Tag: elections

Activism, Crazy Republicans, Elections, Ethics, Lies, politics

Limited time to submit complaints about Republican Matt Soper’s allegedly fraudulent address

by Anne Landman • November 12, 2018 • 4 Comments

Map of Colorado House District 54, which is all the light colored area. It includes most of Mesa County outside of the City Grand Junction and the western portion of the City of Delta.

Constituents in House District 54 have just 10 days after the election — this Friday, 11/16 — to submit complaints to the Colorado Secretary of State about whether Republican HD-54 candidate Matt Soper committed voter fraud and/or election fraud by listing his residential address as a house in which he didn’t live. Soper used an address at 10 Hartig Street in Delta for purposes of voting and qualifying to run for office in HD-54, even though he didn’t actually live at the address. Soper actually lived with his girlfriend on Clearview Drive in Delta, but told the Sentinel the 10 Hartig house was his home “in his mind.” Soper started listing the house as his residence in November of 2017, since a candidate must have resided in the District for 12 months in order to qualify to run for office in that district. The house actually belongs to Soper’s mother, who was renting it out to another family.

The Daily Sentinel reported extensively on Soper’s address controversy in multiple articles leading up to the election. After the articles were published, Soper quickly evicted the tenants who lived at the address where he had claimed to live so he could move into the house at the last minute. Three of the tenants are disabled, according to the Sentinel. Despite the controversy, Soper won the election.

HD 54 comprises everywhere on the above map that isn’t the green-colored center around the City of Grand Junction. If you live in HD 54 and want to submit a complaint about possible election and/or voter fraud by Mr. Soper, you’d better hurry. Following is a link to information on how to submit a complaint to the Colorado Secretary of State:

The Blue-ing of the Western Slope

by Anne Landman • November 8, 2018 • 8 Comments

Map shows the results of the Colorado governor’s race by county, based on data from the CO Secretary of State

An online interactive map breaking down the the 2018 governor’s race in Colorado by county shows that the western slope is nowhere near as conservative as the far eastern plains of Colorado. It also shows that the western slope has far fewer conservative counties than the eastern slope, and that Mesa County is no longer a “hard core red” county politically. That’s great news.

In Garfield County, adjacent to the northern border of Mesa County, the governor’s race was a dead tie between Jared Polis (D) and Walker Stapleton (R) at 48% to 48%. Pitkin, Gunnison, Ouray, San Miguel, San Juan, La Plata, Eagle and Summit Counties were all “blue” (went for Polis) in the governor’s race. There are only four hard-core “red” counties left on the western slope according to the map: Jackson, Moffatt, Rio Blanco and Dolores Counties. Votes for Stapleton from all of those five counties together totaled only a relatively meager 8,086. It’s good to see things changing around here, albeit slowly.

Lodging Tax will help the Progressive Left

As Grand Junction’s increased lodging tax takes effect, more money will be put towards marketing Grand Junction and it’s surrounding areas. More and more people from liberal areas will start noticing our area, moving here, and bringing their businesses here, and along with them more diverse political and religious viewpoints and more open minds. One business, Rocky Mounts, has already relocated to Grand Junction from Boulder, bringing about half it’s employees along with it. It also helps draw the right kind of attention to the western slope when the Grand Junction Economic Partnership promotes Grand Junction as “Boulder 30 years ago.”

So not only is Colorado once again solidly “blue” politically after the election, but thanks to the additional tourism tax we just voted in, we can expect the “blue-ification” of Mesa County to continue, and that’s welcome news for the growing and increasingly active progressive political left in our area.

Democracy, Elections, politics

Sen. Ray Scott fails Project VoteSmart’s Political Courage Test

by Anne Landman • October 27, 2018 • 0 Comments

Sen. Ray Scott failed Project VoteSmart’s Political Courage Test

Project VoteSmart keeps track of incumbent legislators’ votes on issues and tries make candidates’ positions on issues easy to discern, like where they stand on healthcare, women’s rights, funding of education, how to deal with budgets, taxation, transportation and other issues. VoteSmart also has an excellent tool that allows you to match up your positions with candidates’ positions on a host of issues, so you can see which candidates most closely match your ideology.

VoteSmart also administers a “Political Courage Test” that measures each candidate’s willingness to answer voters’ questions.

AnneLandmanBlog Voter Guide, 2018 Mid-term elections

by Anne Landman • October 20, 2018 • 8 Comments

This guide lists AnneLandmanBlog’s recommendations on how to vote in the 2018 Mid-term election. The conclusions were reached by researching the issues, attending public events to educate voters about the issues, assessing incumbents’ records and candidates’ backgrounds, affiliations and public statements, considering personal assessments of candidates from trusted sources, reading and evaluating the arguments for and against the ballot measures in state’s “blue book,” reading the evaluations in the blue book of judges and justices, and by researching front groups active in promoting or fighting ballot measures where applicable, including the sources of funding for these groups. Primary importance is given on improving health and safety, protecting the environment, increasing fairness for voters and consumers, providing benefits to public education and making elections more competitive in the state.

