Coyote Gulch

Thursday, October 27, 2005

Miers Out
Harriet Miers is out as a nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court. Here's what James Dobson had to say: "I believe the president has made a wise decision in accepting Harriet Miers' withdrawal as a nominee to the Supreme Court.

"In recent days I have grown increasingly concerned about her conservative credentials, and I was dismayed to learn this week about her speech in 1993, in which she sounded pro-abortion themes, and expressed so much praise for left-wing feminist leaders.

"When the president announced this nominee, I expressed my tentative support, based on what I was able to discover about her. But I also said I would await the hearings to learn more about her judicial philosophy. Based on what we now know about Miss Miers, it appears that we would not have been able to support her candidacy. Thankfully, that difficult evaluation is no longer necessary."

Category: 2008 Presidential Election

5:19:56 PM

Ritter on Referendums C and D
Here's an article from the Denver Post about Bill Ritter's support of Referendums C and D [October 27, 2005, "Ex-Denver DA gives measures quiet support"]. From the article, "The former Denver district attorney said he strongly supports the ballot measures, but he has offered low-key support at public events - part of a strategy crafted by the ballot measure's backers to avoid being branded a Democratic cause. 'The most important thing for them is to get bipartisan support," Ritter said. "If they made it about me, it would look like a partisan issue.' The style is classic Ritter - solid, not flashy, straddling the partisan divide."

Meanwhile, according to the Denver Post, Bob Beauprez has taken much the same tack as Ritter in opposition to the Referendums [October 27, 2005, "GOP lawmaker displays his opposition carefully"]. From the article, "Head down, mouth mostly shut, Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez has managed to successfully walk the middle line that divides the Colorado GOP on the issue of Referendums C and D, political observers say. Although the two-term congressman opposes the budget measures, he has largely stayed out of the political fray. Instead, he has traveled around the state, talking primarily to small groups of loyal Republicans. At every stop, he talks about his position against the referendums, but then moves on to other state issues - gubernatorial campaign issues - such as water, transportation, education and health care. 'He's being very smart,' said John Straayer, a political science professor at Colorado State University. 'He's communicating selectively, muting his public image and finding conservative, carefully selective venues and telling them what they want to hear.'"

Mt. Virtus: "Why is Fitz-Gerald staying out?"

Category: Denver November 2006 Election

7:12:09 AM

Water Conservation

Coyote Gulch salutes Denver Water for continuing to push conservation. They are leading the way to sustainable water supplies for the Front Range. Here's an article from today's Rocky Mountain News highlighting their conservation program [October 27, 2005, "Conservation in works"]. From the article, "Denver Water on Wednesday unveiled its newest proposals to cut water use in 2006, including rebates for installation of high-efficiency appliances and buying back saved water from major industrial users. The latest proposals largely build on existing programs, and include spending on research to determine how major users could save massive volumes of water used for processes from industrial cooling to hotel dishwashing. Denver Water customers have been remarkably cooperative in saving water since a multiyear drought settled over Colorado in 2002. But now, with a growing impression that the drought is easing, Denver Water officials want to find ways to make those savings permanent. 'We need to find out if we can keep (the conservation) up,' said Liz Gardener, manager of water conservation for the utility, which serves about 1.2 million people in Denver and several surrounding suburbs. 'We don't know if we can sustain it.' Prior to the drought years that began in 2002, Denver Water customers each used an average of 211 gallons per day. After three years of advertising and media reports about water shortages, the number has fallen to 165 gallons - a figure that Denver Water wants to lock in as its long-term goal for 2016 to avoid backsliding. Conservation proposals most relevant to homeowners include $150,000 set aside to reimburse those who install rain sensors or other controls that limit sprinkler systems to providing only what moisture a lawn needs. Another possibility includes budgeting $300,000 for rebates for anyone installing low-water toilets and washing machines. The utility wants to create new services, such as providing continuing consulting expertise to big water users on ways to conserve."

Category: Colorado Water

6:47:06 AM

Referendums C and D

Early voting continues today in Denver .

Here's an article from today's Rocky that analyses the last year of TABOR refunds to challenge the claimed $3,200 that a family of four will give up according to Referendum C opponents [October 27, 2005, "Refund claim may be high"]. From the article, "Referendum C foes say Colorado families will get an average of $3,200 back from the state over five years if the measure fails. But history indicates that the amount will be much less than that. In fact, if Ref C goes down, most taxpayers likely won't see a check at all, but rather a 'sales tax credit' averaging less than $100 a year included with their state income tax return, according to the Colorado Office of State Planning and Budgeting. In large part, that's because lawmakers have singled out 18 special groups - ranging from foster children to business owners - who will get their slice of the refund pie before regular taxpayers get theirs."

Referendum C opponents are changing tactics to direct mail from TV ads, according to the Rocky Mountain News [October 27, 2005, "New strategy for Ref C foes"]. From the article, "A group opposing Referendum C canceled TV ads and instead is targeting Republicans by mail and radio after internal polling showed those voters will decide the election. The poll shows that generally Democrats favor the tax measure, unaffiliated voters oppose it and Republicans are torn, said Rep. Joe Stengel, R-Littleton, who is overseeing the group If C Wins, You Lose. 'We'll get a better bang for our buck by going directly to Republican households,' he said. Both sides of Ref C are working around the clock, calling, walking and mailing Coloradans to tell them their vote counts on Tuesday. Supporters have statewide, street side honk-and-wave rallies planned today to kick off the final push before Election Day."

Here's an opinion piece written by Susan Thornton asking voters to pass Referendums C and D from today's Denver Post [October 27, 2005, "The value of $15"]. She writes, "Opponents also falsely claim that the average family of four would forgo $3,200 if C and D pass. They don't tell you that the fictional family would have to qualify for each one of the 16 different tax credits that make up TABOR's complicated rebate mechanism. The family would have to be poor enough to qualify for the earned income tax credit, but rich enough to qualify for the capital gains tax credit. They would have to be rural medical providers who recently bought a 26,000-pound vehicle and would have to own a substantial amount of business personal property. Highly unlikely? Obviously. A more accurate estimate, from the nonpartisan Legislative Council, is that if C is rejected by voters, the average TABOR rebate next year will be just $15 per person. (Over the five years, the rebates may rise to be closer to $100 per year, still a small price considering what is at stake.)"

The Rocky Mountain News editorial staff is urging Denver voters to pass Referred Question 1B - Retention of Local Revenues on Tuesday [October 27, 2005, "Vote 'yes' on 1-B, Denver's de-Brucing"]. From the opinion piece, "The current measure extends de-Brucing until fiscal 2015, and defines the conditions under which refunds will be made after that time. With the city's budgets still tight and the hiring of more police a high priority, voters should agree to let the city keep the money it's already collecting."

Supporters of Initiative I-100 rallied outside the City and County Building yesterday, trying to gain my boss' support, by calling him a hypocrite and a drug dealer, according to the Rocky Mountain News [October 27, 2005, "Pot backers can't stoke Hickenlooper"]. Coyote Gulch thinks that their tactics may not work.

Here's the coverage from the Denver Post [October 27, 2005, "Where there's toke, there's ire"].

Category: Denver November 2005 Election 6:31:38 AM

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