U.S. Senate
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(D) J. Hickenlooper*
(R) Somebody
80%
20%
Governor
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(D) Joe Neguse
(D) Phil Weiser
(D) Jena Griswold
60%
60%
40%↓
Att. General
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(D) M. Dougherty
(D) Alexis King
(D) Brian Mason
40%
40%
30%
Sec. of State
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(D) George Stern
(D) A. Gonzalez
(R) Sheri Davis
40%
40%
30%
State Treasurer
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(D) Brianna Titone
(R) Kevin Grantham
(D) Jerry DiTullio
60%
30%
20%
CO-01 (Denver)
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(D) Diana DeGette*
(R) Somebody
90%
2%
CO-02 (Boulder-ish)
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(D) Joe Neguse*
(R) Somebody
90%
2%
CO-03 (West & Southern CO)
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(R) Jeff Hurd*
(D) Somebody
80%
40%
CO-04 (Northeast-ish Colorado)
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(R) Lauren Boebert*
(D) Somebody
90%
10%
CO-05 (Colorado Springs)
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(R) Jeff Crank*
(D) Somebody
80%
20%
CO-06 (Aurora)
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(D) Jason Crow*
(R) Somebody
90%
10%
CO-07 (Jefferson County)
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(D) B. Pettersen*
(R) Somebody
90%
10%
CO-08 (Northern Colo.)
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(R) Gabe Evans*
(D) Yadira Caraveo
(D) Joe Salazar
50%
40%
40%
State Senate Majority
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DEMOCRATS
REPUBLICANS
80%
20%
State House Majority
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DEMOCRATS
REPUBLICANS
95%
5%
June 10, 2009 05:23 PM UTC
74 Comments
Can anyone tell me why Don Elliman couldn’t oversee the spending of stimulus funds from his old perch (in the Economic Development Office)?
http://www.denverpost.com/news…
Why did Ritter need to create a new government position with a six figure salary?
According to SteveBalboni yesterday–when I asked a somewhat related question:
Of course, we should be polite and also decline to inquire: If this job is just about administering the stimulus dollars…as some defenders of Ritter say…why not give it that title, ‘sted of the rather more grandiose “Chief Operating Officer.” Maybe it’s to distinguish between “COO” and “Governor,” the latter being too busy to oversee the state government while also fulfilling his other momentous responsibilities, such as… ah, well, such as His Momentous Responsibilities.
BTW, not to doubt Steve Balboni on this subject, but what is his new salary, anyway? Was that in the press release?
… Pols won’t promo it, but you could point to some interesting things:
1. Where’s the LtGuv in this … isn’t she the back up?
2. Why isn’t the Guv leading this himself?
3. COO, where is the Guv’s chief of staff or is this really a real “COO” position?
4. Why havn’t they outsourced the staff function to Windward (tracking)?
5. Why can’t the new “COO” do this from his old seat at government?
6. Just how many BILLIONS in bailout $s will Colorado get?
From the Department of Faint Praise we learn from Hizonor that the governor has “done a good job in certain areas.”
Way to go, Gov!
We are now accepting nominations for what those “certain areas” might be. For starters:
1. Keeps his desk nice and clean.
2. Does a good job of not telling legislators what he thinks.
3. Keeps his hair combed.
4. Goes a good job of letting everyone know he ain’t no pushover for his previous supporters.
Other areas? There have gotta be dozens and dozens….
that was pretty funny.
Not a exactly a resounding hail of support for the Guv or himself.
A human being? Wow, you need to put a B_R_E_A_K_I_N_G tag in your heading…
You support politicians claiming perfection?
Wake up twitty.
Perlmutter might be your option to retain the mansion in 2010. I carried his name in my poll last week, he got nearly no votes from the groupthink crowd here.
Your skill at self-parody is commendable little Tadpole.
He was elected to serve as mayor and needs to complete that job … unlike Super Bennet and his corrupt and failed gorilla war at DPS.
DPS, kickin’ it with a 50-70% graduation rate!
Maybe it’s not just DPS that needs to teach students how to spell and write at above a 6th grade level…
you’re correct guerilla war as in Che, Hugo, Kim Il Jong
or a gorilla war
kinda like GM, Chrysler … but much rougher
not a guerrilla war. I mean unless you are a right-wing loon.
multiple asset classes were taken from multiple owners … and that was just the oil and gas sector.
…assuming Liberetad is alluding to the current leader of North Korea. He inherited the job from his father, Kim Il Sung.