“Impeachment Now” banner to fly over the Grand Valley Wednesday, 10/17

by Anne Landman • October 14, 2018 • 6 Comments

The “Impeachment Now” banner flying over Denver yesterday

A wet, snowy early October changed the planned date for the western slope flyover of Mad Dog PAC’s “Impeachment Now” banner. It was originally scheduled to fly here on Saturday, 10/13 and then over Denver on 10/14, but due to bad weather, the 100 foot by 30 foot banner flew over Denver on 10/13 and will appear over the western slope this coming Wednesday, October 17. The weather is expected to be clear and dry. The pilot needs two consecutive days of clear weather to fly here and back safely over the Rockies. The plane has a top speed of 105 m.p.h. The banner-flying company, Drag ‘n’ Fly, is based in Ft. Lupton, CO, about 30 miles east of Boulder.

Western slope liberal progressives frustrated with the GOP’s offensive, misogynistic, bullying, chaotic, lying, Kremlin-backed, tax-cheating President Trump easily crowd-funded the cost of the flights over both slopes of the Rockies. Mad Dog PAC supplied the banner and the cost of shipping it here for the flight.

Sen. Ray Scott defends taking corporate PAC money

by Anne Landman • October 12, 2018 • 2 Comments

Colorado state Senator Ray Scott came out swinging in a blog posted four days ago defending himself against the hard-hitting new “Pay Scott” video posted online by his challenger, Chris Kennedy, that lists all the Corporate PAC money Scott takes.

Kennedy says he will not take any corporate PAC funds, “period.”

Scott justified his taking corporate PAC money by claiming that the PACs that fund him represent the “hard-working families of Mesa County.”

Ha!

New video highlights SD-7 candidate Chris Kennedy’s promise never to take corporate PAC money

by Anne Landman • October 9, 2018 • 0 Comments

A new video titled “Pay Scott” posted on social media highlights Senate District 7 candidate Chris Kennedy’s promise never to accept corporate PAC money and shows the extent to which incumbent District 7 State Senator Ray Scott is currently relying on corporate donors based outside his district, including big insurance and telecommunications companies, real estate companies and XCel Energy.

Advertising, Corporations, Elections, Environment, Lobbying

Ray Scott relying on huge amounts of campaign financing from outside Mesa County

by Anne Landman • June 9, 2018 • 1 Comment

Ray Scott’s big smile might be because his campaign is being boosted by lots of money from big corporations based outside Mesa County.

A new campaign mailer arriving in people’s mailboxes takes digs at SD-7 candidate Dan Thurlow in an effort to boost Colorado Senator Ray Scott (R-Mesa County) in the primary election this month.

The pro-Scott mailer was funded solely by a group called “Citizens for Cost Effective Government” (CFCEG), whose address is in an unspecified suite in the 56-story Republic Plaza building on 17th Street in downtown Denver. Citizens for Cost Effective Government’s funding comes from just two sources, neither of which are in Mesa County. $25,000 of their total $45,000 in funding comes from Extraction Oil and Gas Company, which — whoops! — just happens to share the same address on 17th Street as “Citizens for Cost Effective Government.”

The other $20,000 of CFCEG’s funding comes from the Colorado Apartment Association based in Denver’s Greenwood Village, not in Mesa County.

Wondering who to vote for for Mesa County Clerk and Recorder? This one’s EASY.

by Anne Landman • June 6, 2018 • 3 Comments

Are you voting a Republican primary ballot and trying to figure out who to vote for for Mesa County Clerk and Recorder? The race is between two candidates: Tina Peters and Bobbie Gross. Here is a brief rundown on both of them, to help you make up your mind about who is most likely to do the best job. Once you know about them both, the choice is very easy.

State Senator Ray Scott of Mesa County caught double-dipping

by Anne Landman • June 5, 2018 • 1 Comment

A Daily Sentinel article from May 24 details how Republican State Senator Ray Scott double-billed his legislative expense account and his campaign account for over $1,000 in Uber rides, and didn’t correct it until the Sentinel exposed it and questioned him about it. The Sentinel obtained information on Scott’s expenditures through a Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) request to the state.

Flex your muscle by getting out and voting in the May 8 Drainage District election!

by Anne Landman • April 25, 2018 • 4 Comments

Why drainage matters: Sherwood Park flooding after a sudden heavy summer rainstorm

Mark your calendars: there’s a local election coming up that Grand Valley progressives and intelligent voters can actually win if they just get out to vote: It’s an election in which typically only about 200 people turn out vote, so one or two dozen extra voters coming out could really tip the entire election in a good way for our valley. It’s for the District 3 seat seat on the Grand Valley Drainage District (GVDD) board, and it’s coming up May 8. (pdf)

The difference between the two candidates is stark. It should make for a very easy decision by voters.

Rep. Jared Polis to open Grand Junction office Sat., Jan. 6 at 10:00 a.m.

by Anne Landman • January 2, 2018 • 1 Comment

Rep. Jared Polis

House Rep. Jared Polis is running for Colorado governor and will officially open his Grand Junction office this coming Saturday, January 6 at 10:00 a.m. at 421 Colorado Ave.

