HELLO, MY NAME IS
Tired.
In all seriousness, it was a very positive and energizing experience, even for introverts. State Assembly was held this past Saturday, with people arriving before 8am to get their credentials prior to a 10am gavel down and getting to the business of nominating candidates for statewide offices.
As a quick recap, candidates have two-ish routes to the ballot: Caucus/Assembly, petitioning, or both. For petitions, there are statutory minimums to achieve; for statewide, it is 10000 verified signatures of Democratic voters. For Caucus/Assembly, candidates must get a minimum of 30% of delegate votes at the Assembly at the level of their desired office. For someone choosing to Assemble as well as petition, they must get a minimum of 10% of the delegation’s votes. Candidates choose to do both for access to the microphone and the pool of Party voters who are among the most active.
So, most of Saturday’s business was placing candidates on the June primary ballot, but in some cases we set the candidate for November.
Jena Griswold wrapped up her nomination as expected; she’s been the leading candidate all cycle and was the only candidate to have top gubernatorial candidates Cary Kennedy and Jared Polis join her on the stage for her nomination acceptance. It is historically VERY hard for Colorado voters to choose a Democratic SoS, but it’s 2018, and I hope you feel as I do that Jena has what it takes to get it done in a favorable year. To talk with her is to feel relief that finally here is a talented and smart young woman who is absolutely qualified to take on the office. Best thing you can do for her now is give her some mo-neeeeyyyyy!
Far more surprising was the abrupt elimination of the primary for CU Regent at Large; we had expected a competitive campaign between Lesley Smith and Chantelle Taylor, but Chantelle withdrew her candidacy last week. This may or may not have had to do with a flurry of discussion about her employment with Anadarko Petroleum. Lesley will need help because so few folks pay attention to the CU Board of Regents in general, and that will be even more the case with all the statewide offices open this year. However, the Board of Regents has been GOP controlled for about 50 years now, and that means opposition to inclusive policies, living wages for faculty and staff, and open hostility to science-based research on topics such as climate change.
What you can do for Lesley: give her some mo-neeeyyyyyy!
CONTESTED RACES — JUNE VOTING!
The Treasurer race will feature two candidates, Dave Young and Bernard Douthit. Dave Young is currently the Rep for HD50, central Greeley, and is the only elected Democrat in Weld County. A former teacher, Dave has served on the Joint Budget Committee and is an all around top dude, looking to shore up PERA and reform TABOR and Gallagher to help rescue education funding. Bernard (sometimes going by Bernie) Douthit got started in politics two years ago as a speaker for ColoradoCare, and got in the Treasurer’s race with his degrees in mathematics and finance to use the policy arm of the Treasurer’s office to advance universal healthcare and public banking, of which I am a YUGE fan. These are both great candidates; you should give them money, or your time, or both if you love one of ‘em.
Attorney General is even more competitive: we don’t yet know if there will be three candidates, as we await signature verification for Amy Padden, who just cleared the Both bar with just over 10% of the vote, but as we all expected, Phil Weiser (52%, top line earned) and Joe Salazar (36%) will be on the ballot. These candidates are both highly qualified, but from very different directions; Phil has had a very successful career track that includes Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the Obama Administration on his resume, prior to becoming Dean of the CU School of Law. Joe became a civil rights attorney before running to represent Thornton in the State House; you can always find him beside you whenever a protest march reaches the Capitol’s west steps. Phil has a massive warchest; Joe has a huge number of committed people.
And in the BIG SHOW, Cary Kennedy concluded her strong Assembly showing with a 2 to 1 delegation vote over Jared Polis, who is petitioning in addition to Assembling. This has been brewing for awhile, and candidates Mike Johnston and Donna Lynne are petitioning only, so we are nearly certain (pending Lynne’s signatures being verified) that we will have FOUR gubernatorial candidates. This may seem like a lot until we flash all the way back to two years ago and the 17 GOP Presidential… um… contenders.
AND THAT’S ALL FOLKS, NOTHING ELSE TO—wait.
One more fairly significant thing happened.
Following the approval of our 2018 Platform, there was an opportunity to present a minority report, a mechanism by which an item not included in the Platform Report could be voted on for adoption. These reports require the signatures of 10% of the Platform Committee members to qualify as a motion, and must pass by a 2/3 majority.
One minority report item DID meet these criteria, and this is its text:
”We oppose making Colorado’s public schools private, or run by private corporations, or becoming segregated again through lobbying and campaign efforts of the organization called Democrats for Education Reform, and demand that they immediately stop using the Party’s name i.e. “Democrat” in their name.”
The minority report process includes 10 minutes of debate, 5 for each side, up to 5 people per side. DfER director Jen Walmer pled her case, and was joined by two members of the delegation: one to express disapproval at this level of disapproval, and one who was a teacher at a charter school who made a case for the quality of her school and her work.
Speaking for the resolution were five members who had various levels of experience with charters: as educators and as students. The first speaker, Vanessa Quintana, spoke movingly and powerfully about her experience a Manual High School student when that school was closed for failing to meet standards. For those not familiar, Manual is in northeast Denver and serves a predominantly African American & Latinx population. At the end of the debate, CDP Chair Morgan Carroll called for a voice vote, and the result was a resounding approval for the minority report resolution. Does this signal a shift against the charter school movement in Colorado? We will see, but this level of unity among the delegation certainly says it is possible.
After this, we did what Democrats do: walked to the nearby breweries and drank beer.
So that’s what happened on Saturday. Thread is OPEN!
Colorado State Open Thread is brought to you by the letters C, D, A, and the number 18.
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