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Saturday, June 3, 2006
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Mt. Virtus: "It's time for Colorado Republicans to put the bungling behind them and unite behind Bob Beauprez. Holtzman came up 743 signatures short (despite the Denver Post's faulty math) - though there's sure to be a recount in the coming days. The Secretary of State certifies the primary ballot by next Friday.
"What do I mean by 'bungling'? First and most obvious, the Holtzman campaign's ground game. Expecting more than 40% at the State Assembly, they were shocked to find out they only got 28% and didn't make the ballot that way. More recently, Holtzman's team turned in 21,000 petition signatures but had a high rate of rejection. It would appear the names or signatures were not given careful scrutiny - a big no-no.
"Second, and to a lesser extent, the Republican state party's handling of the Holtzman debacles. Chairman Bob Martinez overstepped his bounds and unnecessarily fueled the underdog's 'anti-establishment' fire by calling on him to drop out of the race. While some narrow, diehard and disaffected Holtzman supporters may believe the state GOP 'machine' is out to crush them, the sad truth is that the party's apparent problems stem more from incompetence than conspiratorial mischief. That includes the State Assembly, and how the new credentialing and voting procedures were implemented."
Category: Denver November 2006 Election
9:07:29 AM 
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Colorado Lib: "The person most likely to be Both Ways Bob Beauprez's runningmate is Secretary of State Gigi Dennis. The person overseeing the qualifying petition process of Beauprez's primary election opponent Marc Holtzman is also Secretary of State Gigi Dennis. I'm no fan of Marc Holtzman. In fact, he seems a bit, uh, nuts. But I know a conflict of interest when I see one."
Category: Denver November 2006 Election
9:01:33 AM
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Wash Park Prophet: "In many Colorado General Assembly races, the election is already essentially over, even though not a single primary has been held. About 19% of the General Assembly races in this election cycle are uncontested. Democratic Congresswoman from Denver Diana DeGette also has no major party opposition, nor does her Congressional District's Democratic party nominee to the State School Board. The View From My Precinct Indeed, where I live, the only races with major party contests I'll face at the ballot box in November are the statewide races for Governor, Secretary of State, Treasurer, Attorney General and CU Regent at Large." Welcome to Denver 
Category: Denver November 2006 Election
8:51:39 AM
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Denver Post: "A nonprofit group filed a lawsuit Thursday to block the use of electronic voting machines in Colorado, saying they are unreliable, vulnerable to fraud and inaccessible to the disabled. The lawsuit makes Colorado the latest battlefront in a growing controversy over the use of the machines. The litigation has the potential to disrupt Colorado's August primary. 'There is a tsunami sweeping the United States right now of voter concern about the insecurity and unreliability of electronic voting systems,' said Lowell Finley, co-director of Voter Action, which filed the Denver suit with the Wheeler Trigg Kennedy LLP law firm. The lawsuit, filed in Denver District Court, names Colorado Secretary of State Gigi Dennis and officials in Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Douglas, Jefferson, La Plata, Larimer and Weld counties. If successful, it would bar the use of all electronic machines in the state."
Here's the Voter Action press release.
More coverage from the Cortez Journal. They write, "A group of Colorado voters has sued La Plata and eight other counties, claiming their electronic voting machines are vulnerable to fraud. Montezuma County is not named as a defendant, but if the plaintiffs are successful, the ruling would apply to all Colorado counties. The voters also sued Secretary of State Gigi Dennis for certifying machines made by Diebold Election Systems, Sequoia Voting Systems, ES&S and Hart InterCivic. All of the machines have serious flaws, but the Diebold machines used by La Plata County have the longest history of security problems, said Lowell Finley, a lawyer from the group Voter Action, which is supporting the suit and has filed cases in other states...
"The lawsuit, filed in Denver District Court, asks the judge to forbid Colorado counties from using machines from the four companies. La Plata County took delivery of new Diebold machines last week, said County Clerk Linda Daley. The county is not replacing its current machines, which are also made by Diebold. Instead, it will use the new machines to help comply with laws on access for disabled people. But Noel Runyan, a blind engineer who will testify for the plaintiffs, said the machines Dennis certified are difficult for disabled people to use. He started scrutinizing voting machines a few years ago, after he had a series of problems in trying to vote in another state. He examined one machine he said 'looks so poorly put together that it really looks like a junior high school science project.' All Colorado counties have to update their voting equipment to comply with the Help America Vote Act, which was passed after the 2000 presidential election fiasco in Florida. The state certifies all the equipment and gives counties a list of eligible machines."
