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Friday, November 3, 2006
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The Denver Post editorial staff is urging voters to reject Amendment 39. From the editorial, "The idea of shifting more taxpayer money into classrooms sounds appealing. Who wouldn't want that? But cementing a state-mandated funding formula for public schools into Colorado's constitution would open a Pandora's box of troubles. That's why school advocates across the state overwhelmingly oppose Amendment 39, which would require all districts to spend 65 percent of their operating budgets on classroom expenses, including teacher salaries, books, supplies and field trips. The measure's definition of 'classroom' doesn't include items such as transportation, nurses and counselors or meals. We've urged a 'no' vote."
Category: Denver November 2006 Election
7:17:19 AM 
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Denver Post: "Evangelical pastor Ted Haggard is only alleged to have had a three-year sexual relationship with a male prostitute, but in politics, even a hint of something like that can be enough to sink a campaign. The potential scandal may be enough to affect Tuesday's vote on the state constitutional ban on gay marriage or the domestic-partnerships initiative, some political watchers say. But who might benefit is anybody's guess. Especially since gay marriage and benefits are usually bedrock issues and not prone to wavering opinions."
Category: Denver November 2006 Election
7:15:10 AM
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Here's a report about a recent Rocky Mountain News/CBS 4 poll. From the article, "With time running out, Republican Bob Beauprez has failed to gain any ground on Democrat Bill Ritter in the Colorado governor's race, according to a new poll. Fifty-five percent of surveyed voters support Ritter, versus 33 percent for Beauprez. Ritter has solid support from Democrats and a 3-to-1 advantage among unaffiliated voters, a crucial part of the Colorado electorate. Ritter is racking up a huge lead among voters in the metro area, and is leading in every part of the state except Colorado Springs. Only 7 percent of likely voters say they haven't yet decided which candidate to support, according to the Rocky Mountain News/CBS 4 poll by Public Opinion Strategies. Pollster Lori Weigel said Ritter, the former Denver district attorney, is benefitting from voter anger at President Bush and the unpopularity of the war in Iraq."
Category: Denver November 2006 Election
7:11:24 AM
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The Cortez Journal analyzes the money behind this year's crop of citizen initiatives. From the article, "The backers of ballot initiatives want votes from as many people as possible. But most of their campaigns are paid for by a small, elite group. Campaigns surrounding the 14 issues on November's ballot have collected more than $10 million, mostly in large donations from Denver and Colorado Springs. And while three-quarters of the money raised comes from Colorado, almost none of it is from the southwest corner of the state, according to a Cortez Journal analysis of campaign data kept by the secretary of state."
Category: Denver November 2006 Election
7:08:01 AM
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The Telluride Watch urges voters to go partisan and vote a straight Democratic ticket this election. From the article, "The State of Colorado began to reject domination by the Republican right in the last election, when Democrats won control of the Colorado General Assembly for the first time in a generation. The pendulum appears to be swinging to the middle still in this year's election, as gubernatorial candidate Bill Ritter appears headed for a landslide. Ritter is hardly liberal - he is anti-abortion, for example - but notably centrist. In this context, that simply means he believes that government can actually do some good things for people, and is not the enemy that should always be strangled for funding, and we have endorsed him enthusiastically. We have likewise and in the same spirit endorsed Congressman John Salazar, not only to help swing control of the House of Representatives to the opposition Democrats, but because he has served us well - as a centrist in a polarized state."
Category: Denver November 2006 Election
6:51:18 AM
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The Denver Post is running an article comparing U.S. Congressman Bob Beauprez and Bill Ritter on some of the election issues. From the article, "Water. Neither Ritter nor Beauprez is opposed to building water-storage projects in Colorado. Both also say that cities should improve local water-conservation efforts. Unlike Beauprez, Ritter has said that global warming should be considered when setting future water policy. On the key issue of water supplies, Beauprez supported 2003's failed Referendum A, which would have provided for the construction of reservoirs and diversion of water from one river basin to another. Ritter said he voted against the measure."
Meanwhile the Denver Post looks at illegal immigration and it's effect on this year's gubernatorial contest. From the article, "While immigration has been a talking point for the gubernatorial hopefuls, several Latino leaders say there are more critical issues in Colorado to discuss.
"Immigration is being brought up so much (that it) is distracting and does not ... address real issues in Colorado, like people who don't have health care and students who are not graduating from high school," said Gabriela Flora of the American Friends Service Committee. During town halls and debates, Republican candidate Bob Beauprez has emphasized illegal immigration as a major issue in the state and has challenged his opponent, former Denver District Attorney Bill Ritter, over some of Ritter's plea agreements with illegal immigrants and over his support of in-state tuition for some children of illegal immigrants. If elected, Beauprez said he would push for tougher laws on employer verification and require proof of citizenship to vote. His plan for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the country is to send them back to their native countries and apply to return to the U.S. Beauprez calls this 'cleansing' the workforce."
"Ritter, a Democrat, says immigration is a federal issue and that he supports President Bush's plan for comprehensive immigration reform, which includes border security and a guest-worker program for illegal immigrants. 'I think immigration is a big issue, but I also think ensuring that our kids have access to quality K-12 education, and those who want to go to college have access. ... These are issues that need to be addressed by the next governor,' Ritter told The Post. Ritter has garnered support from many Latinos because of his stance on immigration, said Adrienne Benavidez, executive director of Color of Justice, a legal and policy advocacy center for communities of color. 'I think he understands immigration is truly a federal issue and even though it's a very disproportionate burden with respect to some costs, the way to correct that is by getting the federal government to sit down at the table,' she said."
Category: Denver November 2006 Election
6:42:51 AM
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ZNet: "Split off from HB 4437, a provision calling for 700 miles of border fencing (really a triple barrier wall) was signed into law by Bush in the run-up to the November mid-term elections.
"The big prison privatizers are, of course, gung ho for Sensenbrenner and its various legislative offshoots such as the 'Safe Border Act' if enacted, they are going to get fat on the hapless new arrivals. Whereas Kennedy-McCain does promise 2.2 million deportations of undocumented workers with less than five years U.S. residence, repatriation would be voluntary pending registration in a legal guest worker program and would involve no detention time.
"On the other side of the ledger, the private prison czars figure that if the hardnosed provisions of HB 4437 become the law of the land, the federal government is going to need about 27,000 new beds each day over the next 18 months although at $95 a night in detention costs, Motel Six would seem to be a cheaper fix then private detention centers. Nonetheless, prospects of juicy contracts to come have the industry salivating.
"The privatization of the detention side of the prison-industrial complex has been expanding exponentially since the new millennium kicked in - in the past six years, eight out of 16 federal immigration detention facilities have fallen into private hands. Moreover, 57% of all so-called 'illegal aliens' are now housed in county jails far away from the border, about a fifth of which are administered by the privatizers."
Category: 2008 Presidential Election
6:27:35 AM
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© Copyright 2006 John Orr.
Last update: 12/2/06; 7:59:58 AM.
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