You’re not using the Twisted Outlook spell and fact checker are you?
…assuming Libertad is alluding to the current leader of North Korea, who inherited his job from his father, Kim Il Sung.
Best to stick with Che, like the rest of us do.
BTW, are you still using that Twisted Outlook checker, Libertad? Better upgrade next time you drive to the mall; just turn left every opportunity until you find the Political Therapy storefront.
That would include just about anyone who ever ran for higher office, wouldn’t it? Can we quote you on that next year?
Call McInnis now to float your strategy, that critical inside baseball leverage just might carry the day for him in MesaCo.
If Penry wins the primary, which he could given the hard-core wingnuts who love him, he’d lose badly to Ritter.
The one Ritter is nervous about, and rightly so, is McInnis.
Penry is an arrogant young man in too much of a hurry with no resume to speak of. Ritter would trash him, no matter how disaffected some of the lefties on this site are.
The easier candidate for the D to beat is McInnis. He is a great campaigner, but has huge baggage, and does not (in the same vein as Ritter) have the solid support of his base.
Penry wins the primary so the question is moot.
Wonder what his plans are.
Some people just have it. This is not good staff work, Hickenlooper is a natural and genuine to boot.
Governor cannot be happy this is even a story.
It’s a long way from “not going to primary you” to “I endorse you”.
I think the bad blood is real.
Obviously, anyones supporters would try to cause trouble with the “other guy”. This would indicate the mayor’s view that no one should primary the Guv. So why would Hick NOT endorse him right now?
Come on girls and boys … isn’t it obvious … it’s that network of folks that hang out with Pat, Blair, Walt, Dan. The ballot buy-off specialists got tricked by Ritter on 47, 49, 54 and haven’t forgotten. What makes me LMAO is that it’s likely Wm. Dean Singleton nudging them along.
Let’s get it right. If there is “bitterness and divisiveness” in the Democratic Party the cause is Bill Ritter’s disloyalty to core Democratic values. A primary will be the natural consequence of Bill Ritter’s own decisions and conduct. The governor is the author of his own misfortune. A typical feature of abusive status quo politics is for the abuser/exploiter to blame the abused party for the consequences of the abuser’s actions. It’s both revealing and sad to see that ColoradoPols has adopted this habit of thought.
See, if Ritter isn’t reelected, it’ll be the fault of all those people who didn’t vote for him. Bastards.
What we’re saying is that choosing to run a primary against an incumbent Governor is a very tough decision. While Ritter is not particularly popular with Democrats right now – something which we’ve written extensively about – there are also plenty of people who still support him. Running against an incumbent and losing is different than running against someone in an open primary and losing.
When Ritter and his Senate appointee, good ol’ what’s his name, hand the top of the ticket to the GOP, it’ll be some consolation that at least nobody on our side acted divisively or rashly by challenging the blue dogs. Where would we be without respect for the established pecking order and personal gratitude for exploitation?
His “friends” showed him he could beat Ritter, he doesn’t want to do it for likely many personal reasons – there is no upside for him.
I can’t imagine they only polled Hick … where are the cross tabs?
Who else is on their short list?
Why are they whacking the Guv after he just screwed labor on 1170 and 180?
Hick is right. A fight between Denver Mayor and Gov. would be most unsightly and destructive. Ritter still has a very good chance of winning against a GOP in disarray but that would still leave Dems with a weak (and growing weaker all the time), not very popular or effective leader as Governor going into 2012. Maybe if we all start calling and e-mailing the White House, asking the President to please help us out here by finding a nice appointment for Ritter so we can have a do-over? I know… an impossible dream. It is what it is.
What a shame that after turning the state from almost all red to almost all blue at every level in just a few thrilling election cycles, we now find ourselves following the incredible 2008 elections, including going for a Dem President without help from a Ross Perot, by going into 2010 with nothing more exciting to keep the roll going than Sen. Bennet and Gov. Ritter.
Not as if that makes a come-back a slam dunk for Rs (Colorado Rs, like national Rs, being so determined to shoot themselves in the foot) but it’s got to be giving them and their donors some encouragement. Our grassroot volunteers? Not so much.
Sorry, I can’t get beyond phrases like “unsightly and destructive,” to say nothing of “very tough decision” in the post above.
