Election Recap
Here are the election results for Denver County from DenverGov. Congratulations to the DPS School Board members, Jill Conrad, Michelle Moss, Jeanne S. Kaplan and Kevin Patterson. Denver helped carry Referendum C by going 65% to 35% in favor. The statewide vote was 52% to 48%. Denver voters were also in favor of Referendum D by 63% to 37%. Referred Question 1A - Lodger's Tax won approval by 66% to 34% while Denver De-Bruced for another 10 years at 64% to 36%.
ProComp, the new plan to provide incentives for teachers in DPS also passed by a wide margin, 58% to 41%. The district certainly needs a boost for many reasons and Denver voters stated, again, that they are ready to help. Last night at the Yes on C and D shindig Coyote Gulch reminded a couple of his friends over at DPS that four generations of Gulch's have gone through DPS. 
Here's the coverage of Referred Issue 3A - ProComp from the Rocky Mountain News [November 2, 2005, "Backers celebrate ProComp plan victory"]. They write, "Passage of ballot Issue 3A, a $25 million property tax increase, is the final step in six years of work to create the Professional Compensation System for Teachers, better known as ProComp. The system scraps the traditional way of paying teachers based on experience and education, typical in most school districts across the nation, and instead rewards teachers based on sharpening their skills, increasing student achievement and agreeing to work in Denver's toughest schools. Denver teachers can begin to opt into ProComp on Monday, and have up to seven years to decide to join. New hires after Jan. 1 will automatically be enrolled in ProComp. Educators across the nation have been watching the progress of the plan, which was endorsed by the Denver Classroom Teachers Association but largely ignored by the National Education Association."
Denver voters also made a statement of sorts to law enforcement about the drug war by passing Initiated Question 100 - Marijuana Law, 53% to 47%.
Colorado voters surprised many with their generosity yesterday, according to the Rocky Mountain News [November 2, 2005, "Voters give nod to C"]. From the article, "Colorado voters were in a giving mood Tuesday, saying 'yes' to Referendum C - which will let the state keep and spend $3.7 billion instead of refunding it to taxpayers - and a bevy of other tax increases, including a groundbreaking plan that will offer merit bonuses to some Denver teachers. And some voters were apparently in a partying mood, too: Denver approved an initiative legalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana. But the battle over Referendum C and its companion measure, Referendum D, were the headline-grabbers Tuesday - just as they had been through a controversial and contentious battle that sparked intraparty warfare among Republicans."
Here's the coverage from the Denver Post [November 2, 2005, "Voters say yes to C"].
The Denver Post details the reaction from opponents of Referendum C [November 2, 2005, "Opponents of C and D had hoped for an upset"]. From the article, "Douglas Bruce arrived in Denver Tuesday night like a conquering hero but left defeated, having seen voters suspend a key provision of his Taxpayer's Bill of Rights. The author of the 1992 TABOR amendment came from Colorado Springs with a prop wrapped in paper that he ultimately refused to unveil. As it became clear that Referendum C had passed and that the opposition campaign event at the Jackson's Hole sports bar in LoDo would not be a victory celebration, his mood clearly sank."
Here's another look at the battle over Referendum C from the Denver Post [November 2, 2005, "Vote a battle of money and message"]. From the article, "The better-funded, more centrally organized campaign won the fight over Referendum C, despite having a more complicated message to sell to voters, experts said Tuesday night."
Mike Littwin pats Governor Owens on the back in today's Rocky [November 2, 2005, "Littwin: Owens did it his way, the right way, on C"]. He writes, "Owens is a politician who took a huge gamble, with no obvious motive. And because he did, Ref C passes, the anti-government zealots lose and Colorado avoids turning into Mississippi. Owens had little to gain by the passage of Ref C, other than helping to save the state's, uh, bacon. (Note to Jon Caldara - I'm available when you have the pig roast.) You tell me where the motive is. He has only a year left in office, so it isn't as if he'll get to spend the billions that Ref C guarantees. By pushing Ref C, he actually boosts the Democrats who control the legislature and who invested so much in this plan...But it was Owens who pushed this over the top. He campaigned as if his legacy was at stake. That's exactly how Hickenlooper saw it. 'He took the heat,' Hickenlooper said. 'Give the man credit. He stepped back and looked at what was best for the state and what he wanted his legacy to be.' He would be governor of a state that was worth governing - a state that, in the end, decided that government is actually worthwhile, a wealthy state that decided, finally, that it was time to invest in it own future...This race came to stand for low-tax government vs. irresponsibly low-tax government. Out-of-state money poured in. The race got ugly - with Ref C opponents claiming your money would somehow go to illegal immigrants. Responsible government won."
