create jobs and boost Colorado's economy, to preserve public safety, to make great strides toward equality for every Colorado family, and to give all children in Colorado the education they deserve.

As we bring to a close the most successful and productive legislative session anyone can remember in Colorado, here are some of the highlights–and the disgraces–that we'll be talking about for years to come. 

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Full story: Winners and Losers of the 2013 Legislative Session

Election Modernization Bill Passes Senate

24
  by: Colorado Pols Thu May 2, 2013 at 2:50 PM MDT

FOX 31's Eli Stokols reports:

The 20-15 vote, with all Democrats in favor of and all Republicans against the measure, came after a four-hour debate with almost every Republican senator arguing that bill will open up the state’s elections to rampant fraud.

“You’re already winning the elections,” Senate Minority Leader Bill Cadman, R-Colorado Springs, said. “Do you need to steal them too?” [Pols emphasis]

The Colorado Association of County Clerks, which is made up more Republicans than Democrats, helped draft the bill and supports it. But Republicans at the Capitol and Secretary of State Scott Gessler have called House Bill 1303 a “partisan power play” aimed at helping Democrats consolidate recent electoral gains that will open the voting process up to rampant fraud.

The long debate over passage of House Bill 1303 has been characterized by dire warnings that the bill, in particular the provision for same-day registration of voters, would lead to "rampant voter fraud"–despite the fact that county clerks of both parties, the officials actually responsible for carrying out elections in Colorado, support it. Eleven states and the District of Columbia already have same day registration on the books, and there is no evidence that it has led to a higher incidence of trouble anywhere it has been enacted. What has happened, though, is a roughly 10% increase in overall voter turnout in states that have same day registration.

With these arguments hashed, rehashed, and re-rehashed, the final Senate debate today veered into the silly: 

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Full story: Election Modernization Bill Passes Senate

Several Likely 2014 Candidates Have Yet to File

7
  by: Colorado Pols Wed May 1, 2013 at 3:26 PM MDT

Where’s that coin that I flipped?

We've long passed the Q1 fundraising period for 2014, and while it is still early, there are quite a few candidates who have yet to even file an official candidate affidavit to run for office next year.

Of course, there are several reasons why you might wait to mail that piece of paper. Republican Rep. Mark Waller, for example, is widely believed to be planning a run for Attorney General, but there's no benefit to filing a candidate affidavit at least until the end of the legislative session.

The other thing to remember is that candidates for state office must file a personal financial disclosure form within 10 days of submitting their official candidate affidavit; some candidates may not have that information together yet, or may not be ready to disclose their recent finances. For someone like Gov. John Hickenlooper, who separated from his wife since last filing a candidate affidavit in 2010, this process could be significantly more complicated. 

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Full story: Several Likely 2014 Candidates Have Yet to File

Columnist Andrews can’t cite evidence that election-day voter registration favors Dems

43
  by: Jason Salzman Tue April 30, 2013 at 9:08 AM MDT

(Tell us how you really feel – Promoted by Colorado Pols)

In The Denver Post over the weekend, former State Senate President John Andrews wrote that if Colorado has election-day voter registration, as proposed in the election-modernization bill winding its way through the State Legislature, Democrats would "presto" have "tilted the electoral playing field permanently their way. Republican chances for regaining power and repealing any of this stuff will fade."

Presto? As in presto-change-o?

The "presto" part I get, because the new law would give people the opportunity to register to vote, presto, upon presenting themselves (and proper documents) at a polling center through Election Day. It would also give every voter the chance to, presto, vote with a mail-in ballot as well as the option of, presto, voting in person at vote centers.

But the "change-o" part baffles.

I looked, and I couldn't find any evidence that election-day voter registration would make the electoral playing field would go blue–or black with fraud.

So I was excited to hear about the evidence Andrews had to support his column.

"I have not done research on it," he told me.

I was crushed.

But that doesn't stop Andrews from saying: "Same-day registration is going to make the process of voting more emotion-driven and less reliably honest, and that favors Democrats." 

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Full story: Columnist Andrews can’t cite evidence that election-day voter registration favors Dems

James O’Keefe Wannabe Botches Denver Elections “Sting”

14
  by: Colorado Pols Tue April 30, 2013 at 8:31 AM MDT

Brandon Morse of Revealing Politics outside a Senate committee hearing recently.