I agree with everything BlueCat says after the first sentence, but I also fear that the fear of mixing it up, or appearing to step out of line, plays a critical role in politics in the Far Flung Territories, whereas in other regions…
Politics is a contact sport, as they say. We have an incumbent governor who has lost his claim on renomination by virtue of (a) a largely empty, ineffective record; and (b) turning on his base of support. We need someone else, lest Democrats sit on their hands 18 months from now and the moribund Republicans creep over the line first, albeit on life support. We cannot afford to hope for the worst from That Other Party.
Running and losing is always an unwelcome prospect. But does anyone think (a) that a challenger is going to wear the Mark of Cain for the rest of her life? or (b) that anyone much cares what happens in primaries after both contestants kiss, make up, make out, and move forward with mutual affection, adoration, and ad money? or (c) that sitting at home awaiting another consulting gig, or whatever She’s doing in Gunbarrel (hint, hint), is going to promote her career in politics?
C’mon folks. Miss Twitty’s School of Manners was okay when you were in Fourth Grade and didn’t know how to hold a wine glass properly. But we’re grown up now.
Let the games begin! We need to play to win, not to be invited to the next tea party.
It is what it is. The state Dem Party isn’t going to encourage a full out fight between the Mayor and the Gov. or a nasty primary in general.
But this time I think you’re right. I do think we could still win even after a little primary bloodshed in 2010. If ever the Colorado GOP was weak enough to allow us the luxury of infighting without handing them a statewide election, it’s now. We probably should go for dumping Ritter. We can still win.
We would be much better off with a better, stronger Dem Gov going into 2012. This is not a great time to be letting air out of the balloon. We have all of these new pumped up registered Dems, thanks to Obama, and Ritter and Bennet ( another lousy Ritter decision) are piss poor choices for keeping up their enthusiasm. I just don’t see a game-changing fight happening. Barring something unforeseen Ritter will be the Dem candidate.
Still not much for our rightie friends to cheer about here. Their candidate is going to get smoked regardless.
that the state Democratic Party, as an entity, is a player. I gather this has something to do with election laws that prevent too much power/influence/pussy-footing by the parties (like those nasty party bosses from days of yore Back East), as opposed to the candidates, but the party qua party seems limited to raising general funds and organizing turn-out, registration, etc. on behalf of whomever is eventually nominated.
Thus, a dependence on the famous grass roots. Anyone got some extra Turf Builder (r) on hand?
You haven’t noticed that the party is a player?!? You don’t know much about how politics works do you, JO? On this planet. In the real world. My mistake. I just assumed…. Anyway, trust me. The grass roots isn’t going to force Ritter out without a lot of help from the powers that be.
But yesterday the word of Caesar might have stood against the world; now he lies there.
And none so poor to do him reverence.
Oh masters, if I were disposed to stir your hearts and minds to mutiny and rage, I should do Brutus wrong, and Cassius wrong, who, you all know, are honorable men.
I will not do them wrong; I rather choose to wrong the dead, to wrong myself and you, than I will wrong such honorable men…
I fear the honorable men whose daggers have stabbed Caesar, I do fear it!
– Julius Caesar, Act III, scene II
Though he clearly is the best candidate to take out the Guv and hold the seat for the Ds.
Other names (other than Romanoff) being asked/pushed include Joan Fitz-Gerald, Morgan Carrol and Chris Romer.
Is it possible for the illuminati on this site to explore the relative merits of these three specific names (okay, four if you count St. Andrew)?
I’ll start by suggesting that Joan F-G was perceived as too conservative for CD2–which might be a recommendation in a statewide race. (Seem to recall she fell short on $$$ compared to her competition in the primary. AND she wouldn’t endorse Obama ahead of the primary whilst running the heart of ColObamaland.) But Guv in ’10? Good looking resume to run state government.
with the possible exception of Romanoff and Chris Romer (99% due to his dad, who I thought the left hated, but I guess they’re ok with Chris. Anyway…) have the name ID necessary to win statewide. Since Romanoff’s not actually left enough for the left, he’s pretty much out of the conversation until he makes a move, so let’s just concern ourselves with the other three.
They would all need to run near-flawless campaigns to both unseat Gov. Ritter and then go on to beat Josh Penry (or Clive Teedwall, Don “Amaesing” Maes, or “Bumbling” Scott McInnis [tee-hee to all]) in November. Since most of the money in the gubernatorial campaign comes from 527s, name ID is undoubtedly the most important asset. Out of the three, JFG would probably run the strongest campaign.
Not that Penry has much better ID, but by the time August rolls around, he’ll likely be the coronated nominee and therefore will already be in the full swing of his general election campaign. He has problems of his own to work out in that time, but he’ll have the luxury of focusing on them without having to do daily battle with an opponent in the media.
