My Page: Howard Rothman

<< Newer articles <<    Author Home     >> Older articles >>

Election Results

Update, 10:50 p.m.: Oops! The Denver Post reports “Pot Issue Goes Up in Smoke�; the Post’s results box, on the same Web page, says “Denver Pot: Yes – 55,035, No – 47,929.�

Ref. C. is clearly winning. A great day if you’re a child growing up in Colorado. Ref. D.? Well, let’s just say the Sec. Of State’s office has a long day ahead.

Update, 9:40 p.m.: With just under half of precincts reporting, Denver Channel 7 is reporting Ref. C a clear winner, with 53%. D is now locked 50-50. Stay tuned for more.

With several media outlets reporting Referendum C appears near victory at just after 10:30 p.m. Tuesday night, it seems Colorado voters have shown that they are willing to reach deep into their pockets when they have the opportunity to move the state forward. Combined with positive results in a number of other proposed funding measures across the state, voters here have once again proven that they are willing to increase taxes -- or trim their tax refunds -- in order to pay for the kinds of critical services and programs that have slowly been decimated as tax-cutting proponents had their sway in recent years.

The big winners are the people of Colorado, who did not let self-serving politicians from inside the state and elsewhere tell them what to do. The big losers are GOP gubernatorial hopeful Mark Holtzman and Independence Institute president Jon Caldera, who mis-read the public sentiment by continuing to believe tax-cuts remain more important than vital programs and services. [more]

Got Ballot?

Tuesday was October 25, but it was Election Day for me. Like thousands of Coloradoans, I had no choice but to vote by mail this year and I dutifully filled out my ballot last night at the kitchen table. According to the Denver Post, in 36 of the state's 64 counties -- including several of the most populated -- all ballots in this election have to be cast by mail. Despite the heated campaigns for and against Referendum C & D, however, this movement toward mail-in ballots and a lack of other hotly contested races and measures around the state has some observers fretting that the totals this year could be low. But is mail-in really the reason? [more]

Survey Says

Apparently, Coloradoans are an increasingly unhappy bunch. First, a poll last week found our support for both President Bush and the Iraq war continues waning. Now, a new poll finds few of us think the state is going in the right direction -- and the older we are, the more pessimistic our opinion. Both indicate a marked decline in public support for GOP policies and leaders. And, interestingly, both were taken by a polling firm with proud ties to the Republican party -- a fact that neither Rocky Mountain News story touting the results deemed worthy of mention. [more]

National Agendas Exposed

If anyone needed proof that there’s more to opposition of Colorado's Referendums C and D than meets the eye, it came today in a revealing story appearing in both the Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News. Seems one of those making a lot of noise in opposition to the dual ballot issues, high-profile Republican anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist, has offered to debate pro-C and D Gov. Bill Owens on the topic -- but only in Washington, before a national conservative audience that attends Norquists' weekly roundtables. "This is a debate that should be before the people of Colorado, not at Norquist’s office," said an Owens’ spokesman. We heartily agree, as C and D proponents have long blasted as inappropriate the out-of-state interest in a local measure that would suspend tax-surplus rebates and temporarily ease the onerous restrictions imposed by TABOR, the so-called Taxpayer Bill of Rights. If national figures want to ride this one for their own purposes, they should at least have the courtesy to do it here so those of us voting on the measures Nov. 1 can actually benefit from the debate.

The Gloves Come Off

If it's true politics is a spectator sport, there's certainly no better place to be in the stands right now than Colorado. In one corner we have GOP gubernatorial hopeful Mark Holtzman, under fire for his cameos in television ads railing against Referendums C and D, jumping on the offensive this week by accusing his opponent of pilfering a private email donor list. In the other we have Rep. Bob Beauprez, who hopes the GOP gubernatorial mantle will fall on him, accusing his opponent of smears and threatening a libel suit. If only the Dems could muster a viable candidate to oppose Bill Ritter, who keeps trying to get into the fight, we'd have us a real donneybrook worthy of paid admission. [more]

Mission Improbable

Colorado's most quotable elected official is at it again. Not content to ride the terrorism and illegal immigration tracks to a high-profile (and ultimately unsuccessful) bid for the 2008 GOP presidential nomination, Rep. Tom Tancredo has now called for the sale of millions of acres of Western land controlled by the Departments of Interior and Agriculture in order to pay for Katrina recovery efforts. The colorful U.S. congressman from Littleton introduced legislation on Wednesday that would require the agencies to sell off as much as 15 percent of their holdings in Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Oregon and Alaska -- What? Nothing in his home state? -- but in a sign that his zaniness may be wearing thin the act received scant coverage and elicited little outrage in comparison to his recent calls to reshape the Pennsylvania 9/11 memorial and bomb various Muslim holy sites. The '08 election season is just heating up, though, so I guess we can all look forward to more interesting activity in coming months.

Another One Bites the Dust

It may not be earth shattering in the overall scheme of things, but as another September draws to a close it's depressing to -- once again -- see the Colorado Rockies at the bottom of the baseball barrel. Having grown up a huge fan of the game, and being the author of a 1994 book that described how the most eagerly awaited new sports franchise of its time opened with a record-setting bang, it's particularly sad to see this year's closing home games witnessed by so many empty seats. Just a few seasons ago fans from throughout the Rocky Mountain West clamored for a ticket; now, even ardent baseball fans lose interest long before the midpoint of another disappointing season. What happened? And what can be done to correct it? [more]

‘He’s Barely a Lawyer’

University of Colorado law professor Paul Campos leads a blistering attack on beleaguered FEMA director -- and former Rocky Mountain West resident -- Michael Brown (via The News Blog) last week in The New Republic, calling into question both legal credentials and prior experience that led to the obviously ill-chosen federal patronage appointment. Coming on the heels of the new TIME magazine's exposure of Brown’s apparent resume-padding and the Washington Post's look at how the majority of FEMA's "Leaders Lacking Disaster Experience," it all adds up a damning picture. And it makes one wonder where all these reporters were while all the real talent was being sucked out of this vital agency.

Update: The Associated Press reports that Brown has resigned after being “reassigned� last week to non-Katrina duties.

Pennywise, Pound foolish

The Denver Post reported today that referendum "C&D camps start TV campaigns" and noted that proponents have raised $1.2 million in August to give them a $3 million advertising war chest going into the fall election season. The Vote Yes camp accordingly rolled out its biggest gun with an opening commercial spot featuring Colorado Gov. Bill Owens touting the importance of the dual ballot issues. But here's a suggestion for them: If you really want to win, take off the gloves -- right now -- and explain why fiscal policies that aim to achieve the same results as the TABOR measure you're trying to override are, at the core, responsible for the devastating calamity we are witnessing all along the Gulf Coast. [more]

School Daze

My oldest friend is a teacher in Aurora Public Schools, and I'm sure that he and his colleagues can't be too pleased with a story in Sunday's Denver Post that details how a number of area developers are proposing a new district of their own to attract upscale homebuyers who love the area but hate its schools. As a product of public schools who sent two kids through public schools and, despite all that, still believes in public schools, this idea worries me. A lot. [more]

<< Newer articles <<    Author Home     >> Older articles >>