The Rocky Mountain News is speculating about the political year this morning. They write, "This week marks the beginning of a crucial political year in Colorado, when several questions about politics in the state may finally be answered. Is Colorado a red state slowly turning blue? Will the strong Democratic gains of 2004 continue? Are Colorado voters increasingly middle of the road and less likely to embrace the anti-government ideology they've flirted with in the past? Or will possible ballot initiatives to ban gay marriage and crack down on illegal immigrants bring a wave of conservative voters to the polls? Were the Democratic gains two years ago just a fluke? Will a state where Republicans still have a large registration edge over Democrats always tilt conservative?"
The article is a nice summary of the players and issues. Read the whole thing before is scrolls behind the pay wall.
Here's an article from the Cortez Journal with observations about the rift in the Colorado GOP. They write, "In Colorado and other states, an ideological split is dividing the GOP, said Bob Loevy, a political science professor at Colorado College in Colorado Springs. 'The moderates are opting out' in a backlash from the demands of conservatives, he said, and the split is allowing Democrats to make gains. Independent pollster Floyd Ciruli said the GOP's problems in Colorado are compounded by the fact that Republican Gov. Bill Owens is term-limited and has alienated the right wing of the party by supporting last November's successful campaign to persuade voters to ease tax limits. 'They[base ']re going into this election without their standard-bearer,' said Ciruli, and that does not bode well for the party in the November elections. Ciruli said the split could prevent Republicans from regaining control of the state House and Senate, which they lost in 2004 for the first time in 42 years, and could even allow the Democrats to win the governor's office and a fourth congressional seat."
Here's an article from the Denver Post about a proposed abortion initiative for the fall ballot [January 6, 2006, "Initiative seeks abortion limits"]. From the article, "An effort is underway to put an initiative on the November ballot restricting abortions of "viable fetuses" in Colorado, adding another culture-war component to a campaign shaping up to include debates over immigration and gay marriage. The initiative would bar such abortions with an exception for when the woman is at risk of death or serious injury - an exception the U.S. Supreme Court has held must be included. In addition, the proposal would make it a felony for doctors to knowingly perform an abortion on a viable fetus or conduct an abortion with 'reckless disregard of whether the fetus is viable' outside the womb. The authors are Denver lawyer Mike Lawrence and Tim Dore, executive director of the Colorado Catholic Conference, the public-policy arm of the state's three Catholic dioceses. Dore said his involvement is personal and not part of his work with the conference."
Denver Business Journal: "Democrat Cary Kennedy announced her candidacy for Colorado State Treasurer Thursday. Kennedy, 37, recently served as the policy director for House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, where she helped develop Referendum C. In 2000, she was the author of a statewide initiative to increase funding for Colorado's public schools, Amendment 23. She also worked in Gov. Roy Romer's administration as a budget officer in the Office of State Planning and Budgeting. Kennedy grew up in Colorado and has a master's degree in public administration from Columbia University and a law degree from the University Of Denver College Of Law."
Here's the coverage from the Denver Post [January 5, 2006, "Author of Amendment 23 enters state treasurer race"]. They write, "She presents a sharp contrast to the Republican incumbent, Mark Hillman. A former Republican state senator appointed to the position last year by Gov. Bill Owens, Hillman also is running for election in November. Like many other Republicans at the Capitol, Hillman blames Amendment 23, the K-12 education spending mandate voters approved in 2000, for the state's shrinking revenues in recent years. Hillman also opposed November's Referendums C and D - which Kennedy helped write."
Category: Denver November 2006 Election
6:26:11 AM 
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