Brandon Morse of Revealing Politics outside a Senate committee hearing recently.

This video from locally-based conservative "gotcha" site Revealing Politics has been making the breathless rounds within conservative social media circles since the weekend. A new GOP tracker named Brandon Morse has been hanging out at the state capitol for the last couple of weeks monitoring hearings, and it appears in his spare time, he popped over to the Denver Elections Division for a "voter registration sting" a la James O'Keefe–the notorious and widely-discredited hidden camera/edited footage artist whose similar sting attempts have made national news.

And like James O'Keefe, Brandon Morse doesn't appear to be very smart.

In the video above, Morse enters the Denver Elections Division to register to vote. The clerk asks Morse if he has a driver's license, and Morse answers "I don't." The clerk takes his information and instructs him to wait for a confirmation card in the mail. Morse walks out with a sly grin on his face.

What Morse doesn't say, and may not even know, is that persons in Colorado who don't produce an acceptable form of ID when registering are put into "Verify ID status," and must still produce identification to vote by mail–or in person for that matter, all of the laws on this still apply. It doesn't say so in this video, but Morse did allegedly provide the last four digits of his Social Security number, and that also works to allow the clerks to verify people's identity. Morse will respond that he wasn't required to produce a photo ID, but this video implies that nothing is verified at all–and that's simply not true.

Morse is trying to prove that it is too easy to be allowed to vote in Colorado…but he hasn't done that. At all. The only thing he has accomplished is to prove that an election clerk will take down your information if you ask to register to vote. Great work, Nancy Drew!

Here's another problem:

CLERK: And you, uh, you don't have a driver's license?

MORSE: I don't.

Did Brandon Morse break the law right there? 

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Full story: James O’Keefe Wannabe Botches Denver Elections “Sting”

Fact: Gessler Used State Funds To Attend GOP Events

3
  by: Colorado Pols Fri April 26, 2013 at 8:55 AM MDT

UPDATE: Colorado Ethics Watch updates us on the question of a previous Secretary of State who took the entire $5,000 discretionary account balance in the form of a check:

meyeraccount

—–

As reported in yesterday's Denver Post, the result of an independent investigation into Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler's alleged use of state funds to travel to partisan Republican events last year–including the Republican National Lawyers Association conference, immediately followed by the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida:

A plane ticket and $1,278.90 in expenses for the RNLA meeting were paid for with state funds. Gessler also attended the Republican National Convention while in Florida, but used campaign funds for expenses other than the plane ticket.

The report released Wednesday is a finding of fact, not a determination whether Gessler's actions were unethical.

Here are some details in the report from Heartland Investigative Group:

The investigation revealed that Secretary Gessler did attend and was a speaker at the Republican National Lawyers Association National Election Seminar in Sarasota, Florida on August 24th to 25th. The plane ticket and his expenses were paid out of the discretionary fund allotted annually to the Secretary of State in the amount of $5,000.00. The total amount paid out of the discretionary fund for his attendance at the Republican National Lawyers Association meeting was $1278.90. The plane ticket was $498.78…

It appears that Secretary Gessler did attend the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida, and his expenses were paid from his campaign funds, with the exception of his plane ticket. The cost of his plane ticket to Tampa does not appear to have been prorated between the Republican National Lawyers Association meeting and his attendance at the Republican National Convention. This ticket was paid for entirely from the discretionary fund.

Like we said, this investigative report on behalf of the Independent Ethics Commission does not rule on the legality (or morality) of its findings–that's for the IEC and the court of public opinion to decide. What the report does confirm are facts not really disputed: that Gessler did attend the Republican National Lawyers Association conference using state funds, and that he did use campaign funds to attend the Republican National Convention, with the exception of the plane ticket, the cost of which wasn't pro-rated between the two events.

Of course, if you don't think the RNLA conference was an appropriate use of state funds to begin with, pro-rating expenses between it and the obviously political RNC doesn't really matter. As the investigator reported:

 

I requested further information from the RNLA and received a response indicating that Secretary Gessler was not a member of the RNLA at the time he spoke at the RNLA National Election Seminar in August of 2012. Secretary Gessler was formally a member of RNLA up until 2006. The response states that the RNLA seminars are generally open to all attorneys regardless of party affiliation… [Pols emphasis]

Try not to giggle, folks. They apparently said it with a straight face–we'll see what the IEC thinks. 

