Saturday, September 23, 2006

Ritter for governor? Coyote Gulch loves the Internet. We recognize the need for candidates to post their ads online for wider (and more economical) distribution. Whenever a campaign uses only Windows media for their ads Coyote Gulch fires off an email to asking that the campaign consider a more inclusive approach, one that reaches out to persons that do not run software from Microsoft. We usually post to Coyote Gulch about the subject as well. Bill Ritter's campaign came through this week. Here's the link to their website with their third TV ad posted in QuickTime and Windows Media formats. They've also uploaded all their video to YouTube, making it possible for UNIX and Linux users to view (along with Windows and Macintosh users). A quick search on "Bill Ritter" yields this page with all the Ritter campaign video (and a few others from the opposition). This is the inclusiveness that we love to see from a campaign. It shows that they listen (maybe even to an Ol' Coyote) and understand that, if they get into office, government should not mandate the technology needed for access. Accessibility to government needs to be "accessibility for all." Category: Denver November 2006 Election 9:32:17 AM

Ritter or Beauprez for governor? Rocky Mountain News: "The gloves came off in the governor's race Friday, as Bill Ritter fired off a TV ad claiming that Bob Beauprez had 'distorted' and 'twisted' his Denver district attorney record and Beauprez responded that Ritter's spot was 'sleazy, dishonest.' The dust-up comes a day after the Republican Trailhead Group unleashed a gripping ad in which a tearful mother accuses Ritter of lying about issuing a 'slap on the wrist' plea bargain to the hit-and-run driver who killed her 4-year-old daughter. Democrat Ritter's response was a TV ad that begins with a narrator saying: 'Newspapers call attacks on Bill Ritter's record as district attorney 'misleading,' 'distorted,' 'twisted.' So who should be held accountable for these negative attacks on Bill Ritter?' It cuts to Beauprez's own campaign ad, showing him standing in a barn saying: 'I'm Bob Beauprez. I want you to hold me accountable.' "'The facts,' the ad concludes, is that Ritter had a 95 percent conviction rate and locked up over 12,000 criminals during his 12 years as district attorney, keeping the community safe and helping victims 'put their lives back together.' While the ad about the girl killed in the hit-and-run was produced by Trailhead's offshoot, Coloradans for Justice, Ritter spokesman Evan Dreyer accused the Beauprez campaign of illegally working in concert with the so-called 527 groups. The independent political groups are allowed to raise unlimited amounts of money but prohibited from coordinating efforts with a candidate's campaign... "Meanwhile, a review of database records Friday shows that the woman in the Trailhead ad was convicted of a string of minor criminal offenses in Denver, some handled by Ritter's district attorney office, after her daughter's 2000 death. September Dixon, 27, was convicted of seven offenses between 2001 and 2003, including reckless driving, making threats and using a phone to disturb the peace. She has a history of 21 arrests ranging from making a false statement to police to failure to report an auto accident where there was personal or property damage, according to a state crime database. Asked if her prosecution left her biased against Ritter, Dixon said her legal history had nothing to do with her daughter's death. She then hung up." Category: Denver November 2006 Election 9:17:13 AM

Amendment 40 The Denver Post editorial staff is urging voters to reject Amendment 40. From the opinion piece, "Judicial independence is a fundamental element of our republic. We should be doing everything we can to protect it instead of allowing it to be gutted in a political maneuver." Category: Denver November 2006 Election 8:05:19 AM

© Copyright 2006 John Orr. Last update: 10/1/06; 8:46:32 AM.