I like this though. At least two of those three are left enough to appease the people who are mad at Ritter for not being left enough. All three of them make the most sense out of anyone other than Hickenlooper that I’ve heard mentioned before.
My biggest reason for wanting a primary is to try to get a stronger leader as governor. Out of them, Joan Fitz-Gerald has the most proven leadership ability, and she’s the most labor-friendly (maybe tied with Morgan Carroll on that issue.) Her biggest test will be to see if she can overcome her loss in CD-2 and win not only a much bigger primary, but also what will most likely be the most bruising gubernatorial election in recent memory.
is pretty much on target.
the name ID thing however is easily overcome in that:
1) money buys name id these days;
2) a primary will generate a lot of coverage and thus increase name id.
Of course it is better to start with go name id.
I believe this race is all about the primary (if there is one).
Romanoff, Fitz-Gerald, or Romer, I believe would beat Ritter in a primary, and should be able to win the general, given the state of the R party and their potential candidates (it will be Penry).
Moreover, if Ritter doesn’t have a primary, he will win the General – again because of the sad state of the R party, currently.
Money for Ritter may be a problem. He has not raised much so far, and is not known for his fund-raising ability. This is all about the 527s now, and he may not have any of that. Labor may not be there with 527 money, so the big question is, where are the millionaires that backed him the last time?
Not sure what intereste Jared Polis has at this point, now that he has won his CD seat. Perhaps he will comment here.
Rutt Bridges has become a non-player and I have been told that Pat Stryker is very unhappy with Ritter and may not be willing to put money into his race (that doesn’t mean, necessarily that she would support a primary opponent, but no money for Ritter is no money for Ritter).
That leaves Tim Gill. I don’t know where he may be at this point.
Given all of this and the fact that lesser (though significant) Dem fundraisers are ready to sit this one out, Ritter better find a lot of money from his new friends in the business community.
That said, I wouldn’t worry too much about Joan’s loss in the CD2 primary last year. Of course, I’m ignorant, but ’round the time of the county convention, Ste. Joan had not, and would not, endorse Obama; Polis did. Big boost for Jared right there in CD2. She wasn’t an entirely gracious loser, but then she had invested a lot of her career for the nomination, which I suspect she may have thought was owed her.
Money might also have been an issue. But we now have learned that it’s an issue for Ritter too. Hot damn! Read a lot, learn a little.
Sorry to see the obituary has already been written among the cognescenti for the Obama Roots movement. Guess we’re back to backdoor finance a la 527.
Otherwise I could image a Joan & Alice (Madden, for Senate) team generating a fair amount of enthusiasm in the runup to the primary. Is there a connection between a pathetic lists of candidates on both sides under discussion and the fact that none of them are women? Just wondering. Are Democratic primaries high finance affairs in CO? Wonder how the market’s downturn is going to affect the next round? Nah, nothing ever changes; you just gotta know how politics works.
couldn’t agree more. Same goes for minority candidates (except for Ryan Frazier.)
As far as the Obama roots movement, that had everything to do with Obama, and very little to do with any other politicians. Show me a pol who is as electrifying as he was last year, and I’ll show you a massive grassroots financing scheme.
I’m not a huge fan of the 527s either, but when it comes to statewide races they aren’t going away any time soon because of the limits for state races being so much lower than they are for federal races.
You’re forgetting Lucero. He’s a person of color — even if that color is orange.
but your thought of Lucero in CD-4 is interesting because he’s the only Hispanic candidate I can think of who’s announced for a major race besides John Salazar.
Luckily we have a wealth of excellent female and minority office holders in state government, so maybe in the future they won’t be as uncommon as they are now.
about the top statewide races. But we don’t have that many minority office holders in state government. Last I checked, there was but a single black member of the legislator, and only a few Hispanic members.
between party affiliated movers and shakers and 527s, I just need you to send me a check so I can release your lottery winnings.
If Penry walks to a nomination and on the Dem side we have a down to the wire contest then the top two will have major name ID. And the 527 money will be there waiting for the winner.
That’s a hoot! Oh yeah, great chance there.
and I have to agree that she probably shouldn’t step in to this race. However, I think she does have the political skills necessary to become governor in 2014 if she wants to.
…you’re wrong.
I think he’d greatly benefit from the contrast to her. If this were IL they might cut a deal that she runs soft at him, then he picks her up as his Lt Guv.
After all he now has a State COO in charge of the bailout bucks.