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Full story: Fact: Gessler Used State Funds To Attend GOP Events

So, Uh, What’s the Deal with Ken Gordon?

15
  by: Colorado Pols Thu April 25, 2013 at 11:09 AM MDT

Ken Gordon

I’m Ken Gordon, and I may or may not be running for Secretary of State

Democrat Ken Gordon is currently the only Democrat registered as a candidate for Secretary of State in 2014, but is he really a candidate? It sure doesn't seem likely.

Since filing his paperwork in December, Gordon has done little other than try to raise money for Democrat Andrew Romanoff in his bid for Congress in CD (see a fundraising invitation from March after the jump, the second fundraising push Gordon made for Romanoff in Q1). The former State Senate Majority Leader lost an agonizingly-close race for Secretary of State in 2006, when Republican Mike Coffman emerged victorious by less than 2 points, and since that race he has largely devoted his time to a rather pointless (in our opinion) campaign to encourage candidates for office to eschew PAC money. Democrats are eager to take out Republican SOS Scott Gessler in 2014, and it was no surprise to see Gordon's name pop up as a candidate — but he has either lost interest or is waiting for something before he starts actually campaigning.

Joe Neguse, CU Regent

I’m Joe Neguse, and I may or may not be running for Secretary of State, too!

Gordon's campaign finance report from Q1 makes it clear how serious he is about running for SOS at this point. He has loaned his campaign $10,000, and is thus far the only contributor, writing a $1,100 check to open his campaign account in December. He has managed to spend $8,120.78, mostly on small administrative and staffing costs. Gordon's website, KenGordon.com, makes no reference to a potential 2014 campaign, and directs anyone interested in helping to focus their efforts on "getting big money out of politics" (though there is no link to his nonprofit CleanSlateNow.org).

Gordon is independently wealthy, so he has plenty of time to start working on a campaign warchest. We've heard, however, that Gordon is much more interested in helping Romanoff with his campaign than in running another race of his own. Perhaps Gordon was waiting to see if there would be a rush of interest in supporting his candidacy before he stepped out completely; more likely, he's deciding that being a full-time candidate for SOS doesn't interest him as much as he thought it would.

CU Regent Joe Neguse has long been talking about running for SOS, though he hasn't yet filed any paperwork to announce his intentions. In short, Democrats have two potential candidates for SOS right now: One has already filed and spent money on a "campaign," but doesn't seem particularly interested in running anymore. The other is reportedly interested in running, but hasn't filed paperwork or made any official movement towards forming a committee.

Meanwhile, Gessler has $33,717.54 in the bank for his re-election bid, but we continue to hear that it is likely he will run for Governor instead. So…whatever.

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Full story: So, Uh, What’s the Deal with Ken Gordon?

Reporters Need To Know Who (And What) They’re Talking About

10
  by: Colorado Pols Thu April 25, 2013 at 8:42 AM MDT

After some six hours of debate that lasted well into the evening yesterday, House Bill 1303, the Voter Access and Modernized Elections Act, passed the Senate State Affairs Committee on a party-line vote. Having passed the House, the bill appears increasingly certain to become law–that is, after Republican legislative opponents and Secretary of State Scott Gessler take as much time as possible outlining various disastrous consequences they foresee. We distinguish Republican legislators and Gessler from Republicans generally, because Republican opposition to House Bill 1303 is far from unanimous: county clerks from across the state, including many Republicans, support the bill.

The testimony against House Bill 1303 consisted of Gessler's by-now familiar compliants about "not being consulted" on the bill, and "ordinary citizens" worried about the prospect of "voter fraud." As The Denver Post's Joey Bunch breathlessly reported last night, at least one very dramatic charge of voting fraud involving University of Colorado students was made by a witness:

Much of the opposition testimony was from people who said they were worried about fraud, if same-day registration is allowed. Much of the testimony in Wednesday night’s 6-hour hearing matched that of a seven-and-a-half hour hearing last week, but the tales of past voter fraud by regular citizen was alarming. [Pols emphasis] Russell Hass [sic-Pols] of Golden, for instance, said he knew of University of Colorado students living in a hotel in Wisconsin to qualify to vote there in a tight election. Their expenses were paid by a rich person in Aspen he said.