Jim Spencer weighs in on the Governor in his column in today's Denver Post [November 2, 2005, "Gov. Owens wins election and respect"]. He writes, "The Republican governor took every cheap shot the extreme wing of his own party offered and survived with his reputation - and his political future - intact."
More about the Guv's future from the Denver Post [November 2, 2005, "Verdict out on governor's future"].
Here are the Rocky's election results.
Here's a story from today's Rocky about the coalition that built the winning campaign for Referendum C. Coyote Gulch admits that it was a bit surreal seeing Bruce Benson, Andrew Romanoff, Governor Owens, Mayor Hickenlooper, Joan Fitz-Gerald, Norma Anderson and many other Republicans and Democrats in a group hug at the Yes on C and D party last night. From the article, "At the Pinnacle Club in downtown Denver, where supporters of the two referendums gathered, the old adage that politics makes strange bedfellows came to life. Chamber of commerce types in three-piece suits embraced trade union leaders, and Owens greeted many Democratic politicians warmly. When asked how he felt celebrating with many figures in the local business establishment, Randy Atkinson of the Denver firefighter's union laughed. 'I don't even think we agreed on everything when it was terrorism,' he said."
Here's a recap of the potential political fallout from the passage of Referendum C from the Rocky Mountain News [November 2, 2005, "Owens wins, loses on C"]. From the article, "Two years ago, pundits touted Owens as a possible 2008 presidential candidate. At the height of the Ref C fight, they pronounced his political career dead. Republican primary voters, they reasoned, wouldn't support someone who backed what they saw as a tax hike."
Here's an article from the Denver Post about the DPS School Board races [November 2, 2005, "Conrad captures at-large seat on Denver's school board"]. They write, "Denver voters on Tuesday delivered the hotly contested at- large school board seat to union candidate Jill Conrad, considered by many to be an underdog to architect Brad Buchanan."
Here's a short article from the Rocky about the DPS School Board races [November 2005, "Conrad beats Buchanan in pricey DPS board race"].
Initiative 100 coverage from the Rocky [November 2, 2005, "OK of pot issue gives new meaning to Mile High City"]. From the article, "Marijuana advocates scored a breathtaking victory in the Mile High City as Denver voters legalized adult possession of small amounts of marijuana. 'I think it just goes to show that people in Denver were fed up with a law that prohibited adults from making a rational, safer decision regarding what they put into their bodies,' said Mason Tvert, the 23-year- old Denver man who spearheaded the Initiative 100 campaign. While other big cities, such at Seattle and Oakland, Calif., have passed laws making adult pot use a low police priority, supporters said passage of I-100 would make Denver the first major city to legalize adult pot possession of 1 ounce or less. Denver officials maintain amending local law changes nothing, because the vast majority of marijuana possession busts will continue to be prosecuted under state law."
Here's the coverage from the Denver Post [November 2, 2005, "Denver pot issue passes by thin margin"].
Here's a short article about Referred Question 1B - Denver TABOR and Referred Question 1C - City Charter Changes from today's Rocky [November 2, 2005, "Denver vote lifts TABOR limit"].
Here's a short article about Referred Question 1A - Lodger's Tax from today's Rocky [November 2, 2005, "Higher tax at Denver hotels"].
The Rocky is still in love with my boss [November 2, 2005, "Hick's picks turn out golden"]. They write, "It appears hizzoner still has the golden touch. Or, at least, no less than silver. Mayor John Hickenlooper's name wasn't before the voters, but he invested his considerable political capital and actively campaigned this fall for no fewer than four different issues. Three of the four were winners, led by the hotly contested statewide Referendum C. Its companion measure, Referendum D, was the only Hickenlooper-backed question defeated."
The Rocky Mountain News editorial staff weighs in on yesterday's election [November 2, 2005, "Breathing room for Colorado"]. They write, "Tax hike or not, Coloradans want it. They're willing to give the state their TABOR refunds for the next five years. They're in favor of resetting the state's spending base and fixing the downward 'ratchet.' They're skeptical of politicians and their promises, but they're not utterly cynical. Once again, in other words, Coloradans proved they're not the reflexive anti-government automatons that TABOR's enemies have so often suggested for the past 13 years. Give Coloradans a good reason to boost a government's budget, and that's what they'll do."
Category: Denver November 2005 Election
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