Coyote Gulch

Friday, July 18, 2003

2004 Presidential Election
Below is a post from Howard Dean's campaign analysing a recent poll. I'm going to surf a bit to find out about the organization that did the poll:
Zogby: More Americans Want a New President.
In the latest Zogby poll released today, Bush's overall job approval numbers have slid to 53% positive, with 46% of Americans now holding a negative view of Bush's job performance. The breakdown looks even worse for Bush:

Opinion is split on foreign policy, [with Bush's job performance viewed by] 49% positive compared to 50% negative. His performance on health care is rated 36% positive, 61% negative; the environment, 31% positive, 65% negative; taxes, 45% positive, 54% negative; and jobs and the economy, 33% positive, 66% negative.

It wasn't but a few weeks ago that we were all treated to the steady drumbeat of "Unbeatable Bush" on the television news. Now, as the questions of who knew what mount (a line of questioning driven by Howard Dean), the big corner has been turned:

For the first time, more likely voters (47%) say it's time for someone new in the White House, compared to 46% who said the President deserves to be re-elected.

[Blog for America]
9:47:05 PM

2003 Inaugural Celebration(s)
Here is the list of scheduled inaugural events from the the Denver Post [July 18, 2003, "Inaugural events"].
6:14:07 AM

2003 Denver Mayoral Transition
Update:
9News is reporting that Mayor-elect Hickenlooper is flying in a new direction at Denver International Airport. Mr. Hickenlooper plans a national search to find a candidate that'll push down costs, in an effort to build traffic, and other business.
City employees have been discussing the Mayor-elect's appointments for weeks now. Some want to keep their current bosses and some want 'em out of there. The Denver Post [July 18, 2003, "Chief of police will be named soon in city"] is reporting that Mr. Hickenlooper will name a Chief of Police within a week. From the article, "District 6 Sgt. Dave Dawkins, nephew of the Rev. John O'Shea, the retired deputy police chief turned Catholic priest who is now hospitalized, said he has applied for the chief's job. Several other rumored applicants contacted Thursday by The Denver Post denied their interest in the job or refused to comment."
The Post [July 18, 2003, "Webb team told to clear out desks"] is also running a story about 10 Webb appointees that have been told that they will not be asked to serve in the Mayor-elect's administration. From the article, "As of Thursday, no Cabinet-level officers had been notified about their fates, particularly those holding three of the most controversial positions - city attorney, manager of safety and police chief. Hickenlooper's team has been interviewing candidates for chief of police but declined to identify them. Hickenlooper's spokeswoman, Lindy Eichenbaum Lent, said the remainder of Webb's appointees will be notified no later than Sunday whether they will be offered new jobs or released. She also said Hickenlooper plans to make a significant number of appointments by Sunday. He will be sworn in as mayor Monday." Rumours swirled yesterday around Public Works and I'm sure it was the same in all the other agencies under the Mayor as many city employees look to the future.
The Denver Post [July 18, 2003, "Mayor-elect lands in ethics bind"] is certainly watching the Mayor-elect closely. After learning of Mr. Hickenlooper's plan to travel with Govenor Owens on a trip to Silicon Valley the Post is raising questions about the donated travel and the City's ethics code. The Post quotes Mike Bennet as saying, "We're up to our eyeballs in the transition. The only judgment we've made is that John is going on an economic-development trip with the governor. We have not reached a decision on how it will be paid for, but surely it will comply with the city's ethics rules."
5:52:59 AM

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