Russell Haas is very well-known in Jefferson County Republican circles. Joey Bunch should have noted that, but since he didn't spell Haas' name correctly it's a safe bet Bunch didn't know who this guy was. Haas was in fact the registered sponsor of Amendment 61, one of the "Bad Three" anti-tax initiatives masterminded by Douglas Bruce. During the long legal battle over Bruce's secret donations to that campaign, Haas racked up thousands of dollars in fines for failing to disclose Bruce as the funder of the initiative–fines that Scott Gessler later slashed to $50.

Now there's some backstory that Joey Bunch should have included in his "alarming" report, don't you think? Safe to say, a role model for honest dealing in politics and elections Russell Haas is not.

And then there's the matter of Haas' allegation. Folks, we certainly are not aware of any group of University of Colorado students "living in a hotel in Wisconsin to qualify to vote there in a tight election." We know nothing about a "rich person in Aspen" funding such an effort. Given the stiff penalties for and limited utility of individual voter fraud, this seems most unlikely, but if it were true, we believe it would be a nationwide story. In fact, what seems impossible is the idea that every conservative media outlet in America would not be shouting that from the rooftops if there were even the smallest shred of evidence to support the claim.

But instead of badly-needed context, and an objective look at the allegation being made, in the state's newspaper of record we get this ridiculous pearl-clutching story lending "alarming" credibility to one of the least credible figures in Colorado politics–and uncritically reprinting a wild allegation with absolutely zero supporting evidence.

It's an excellent example of lazy journalism becoming downright irresponsible.


Full story: Reporters Need To Know Who (And What) They’re Talking About

Sorry Mario, But “Out And Out” Racism Is Very Real

64
  by: Colorado Pols Wed April 24, 2013 at 4:35 PM MDT

THURSDAY UPDATE: And for good measure, NBC News' Rachel Maddow:

—–

UPDATE: Folks, you did realize NBC News' Al Sharpton was going to see this eventually, right? Holy crap:

—–

David Weigel of Slate is the latest national voice to weigh in on the growing controversy over mailers attacking Republican county clerks, sent by a group headed by the former communications director of the Colorado GOP, Bill Ray–mailers that contain a photo altered to remove African-American faces from a line of voters.

The only black woman in the photo had been photoshopped out, replaced by the woman standing next to her. Why?

"The mail house just made a monumental mistake," says Mario Nicolais, counsel for Citizens for Free and Fair Elections. "And they hadn't informed the folks here that they'd done the Photoshop. I think they just weren't thinking."

We've reported on the response from the mail house in question, Commerce City-based Wizbang Solutions, and their claim that the Photoshopping of the African-American woman at the center of the photo in question was done to depict "the same person waiting in line to vote." This excuse doesn't explain the removal of another African-American face directly behind the first one–the two most prominent in the photo, with other minorities depicted either barely visible or faded out of the edges. Moreover, nothing in the text content of the mailing suggests a problem with people voting twice; it's all about "felons, illegal aliens, and the deceased."

In short, their excuse is ridiculous, in no way persuasive that this isn't exactly what it looks like. 

(more…)


Full story: Sorry Mario, But “Out And Out” Racism Is Very Real

Red-on-Red Racist Mailer Scandal Rapidly Escalating

84
  by: Colorado Pols Tue April 23, 2013 at 8:42 AM MDT

UPDATE: Story now up at national progressive political blogs ThinkProgress and Huffington Post.

—-

hackstaffaltered

A very important update today to the story we've been following of attack mailers sent into Mesa and La Plata counties this past weekend, going after Republican clerks for their support for House Bill 1303–the Voter Access and Modernized Elections Act modernizing election procedures and solving problems that have arisen with the growing use of mail ballots in Colorado elections.