Polis is a new-age candidate. He is an entrepreneur who started several successful internet businesses. He is the first openly gay parent in Congress and a champion of education. Polis has served on the Colorado State Board of Education, and served a single six-year term until his district was eliminated. He created a foundation that gives annual Teacher Recognition Awards. In 2004, Polis established the charter school, “New America School,” a high school that primarily serves older immigrant youth ages 16–21.

Trump endorses accused child molester Roy Moore for Senate

by Anne Landman • November 22, 2017 • 11 Comments

Newspapers in New York today with stories about Trumps endorsement of accused child molester Roy Moore

In a new low for the country, President Donald Trump has endorsed the denials of Roy Moore, the Alabama Republican senate candidate who has been accused of engaging in sexual misconduct with teenagers. Trump’s endorsement indicates he has elevated the strength of Moore’s denials about the encounters over accounts given by the eight women who stepped forward and graphically described the sexual assaults by Moore they experienced when they were younger and Moore was in his 30s.

Moore made a name for himself as a public Ten Commandments moralizer while he served as Chief Justice for the state of Alabama, but he was twice ejected from his position on the Court for violating federal laws. Despite getting kicked off the bench twice for failing to follow the law and being accused of sexually molesting teenagers, Moore has maintained the support of many Christian conservatives in the state. He now also has the support of President Trump.

Economics, Elections, Lobbying, politics

AnneLandmanBlog Voter Guide, 2017

by Anne Landman • October 29, 2017 • 2 Comments

Following are AnneLandmanBlog’s recommendations on how to vote on this November’s Mesa County ballot (pdf). I’ve spent quite a bit of time researching the issues, listening to all the candidates, reading their websites, following the money spent on the ballot issues and researching both pro and con arguments on the tax measures. As a result, I have come to the following conclusions. A discussion of my thoughts on each vote follows the recommendations:

The dark money groups, shady astroturfers and wealthy locals backing Measure 1A, the public safety sales tax

by Anne Landman • October 19, 2017 • 8 Comments

Tim Pollard of “Back the Badge’s” board is the brother-in-law of Josh Penry, who, with Penry operates the astroturfing group EIS Solutions, which is pocketing much of the money raised to promote 1A

Ballot Measure 1A will increase the sales tax in Mesa County by 0.37% to fund the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office and the District Attorney’s office.

It sounds like a good idea, but much of the money behind 1A is coming from unaccountable sources, and the astroturfing groups promoting it may give some people pause. In particular, one big-money donor backing 1A is an aggressively pro-gun group that refuses to reveal its funders and works to push lawmakers out of office who support policies to reduce gun massacres in the U.S., like the one that occurred in Las Vegas on October 1, 2017.

CMU 20000 Steering Committee asks City Council to reconsider changing name of North Ave. to “University Blvd.”

by Anne Landman • October 14, 2017 • 1 Comment

The CMU 20000 Steering Committee has formally asked the Grand Junction City Council to reconsider it’s decision to change the name of North Avenue to “University Boulevard,” saying the matter has “become an inadvertent distraction” from the overall goals of the CMU 20000 effort. The steering committee sent a letter to City Council on October 13 asking them to reverse their decision, and City Council has added the item to the agenda for it’s next meeting.

Grand Junction Chamber backs scary candidates for the contested seats in School Board election

by Anne Landman • October 12, 2017 • 5 Comments

The chamber is endorsing pretty scary candidates for school board

It’s no surprise that in the contested District 51 School Board races, the Grand Junction Area Chamber of Commerce is endorsing candidates who are demonstrably the worst of the pack. That’s par for the course.

What IS surprising is that you can figure this out from reading the Chamber’s very own “Mesa County Valley School District 51 Voter Guide,” (pdf) in which the chamber endorses Thomas Keenan for District E and Dusti Reimer for District D.

For the voter guide, the chamber asked each candidate to answer four questions. Apparently the chamber printed the candidates’ responses verbatim, without editing.

The results are pretty damn scary for the two candidates they endorsed.

Thomas Keenan, the District E candidate, had a hard time putting together a coherent sentence. Below is a screenshot of Mr. Keenan’s answer to the chamber’s Question #4: “Why should members of the Grand Junction Area Chamber vote for you?” Immediately beneath his barely-comprehensible answer, the chamber endorses Mr. Keenan:

Hyper-conservative “ReaganGirl” Marjorie Haun backs tax increase

by Anne Landman • August 25, 2017 • 4 Comments

Local far right winger and gun nut Marjorie Haun takes a liberal stand in support of an increase in the local sales tax

The worm turns.

However uncharacteristic, prominent local conservative Marjorie Haun, who bills herself as “ReaganGirl,” has found a tax she likes, and she’s urging others to like it, too — and vote for it.

Haun backs a proposed sales tax increase on the next local ballot that will help support the Mesa County District Attorney’s office and the Mesa County Sheriff Department.

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