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Monday, October 23, 2006
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Amendment 44 is the subject of this article from the Denver Post. They write, "If Amendment 44 passes Nov. 7, Colorado could become the first state where voters have approved marijuana for recreational use. Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation launched the campaign to legalize pot after a successful initiative in Denver last year...
"Opponents and supporters point to a 9News-sponsored poll from Sept. 28 that shows 29 percent of voters approve of the initiative while 36 percent would vote no. Thirty-five percent indicated they were undecided...
"But even if the amendment passes, it will still be illegal for people to walk around in public smoking joints, Tvert pointed out. Users could carry up to an ounce of marijuana, but they would have to smoke it in private or face a misdemeanor charge of public use and display. Robert Corry, a civil-rights attorney who litigates marijuana cases, said police officers should not waste time on pot users and the amendment would help. If it becomes law, police won't be able to use the scent of marijuana or the presence of a joint as probable cause to search someone, he said."
Category: Denver November 2006 Election
7:40:23 AM 
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The Rocky Mountain News editorial staff has endorsed Denver's Referred Question 1B. They write, "...we can cheerfully endorse 1B, a charter amendment that would centralize the city's finance authority, now split among various agencies, under a new manager. This would help the city get a better grip on its budget. While the proposal was being drafted last summer, Auditor Dennis Gallagher threatened to campaign actively against it on grounds that it reduced his role as watchdog. But Mayor John Hickenlooper and Gallagher reached a compromise just before deadline that restored Gallagher's right to review, if not sign, all checks that go out. The auditor also would retain the power to sign off on all contracts. Since Denver City Council doesn't review contracts under $500,000, it's good that someone not part of the mayoral team still can keep an eye on who's getting what. Proposal 1B would also put into the charter Gallagher's authority to do performance audits on city agencies, and establish an audit committee, chaired by the auditor, to supervise the annual independent audit of Denver government. Vote 'yes' on 1B."
Category: Denver November 2006 Election
7:27:59 AM
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Here's an article about the secretary of state race from the Rocky Mountain News. From the article, "In the contest for Colorado's next secretary of state, voters have their choice of two men who have managed to retain their reputations over more than a dozen years in public office. Democratic state Sen. Ken Gordon and Republican State Treasurer Mike Coffman are billing themselves as men with the records of integrity needed to run Colorado elections. That's key in this race, after accusations of stolen elections in the presidential race, first in the conroversial Florida count in 2000 and then in Ohio in 2004. The concerns have been compounded in Colorado by worries over the vulnerabilty of new computerized voting machines to reprogramming that could alter results. Coffman and Gordon agree on many issues involving how to run the office. So for many voters, this will be a choice of trust and character...
"Gordon agrees that even-handedness is critical to the job and points to his record in the legislature. 'I've always been working in the middle to get things done,' he said. 'Seventy-eight percent of my bills have had a Republican sponsor in the House.' Coffman says he worked both sides of the aisle in pursuing welfare reform. He says he took unpopular stands opposing taxpayer funding of the Broncos stadium and criticizing both Republicans and Democrats for using accounting gimmicks to balance the state budget. Gordon also is concerned about special-interest money becoming more powerful than the voice of voters. That's the reason U.S. energy policy favors oil and gas over renewable energy, he says...
"Gordon says that as secretary of state, he would publicize alleged violations of campaign finance rules, and would like to bring such cases to court directly. Now, the secretary waits for a citizen to complain and bring proof to court. The secretary's office said it is not funded to prosecute allegations and noted that the secretary could be accused of partisanship in picking certain allegations to pursue. The unusual experience that Coffman brings to the race is running an election under combat conditions in Iraq. He was assigned to manage 414 polling places in Al Anbar Province in Iraq, home to violence-torn Fallujah and Ramadi, in 2005. Coffman had to fortify polling places against attack and bring in poll workers from other parts of the country under combat escort because it was too dangerous for locals to work an election being boycotted by most of their Sunni neighbors...
"For Gordon, another major issue is changing Colorado's system of redistricting. Every 10 years, the legislature is supposed to redraw district lines to match the new census numbers. But politicians never agree on the boundaries and try draw districts dominated by one political party, rather than competitive ones, he said. As a result, extremists win instead of moderates. 'The middle is nonexistent,' he said. He likes the idea of having a nonpartisan group draw the redistricting map. The legislature could vote yes or no on the package, but not redraw the map, he said. Gordon also would update technology in the office to allow campaign contributions to be filed by importing a standard Excel spreadsheet instead of requiring each of thousands of contributions to be typed into the Web site individually."
Category: Denver November 2006 Election
7:22:17 AM
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The Rocky Mountain News is running an article about the state treasurer race. They write, "The contest for Colorado treasurer may come down to which candidate voters believe will make the best public watchdog to oversee billions in taxpayer funds. Both candidates are equally matched when it comes to their appeal to voters and government experience, say political observers. So much so that politicos and newspaper editorials proclaim that voters are fortunate to have two good candidates in Republican Mark Hillman, 39, and Democrat Cary Kennedy, 38...
"The statewide race for treasurer has largely been overshadowed by the more contentious contests for governor as well as hot-button, controversial ballot measures. But the post of state treasurer is seen as a major training ground and springboard for ambitious politicians who look to eventually vie for top elected offices such as governor or U.S. senator...
"Hillman says his public record as a Republican leader in the state Senate and as acting treasurer for 10 months makes him the better candidate. Hillman served as acting treasurer while Republican State Treasurer Mike Coffman served in Iraq...
"Kennedy, who portrays herself as a fiscal public watchdog, touts her long history 'working with and managing Colorado's finances.' She co-authored the 2000 Amendment 23 school finance plan and worked as a fiscal analyst for former Gov. Roy Romer's administration. She also served as a policy director for Democratic House Speaker Andrew Romanoff and helped craft Referendum C, a budget-bailout measure passed by voters last year and strongly opposed by Hillman."
Category: Denver November 2006 Election
7:15:19 AM
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Here's a short article about Bob Beauprez and the NCIC database from the Rocky Mountain News. They write, "GOP gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez voted in Congress to strengthen protections against abuse of a national crime database for non-law enforcement purposes.But last week, Beauprez portrayed an 'informant' who gave his campaign information - which critics say came from that database - as a heroic whistleblower. Beauprez used the information in a TV ad to attack his Democratic rival, former Denver District Attorney Bill Ritter, over Ritter's plea-bargaining with immigrants charged with crimes. In addition, The Denver Post reported last week that Beauprez said until the controversy over his ad erupted, he was unaware of the existence of the database, the National Crime Information Center, which is better known by its initials. But the Ritter campaign pointed out Sunday that the NCIC has figured into key provisions of legislation Beauprez has either co-sponsored or supported in the U.S. House of Representatives."
Category: Denver November 2006 Election
7:09:25 AM
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© Copyright 2006 John Orr.
Last update: 11/1/06; 7:48:16 AM.
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