If you read a little bit closer, you might have noticed I said she shouldn’t run this year but rather wait until 2014.
Since I forgot that you were home-schooled, I assumed you were responding to what I actually wrote. I’ll try to remember that in the future and keep the words in my responses monosyllabic.
vs mine that stated she’d be destroyed before an an August primary regardless of your opinion that she should wait until 2014.
Its a two-way street out here cuz, look both ways before you cross.
responds to anything anyone actually wrote and never to facts. Facts are so reality based and that’s a no no in the world Liberturd inhabits. All you need there is to read from the talking points list du jour.
Have heard some pretty negative stories about her playing well with others skills. Don’t see her making it to Governor in 2014 either.
Lets analyze the alleged dissatisfaction with Governor Ritter. Most of what I’ve read here today focuses on left leaning Democrats who are cirtical of the labor bill vetoes and his appontment of Senator Bennet but I think we should take a much broader view.
First, the Democrats are ascendant in Colorado and for good reasons but how did they do it, besides the fact the Republican Party walked off the cliff? They did it by appealing to and winning over many moderate Republicans and independent voters. The Democrats have expanded their base but that also means these new Democrat voters bring a decidedly moderate tone and tint along with them. They aren’t upset about Governor Ritter’s vetoes of the labor bills or his appointment of Senator Bennett.
Nor are they upset with Mr. Elliman’s appointment as COO for Colorado. His job for the most part will be to make sure Colorado meets the dealines under the Stimulus bill for committing the funds alloted to Colorado. If the state doesn’t meet those deadlines, the funds are returned to the U.S. Treasury and then alloted to other states. We already know some states won’t meet the deadlines so additional monies will be avaialbale and Mr. Elliman will be there to make sure Colorado can obtain additional funding. The idea that some have posed in another thread today that the Governor should be doing this himself ignores the fact he has the remainder of the state government to oversee. Mr. Elliman’s appointment is a sensible move to ensure Colorado receives and meets the federal deadlines for Stimulus funds.
From a broad political perspective, what we are witnessing is the fusing together of a new political coalition which will either find its balance or break apart. In the meantime, the long term Democrats are demanding that any Democrat who is in the governors office support their tradtional legislation, like HB 1170, but that does not mean the political center of gravity for the Democrats is where it was six, or even four years ago. Governor Ritter knows that and is governing from that perspective.
An expanded political base requires governing from the center and Governor Ritter is doing exactly that.
Obviously you have that data because of statements like ….
It sounds to me like R36 is reading tea leaves, probably with a well known breakdown of state voter types in mind.
But you keep hammering away about secret polls. It’s gotten you far.
There are two kinds of new Democratic voters —
1) disaffected Republicans, or hardcore unaffilicated ticket-splitters who have given up on Republicans’ abilities to get anything done or are turned off by the hard-cores
and
2) actual new voters brought to the rolls by a little thing called the Obama campaign.
We don’t know how (1) will vote if the Democrats have a whiff of incompetence about them, or if dissatisfaction with the state of things continues to rise after Democrats have been in power, or how or whether (2) will vote without Obama on the ticket.
Still, R36’s analysis sounds right on, but keep in mind Republicans are making it easy for Democrats to retain most of these voters by their relentless obstructionism and inability to sound reasonable.
I heard this same BS from Floyd Ciruli on TV the other night. Ritter’s support is not expanding, this is simple arithmetic. He won with 57% in 2006 and today he has approval ratings somewhere in the 40s. That’s not a sign of someone who is forging a new political coalition, it’s the sign of an incumbent tanking.
All of this talk about a new political coalition is utter nonsense. It doesn’t stand up to the slightest bit of scrutiny or critical thought.
He think that he’s governing from the center, and maybe he is, but he’s not expanding his political base. There is no objective measure by which you can argue that he is.
Somebody please call Rep Perlmutter, get him up and throwing.
ps tell Feeley and Quick to grab their gloves too!!!
I think a lot of the unhappiness with Ritter is not the vetos per-se but rather the lack of process and effort beforehand to create a bill acceptable to all. In other words, doing badly at the process.
I don’t get the sense that the disappointment with Ritter is confined to simply interest groups, much less just one interest group.
Ok, to get & keep the funds the state has to report on the use of the monies received. And for several months I have asked the state if we can help them on this reporting (with our software) – and I keep getting told that they haven’t gotten around to that yet.
How on earth do you think Colorado will keep even one cent if they aren’t putting any effort into putting the required reporting mechanisms into place.