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Friday, October 20, 2006
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Colorado's catholic bishops are hoping that voters will pass Amendment 43, according to the Rocky Mountain News. From the article, "Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput and Colorado's other two bishops have asked priests throughout the state to read a letter from their pulpits this weekend urging Catholics to support Amendment 43, which would define marriage as between a man and a woman in the state constitution. In the letter, Chaput, Bishop Michael Sheridan of Colorado Springs and Bishop Arthur Tafoya of Pueblo also urge the defeat of Referendum I, 'which begins the dangerous process of establishing domestic partnerships as an equal and parallel institution to marriage.'"
Category: Denver November 2006 Election
7:01:23 AM 
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The Denver Post editorial staff is urging voters to approve Amendment 41. From the editorial, "Amendment 41 would create an ethics blueprint for state and local government.
The measure would ban lobbyists from giving gifts or meals worth more than $50 to state and local officials and employees or members of their immediate families.The measure also would close the 'revolving door' that allows just-retired lawmakers to lobby former colleagues by requiring a two-year cooling-off period. Amendment 41 is a proposed constitutional amendment. We'd prefer that these ethics provisions be passed into statute by the legislature, but relevant bills have been killed - and quickly - in recent years. We urge voters to approve 41. Opponents have raised some theatrical concerns - that the ban could prohibit school scholarships for children of janitors and other non-policymaking employees, for one example, or criminalize an auto dealer's recreation league sponsorships, for another. We're confident no one will interpret the amendment in that way, and even if they did, 41 creates an ethics commission that would surely reject such frivolous claims. It's essential that voters not demonize lobbyists or interfere with their legitimate work. Interest group representatives play an invaluable role in the process of government, providing information and perspective. They are often more familiar with state and local issues than part-time lawmakers and harried government employees. We know there's a likelihood lobbyists will find loopholes in Amendment 41, but it still would create an obstacle to abuse and temptation and bring clarity to proper behavior. If approved, state lawmakers will polish it with implementing language. Their best efforts will reduce the prospect of frivolous or over-reaching claims. Most states don't crack down on gift-giving until beset by scandal. With Amendment 41, we say, why wait?"
Category: Denver November 2006 Election
6:56:37 AM
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The Greater Denver Ministerial Alliance has endorsed Bill Ritter for governor, according to the Denver Post. From the article, "The Greater Metro Denver Ministerial Alliance - an influential group of African- American leaders who had been heavily courted by Republicans this year - on Thursday endorsed Democrat Bill Ritter for governor. The announcement was a coup for the former Denver prosecutor, who had angered those same black ministers in recent years by refusing to prosecute police officers involved in fatal shootings of civilians."
Category: Denver November 2006 Election
6:52:09 AM
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Here's an article about Amendment 40 from the Durango Herald. They write, "Conservative activists are out to impose term limits on the one branch of Colorado government that has escaped them - the courts. Amendment 40 on the November ballot asks voters to limit the terms of the 26 judges who serve on the state's two highest courts. 'There is a lot of concern among citizens that courts often go beyond their proper power to interpret the law, acting as a super-Legislature,' said John Andrews, the amendment's chief proponent. 'If judges want to function as legislators, then it's reasonable to expect they should be term-limited like legislators.' Legislators are limited to eight years each in the House and Senate. The governor is limited to two four-year terms. But judges aren't the same as legislators, opponents say."
Category: Denver November 2006 Election
6:36:31 AM
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The Aspen Daily News has endorsed Bill Bitter for governor. From the editorial, "Of the two candidates vying for Colorado's highest-ranking post, we believe that Ritter is clearly a cut above his Republican challenger, 7th District Congressman Bob Beauprez. Putting Ritter in power likely would mean a Democrat-dominated legislature, with Gov. Owens on his way out because of term limits. Our biggest knock against Ritter is that he, like Beauprez, opposes abortion. Even so, we must hold him accountable when he says that as governor he won't let his pro-life position influence his decision to select court judges...
"But the driving issue for our decision to support Ritter is the difference between the two candidates on immigration. Beauprez seems to think that simply sending home the 12 million illegal aliens who live in the United States could solve the immigration issue. Amnesty is not part of his playbook, and Beauprez's campaign has devolved into desperation mode, as evidenced by his attempt to make us afraid of every immigrant who lives in Colorado. Ritter, on the other hand, realizes the issue is not that simple, and we support his pledge for a guest-worker program to help Colorado employers fill their jobs with immigrants."
Category: Denver November 2006 Election
6:28:07 AM
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Here's an update about U.S. Congressman Bob Beauprez's attack ad on Bill Ritter that has landed the Beauprez campaign in hot water, from the Denver Post. They write, "Trailing in most polls, Beauprez is already a gubernatorial long shot. If his attack ads against Bill Ritter become mired in sourcing instead of veracity, all bets are off. The FBI has entered the criminal investigation to see how Beauprez's campaign got information for an ad about a heroin dealer who supposedly cut a deal with then-Denver DA Ritter and went on to allegedly sexually assault a child. The feds are involved because the Colorado Bureau of Investigation found that someone looked up the perp's name in the National Crime Information Center database. Headlines in local newspapers Thursday were not about Democrat Ritter's plea bargains with criminal 'aliens' who avoided deportation and then went on to reoffend. Headlines were about possible crimes Republican Beauprez's staff or supporters may have committed while acquiring this knowledge. On Wednesday night, a local TV station asked viewers, 'Why won't Bob Beauprez reveal his source?' Get it? The scandal is no longer what Ritter did. It's what Beauprez did. It gets no worse for a guy needing a comeback. Unless, of course, the candidate himself gets charged with a crime. That almost certainly won't happen. As ham-handed as Beauprez's campaign has been - from picking a running mate who likened gay marriage to men marrying sheep to publicly claiming an inflated abortion rate among African-American women - the congressman cannot be so dumb that he didn't insulate himself from his campaign's dirty tricks."
Category: Denver November 2006 Election
6:06:32 AM
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© Copyright 2006 John Orr.
Last update: 11/1/06; 7:47:56 AM.
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