Category: Denver November 2006 Election
8:28:42 AM
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Peter Blake brings us up to date on the Republican Governor's race in his column in today's Rocky Mountain News. He writes, "Secretary of State Gigi Dennis was already a likely pick as Bob Beauprez's running mate. Does her role in sparing him an expensive and divisive primary by bumping Marc Holtzman off the ballot increase her chances? Probably not. It might even work against her. That's because Beauprez would be accused of paying her off if he chose her. That wouldn't be a fair claim, of course. Dennis was merely doing what she had to do according to the laws governing petitions. It's a very public process, reviewable by the courts. But perception is reality in politics, and Beauprez might simply want to spare himself, and her, the inevitable flap. There's another reason Dennis, a former state senator from Pueblo, might not be chosen - even though she would provide geographical and gender balance. She's going to be very busy between now and Election Day supervising election preparations in 64 counties. That's a process complicated by the various demands of the Help America Vote Act, which requires the counties to go out and buy expensive new voting machines with unproven technology. If she's going to run her office right she won't have much time to campaign. And there's no point in having a running mate unless he or she is going to go to all the places you can't."
Meanwhile Marc Holtzman vows to fight to a place on the primary ballot, according to the Rocky Mountain News. From the article, "A defiant Marc Holtzman vowed Friday to fight his way onto the Republican primary ballot, saying he has enough valid signatures to carry on his challenge to Congressman Bob Beauprez for the party's nomination for governor. 'Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated,' said Holtzman, paraphrasing Mark Twain...
"Gov. Bill Owens and much of the Colorado Republican establishment breathed a sigh of relief, believing Holtzman's upstart campaign was at an end. Owens and most other Republican office holders are supporting Beauprez, and many of them see Holtzman's candidacy as a threat to Republican success in November. On Friday, Owens urged Holtzman - who once served in his cabinet as secretary of technology - to abandon his bid for governor and support Beauprez...
"But Holtzman made it clear Friday he is not going away quietly. He said his campaign is certain they have enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot, and they will spend the next several days making their case to Dennis. Holtzman insists that most of the 9,219 signatures that Dennis ruled were invalid are in fact legitimate, and he said that should more than make up for the 743 signatures he still needs to win a spot in the Aug. 8 primary."
Mike Littwin weighs in on the Holtzman candidacy. He writes, "So let me clear one thing up. For those who thought and/or hoped the Republican gubernatorial primary race was over - and Bill Owens, friend and mentor to all, you know who you are - it's not. Holtzman will not go away. I don't know how anyone missed that. What defines Holtzman's campaign is its refusal to go away."
Bob Beauprez and Bill Ritter are moving on, according to the Rocky Mountain News. From the article, "Ignoring Marc Holtzman's die-hard vow to fight on, the Bob Beauprez and Bill Ritter camps say they now consider it a two-man race for governor. But political analyst Eric Sondermann said the Republican Holtzman's refusal to "go quietly into that good night" has to be a nagging millstone for his GOP opponent Beauprez and a private pleasure for Democrat Ritter. While Ritter would never publicly acknowledge it, Sondermann said, the former Denver district attorney must be relishing the ongoing 'internecine Republican warfare.'"
Here's the coverage from the Denver Post detailing Mary Estill Buchanan's fight to get on the ballot in 1980. They write, "He [Holtzman] lost at the state assembly. He doesn't have enough valid signatures. But don't count Marc Holtzman out yet. If Colorado history is any indication, the Republican gubernatorial candidate could still make the primary ballot - and win."
According to the Denver Post, Bill Ritter is gaining some support from Republicans due to Bob Beauprez's stance on last year's Referendum C. From the article, "At least one already has jumped ship. 'I've withdrawn my support for Bob Beauprez and am supporting Bill Ritter,' said Loveland lawyer Bill Kaufman, who served as a Republican state representative for eight years. '(Beauprez) is 100 percent wrong on this issue. It's big enough to affect votes for him.' Kaufman, who also is a member of the state transportation commission, said he is prepared to back his endorsement of Ritter with money. He said other Larimer County Republicans will hold a news conference soon to publicly throw their support behind the former Denver district attorney. Other key business leaders said there is widespread discussion among Republicans who supported Referendum C about whether or not they could still support Beauprez. John Marshall, campaign manager for Beauprez, said the two- term congressman and former dairy farmer and banker has more in common with business leaders than any other gubernatorial candidate...
"Ritter's campaign manager, Greg Kolomitz, said Ritter is doing everything possible to reach out to business leaders and has set up a series of business roundtables over the next two weeks. 'People see that Bill supported Referendum C and believes in investing in infrastructure and creating a healthy business climate,' he said. When asked what he thought about GOP business leaders appearing open to a Democrat, let alone one with little business experience, Kolomitz said: 'We live in interesting times.' Donald Kortz, chairman of Denver-based real estate firm Fuller & Co., said Beauprez's position is being discussed in area business circles."
From Friday's Denver Post: "Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill Ritter on Thursday reported raising $201,066 from April 26 to May 25. That's up from the $156,000 he reported raising the previous month. To date, he has raised more than $1.3 million. The newest campaign finance reports are not due with the secretary of state until Monday, so the latest numbers from Republicans Bob Beauprez and Marc Holtzman are not yet available. In the last filing, Beauprez reported raising a total of $1.8 million to Holtzman's $1.4 million."
Category: Denver November 2006 Election
8:05:43 AM
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© Copyright 2006 John Orr.
Last update: 7/1/06; 9:35:10 AM.
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