Junction Daily Blog first reported the existence of these mailings on Saturday, and their return address matching that of Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler's former law firm, the Hackstaff Law Group (formerly Hackstaff Gessler). By Sunday, a Colorado Pols reader had discovered that one of the main images in this mailing, a photo of a line of voters, had been digitally altered or "Photoshopped" to remove African-American faces from the original photo. The combination of the over-the-top hysterics in the mailer's content–"even the deceased could cast ballots!"–and the very nasty racist implications in removing black faces from a photo being sent to a 99% white locality have turned this mailer into a significant, and most embarrassing, complication for Secretary Gessler and his efforts against House Bill 1303. Yesterday, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) condemned the mailers, and called on Gessler to denounce them.

That's where the Durango Herald's Joe Hanel picks up the story today, filling in must-read details:

The mailer digitally altered a picture to remove black people from a photo of voters standing in line, but the company that designed it said it was trying to make a point about voter fraud, not race…

As a nonprofit, Citizens for Free and Fair Elections does not have to reveal its donors. Its 2010 and 2011 tax forms list Bill Ray, a Republican political consultant, as the executive director.

Ray said Gessler had no part in putting together the flier.

Ray said the firm that printed and designed the flier, Wizbang Solutions, altered the photo without knowledge or permission of anyone at Citizens for Free and Fair Elections.

“We neither approved nor asked for any Photoshopping to be done to the photo,” Ray said.

A Wizbang employee named “Mike,” who would not give his last name, read a statement from the company to the Herald: “Wizbang Solutions, in an effort to underscore the theme of voter fraud, edited a stock photo. Our actions were merely to provide a visual context of the same person waiting in line to vote. Any assertions that the editing was for any other purpose is political folly and takes away from the subtle undertone intended by our artist.” [Pols emphasis]

Bill Ray, former Colorado GOP communications director.

Bill Ray, former Colorado GOP communications director.

It has been erroneously reported that the group Citizens for Free and Fair Elections was unregistered with the state. In fact the group has existed for several years. Bill Ray, identified as the group's director in today's story, is the former communications director of the Colorado Republican Party, serving in that capacity under former Chairman Ted Halaby. Ray's company WR Communications boasts a large roster of clients including CenturyLink, Pfizer, and the Colorado Rural Electric Association.

And folks, above all, this is no anonymous crackpot. This mailer was produced by a fixture of Republican politics in Colorado, using the state's foremost GOP law firm as a return address. Ray's role, along with that of Hackstaff Law Group, amounts to plain complicity within the GOP establishment in this campaign against fellow Republican county clerks. In every meaningful way, his identity closes the loop on what is happening. Does it prove Bill Ray personally sat down with Scott Gessler and planned this mailing? No. But at a certain level, as everyone not being willfully naive knows, that doesn't matter.

When you put together these players on any chart, they form a single team.

As for the "marketing geniuses" at Commerce City-based Wizbang Solutions, they have possibly offered up the most pathetic excuse for their obvious racist intent in editing out African-American faces from this mailing that we have ever heard from anyone about anything. This is, like Ray, a company with some prestigious clients who are most unlikely to approve of what was done here–no matter who "asked for" these edits. And please, folks. It's absurd for them to suggest anything other than a racist motive for editing the photo in question. Their feeble excuse for one such alteration doesn't explain the removal, for example, of the African-American man standing behind the first black person they edited out. It is absolutely, irrevocably undeniable what the "subtle undertone" was in editing out the black faces (plural) from this photo, and their ridiculous excuses only make it worse for them.

Close-up showing second African-American face removed from original photo.

Close-up showing second African-American face removed from original photo.

Today's excellent reporting by Joe Hanel doesn't answer all the questions by any stretch, nor do these denials from Ray and/or his marketing consultants, which raise more questions than they answer.

But if there's any justice, heads in upper Colorado conservative circles need to roll.


Full story: Red-on-Red Racist Mailer Scandal Rapidly Escalating

The Hackstaff Election Flier: Skullduggery or Misdeeds?

1
  by: ClubTwitty Mon April 22, 2013 at 6:37 PM MDT

Hat Tip to David T for noticing this was licensed to Getty Images. 

 

So I did some digging.  Comments led me to wondering what exactly are the requirements for and agreements in using a licensed image, like the one from Getty used in the Hackstaff stamped smear mailer.

