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Thursday, August 10, 2006
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Colorado Confidential: "University of Virginia Center for Politics researchers David Wasserman and Larry J. Sabato have identified two Colorado races, the 7th Congressional District, and the Governor's race, as races where Democrats are favored to make gains in 2006."
Category: Denver November 2006 Election
6:55:55 PM 
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ToTheRight.org: "In what likely is not a surprise to many, Bob Beauprez has chosen Lt. Gov. Jane Norton to be his running mate. The official announcement likely will be made mid-day Monday on the western steps of the Capitol. We can't say this pick is good. The same goes for the timing. If Beauprez wants to maximize media coverage of this event, he should schedule it for Friday so the reports hit the radio and TV on Friday and the newspapers on Saturday and Sunday. We don't like the selection, not because we have something against Norton - other than she can be tied to the now sinking Owens administration and her husband's lackluster primary-election lawsuit against Marc Holtzman - but because we just don't see how she helps the ticket. Her supporters are Beauprez's supporters and vice versa."
Category: Denver November 2006 Election
6:15:27 AM
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Rocky Mountain News: "Gubernatorial candidate Bill Ritter today joined Sen. Ken Salazar and Rep. John Salazar, both D-Colo., in asking federal officials to take about 20,000 acres of roadless Forest Service land off the auction block for oil and gas development. 'The federal government promised to protect this land while states draft their own roadless protection plans,' Ritter said. 'That process is still underway. It would be a terrible betrayal of states' rights for the federal government to now put this forest land on the auction block.'"
Category: Denver November 2006 Election
6:10:57 AM
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From today's Denver Post: "A testy debate over a proposed restructuring of Denver's financial system got more heated Wednesday when City Auditor Dennis Gallagher sent a scathing letter to Mayor John Hickenlooper. The auditor's latest letter criticized the process of the Mayor's Financial Management Task Force. Gallagher said he had not been dealt with in a truthful manner. The Denver City Council is considering changes to the city charter that would move accounting and payroll functions out of the auditor's control. The idea is to make the city function under what are considered 'best practices.' The two sides are supposed to be working toward an agreement on a plan to create a city chief financial officer before a meeting with the City Council on Monday. A spokeswoman for the mayor said Gallagher had canceled a scheduled meeting Tuesday."
Rocky Mountain News: "City Auditor Dennis Gallagher told Mayor John Hickenlooper in a letter Tuesday that he felt blindsided by a proposal to weaken the auditor's oversight of the city's finances. 'Let me start by saying, I am extremely disappointed in the way your staff has dealt with me and my staff regarding changes you wish to make to the city's financial structure,' Gallagher's letter began. At issue is an attempt by the mayor's office to put a measure on the November ballot that would allow Hickenlooper to create a new chief financial officer to consolidate a century-old financial system that is fragmented across several city agencies. A Financial Management Task Force appointed by the mayor five months ago has recommended the CFO take over Gallagher's accounting and payroll responsibilities. The auditor wrote that he opposes surrendering those duties because 'we regularly catch and stop inappropriate or incorrect payment or payroll requests.' Supporters of the changes warn that having Gallagher's office audit its own work poses a conflict of interest. Denis Berckefeldt, the auditor's spokesman, said Gallagher's office has tried to reach a compromise over the issue with the mayor's office, but his staff has been uncooperative."
Category: Denver November 2006 Election
6:02:04 AM
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As they are wont to do Denver government types are forming a committee to study the problems with this weeks primary election, according to the Denver Post. From the article, "Denver Election Commission officials said Wednesday that they hope to fix the problems with this week's primary election by creating a committee of election judges. 'That way they can have their own focus group and discuss what worked, what didn't work and what things they think they need to be better trained on,' commission spokesman Alton Dillard said. 'But this really just looked like a case of technological lockjaw happened when we went live yesterday.' On Tuesday, the commission again came under scrutiny when judges at some vote centers had problems getting new election voting machines to work. There also was a pattern of voters reporting they received the wrong ballot."
Our blogger friend over at HeartbrokenTiger paints a different story. They write, "If I were a voter in SD-32, I wouldn't feel good about the results of yesterday's primary. That's not a commentary on Chris Romer, who 'defeated' Jennifer Mello and Fran Coleman. Rather, it's a commentary on confusion and official incompetence at the polls. Serious voting problems were reported at vote centers all over Denver yesterday, with a high concentration of complaints coming from the Washington Park Rec Center and the Botanic Gardens, where SD-32 voters were likely to have cast their votes."
Rocky Mountain News: "Denver's switch from precinct- based polling places to citywide vote centers proved problematic, though no one was turned away or unable to vote. Some voters, however, said they received the wrong ballot. Some election workers didn't know how to turn on the new $1.4 million voting machines, prompting judges to complain of inadequate training. And voting was delayed for 30 minutes at one of Denver's 47 vote centers because of a computer problem. Voting centers, although not as numerous as the old precinct polling places, allow people to cast a ballot at any center in the county. In addition, votes can be optically scanned and counted at each center. 'There were a couple of technical issues, but we want to make sure everyone knows that the machines themselves operated fine,' said Alton Dillard, spokesman for the Denver Election Commission."
Category: Denver November 2006 Election
5:52:49 AM
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© Copyright 2006 John Orr.
Last update: 9/1/06; 7:22:30 AM.
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