And, unless the dirty-tricks dark money shop has some particular and unique license with Getty Images, it would appear to be in violation of Getty’s license agreement. 

First of all, it is a licensed image, as the caption from the Washington Post story the original appears in also notes. 

People wait in line to vote at Caroline High School on November 6, 2012 in Milford, Virginia. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

From the Getty Images licensing information and indices, we learn it is classified as an ‘Editorial (Rights Managed) Photo.

Editorial (RM)

Products in our editorial collections are licensed with restrictions on usage, such as limitations on size, placement, duration of use and geographic distribution. Editorial products must be used in an "editorial" manner, which means use relating to events that are newsworthy or of public interest. If you wish to use an image or video from our editorial collections for a non-editorial use, you must contact a sales representative to assist you. All licenses of editorial products are subject to Getty Images Editorial, Rights-Managed and Rights-Ready Image and Video License Agreement.

Getty Images serves as a broker for professional photojournalists, and this–especially–is considered a premium service.  And a premium, proprietary product. 

About pricing rights-managed image

RM images are part of our high-end, premium collections. The price is determined by how you intend to use the RM image. Need to display an RM image across multiple media types? Please contact us.

All licenses of editorial products are subject to Getty Images Editorial, Rights-Managed and Rights-Ready Image and Video License Agreement.

Maybe the dark money dirty-tricks shop mailing from the Hackstaff Llc address bought the premium license for this image.  If so it still appears it is in violation of the Editorial, Rights-Managed Agreement referenced above. 

2.4 Editorial Licensed Material may be cropped or otherwise edited for technical quality, provided that the editorial integrity of the Licensed Material is not compromised, but shall not, under any circumstances, otherwise be altered.  (Emphasis Twitty)

So, how does this work now?   If the dark money shop neglected to comply with either or both requirement above—that is in (1) getting a license from Getty Images, the lawful broker of the image, and (2) in following the specific requirements of the Getty Images Editorial, Rights-Managed and Rights-Ready Image and Video License Agreement who exactly looks into that?

Can Hackstaff Llc still claim it is just performing a client service if actual misdeeds, not just skullduggery, were done? 

Does this warrant an investigation by Secretary of State Gessler? 


Full story: The Hackstaff Election Flier: Skullduggery or Misdeeds?

NAACP Condemns Anti-Election Bill Mailers

82
  by: Colorado Pols Mon April 22, 2013 at 2:47 PM MDT

hackstaffaltered

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is out with a statement this afternoon endorsing Colorado House Bill 1303, the Voter Access and Modernized Elections Act being debated now at the state capitol–and condemning a mailer sent this past weekend attacking county clerks who support the bill. That attack mailer, as we discussed this weekend, appears to have been altered to remove African-American faces from a photo of a crowd of voters in line to vote.

The NAACP Colorado Montana Wyoming State Area Conference today endorsed a bill that will expand options for voters, modernize our elections and save money for counties around our state.

The NAACP State Conference also expressed serious concern regarding Secretary of State Scott Gessler's close ties to a group that sent postcards to voters over the weekend in two western slope counties. Those postcard contained images in which the faces of African-American voters had been digitally removed and replaced with the faces of White voters… [Pols emphasis]

"The NAACP State Conference stands with the Colorado County Clerks Association, AARP CO, the League of Women Voters, Colorado Progressive Coalition and many other voters' rights and civil rights organizations in endorsing this legislation.

On a related matter, the NAACP State Conference is seriously concerned about an anonymous group, reported to have close ties the Secretary of State, which sent out fliers in La Plata County and Mesa County, criticizing their clerks support of the bill. The information was not only wrong, there is evidence that the faces of African-American voters were intentionally digitally removed from the picture.

The media should join the NAACP State Conference and others in questioning the Secretary of State about this apparent attempt to change the very face of Colorado in ways that lack inclusion and lack truth. Whoever did this should be ashamed. What message does this send to people of color in Colorado — and all of us — about our elections system?

The media must call on Gessler to reveal his ties, denounce this outrageous negative, misleading, exclusionary and divisive effort — or forfeit his ability to remain our Secretary of State with any credibility." [Pols emphasis]


Full story: NAACP Condemns Anti-Election Bill Mailers