FBI Director Robert Mueller III dedicated the crimefighting agency’s new $100 million Denver headquarters complex in the Stapleton development Wednesday, The Denver Business Journal reports.
Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter joined Mueller for the 9 a.m. MDT ceremony. The FBI already has moved into the 220,000-square-foot building.
Two GOP state house candidates announced in recent days they are dropping out of their respective races, ColoradoPols.com notes.
Fort Collins City Council member Aislinn Kottwitz withdrew her HD-52 candidacy for a Colorado House seat Tuesday, leaving Republicans searching for a challenger to state Rep. John Kefalas, according to The Fort Collins Coloradoan’s Bob Moore.
Edgar Antillon, a GOP challenger recruited to run against Cherilyn Peniston in HD-35, has withdrawn from that race, determining after some campaigning that he “was unable to generate enough support to win.”
By Peter Marcus, DENVER DAILY NEWS
Former President Bill Clinton endorsed U.S. Senate Democratic primary challenger Andrew Romanoff yesterday, marking the underdog’s biggest and most surprising endorsement.
In a race where opponent Michael Bennet has the backing of the White House, the Clinton endorsement is being viewed as a major boost to Romanoff’s campaign. The former Colorado House Speaker told the Denver Daily News yesterday that he was “honored” to accept the endorsement. He said it’s all part of his recent “Romentum,” adding that the Clinton endorsement will only accelerate that momentum.
Romanoff points out that he has won the state caucuses, county assemblies and state convention, each time adding to his margin of victory.
“The trajectory, from our perspective, is in the right direction,” he said yesterday following the endorsement. “In the last four or five weeks since we won the state assembly, we’ve picked up more supporters, more donors, and more volunteers than ever before. I expect the Clinton decision today will accelerate our momentum.”
But Romanoff trails Bennet 36 percent to 53 percent for the Aug. 10 primary, according to a SurveyUSA poll commissioned by the Denver Post taken earlier this month.
Bennet was appointed by Gov. Bill Ritter to fill the U.S. Senate seat left by Ken Salazar when he was appointed by President Obama to serve as the nation’s Interior Secretary.
Bennet has enjoyed the support of the White House, with Obama himself making an early primary campaign appearance in Denver last spring to raise money for the Bennet campaign. The White House has even acknowledged offering Romanoff a job in exchange for not running against Bennet.
Bennet’s campaign seemed less than concerned yesterday over the Clinton endorsement, suggesting that the endorsement was only given because Romanoff had endorsed Hillary Clinton for president in 2008. Bennet had endorsed Obama at the time.
“The Clintons are known for their loyalty, so this doesn’t come as a huge surprise,” read a statement from the Bennet campaign. “Michael certainly doesn’t begrudge President Clinton the chance to thank a long time friend.”
A Clinton aide told the Denver Daily News yesterday that he does not expect the former president to be doing much campaigning for Romanoff, if any at all. Clinton’s office said the e-mail endorsement from the former president should explain why he endorsed Romanoff. One reason cited is a long-term relationship dating back to 1992 when Clinton first met Romanoff when he was a student at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.
“I was proud to carry Colorado in 1992, but you should be even prouder of what Andrew Romanoff did to turn the state blue,” Clinton said in his e-mail endorsement asking for donations. “He worked harder than anyone in Colorado to put Democrats in positions of power Ń and to use that power to benefit every single citizen.”
“Colorado is far better off today because of Andrew Romanoff’s leadership. America will be too,” continued Clinton. “As a senator, Andrew Romanoff will continue to stand up to special interests and fight for working families. We need Andrew’s leadership in Washington — especially now, when so many Americans are losing so much.”
Clinton also cites a remark by Romanoff that, “It is not enough to put a president of real talent and vision and leadership in the White House if the same qualities are not matched at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue.”
Romanoff said he wants to bring that leadership to the U.S. Senate.
“President Obama, President Clinton are leaders of courage and vision and talent, but the Senate of the United States has become the place where a lot of these good ideas go to die,” he said.
in other coverage
The Denver Post: Former President Bill Clinton bucked the Obama administration Tuesday and endorsed former state House Speaker Andrew Romanoff in the Democratic U.S. Senate primary, calling Colorado a better place because of his leadership in the legislature. In his first endorsement this year of a Senate primary challenger, Clinton wrote a letter outlining his support for Romanoff over appointed Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet.
An initiative aimed at blocking the effects of the federal health care reform bill in Colorado is one step closer to making it on November’s ballot, Law Week Colorado reports.
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled Monday that proposed initiative 45, which would prohibit state law from requiring people to buy health insurance, meets the state’s single subject requirement for ballot initiatives.
The court, in its 5-2 decision, also held that the proposed initiative’s title, “Right to health care choice,” is neither misleading nor an impermissible slogan.
Although Colorado’s economy continues to recover from recession, growth is lagging the nation and is expected to decelerate in the second half of 2010, state economists said in a forecast today.
“Growth will continue at modest rates over the next few years,” Chief Economist Natalie Mullis writes. “Once the expansion gains solid footing and banking and real estate problems are resolved, Colorado’s economy is expected to again outperform the nation.”
The FY 2009-10 General Fund budget is in balance. However, only $80.9 million, or 1.2 percent of General Fund appropriations, will be left in the reserve at the close of the year. In FY 2010-11, General Fund revenue will be suficient to fund the amount budgeted to be spent and about one third of the reserve required by law. Revenue will fall short of the required reserve by $175.7 million.
Read Mullis’ report below:
White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel says the administration did nothing wrong when an aide discussed the possibility of a federal job for Democrat Andrew Romanoff if he were not challenging Sen. Michael Bennet in the primary, The Colorado Springs Gazette reports.
Emanuel spoke Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”
Republicans have accused the White House of breaking a law that makes it illegal to offer someone a taxpayer-financed job in exchange for doing something.
Colorado education officials have been ignoring a law intended to “flag” the arrests of teachers and then alert all school districts and charter schools across the state, a Coloradoan investigation has found.
The 2008 law requires the Colorado Department of Education to issue an alert every time a licensed educator is arrested. The arrest information is provided by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
But a Coloradoan investigation shows CDE officials have largely ignored the law since it was passed, arguing that they didn’t have enough money to implement it. Within days of the Coloradoan inquiring about the situation, CDE officials said they planned to start following the law. They couldn’t provide a specific timeline.
STATE BILL COLORADO
Here’s how bills fared during Colorado’s 2010 legislative session. Gov. Bill Ritter had until Friday, June 11, to sign legislation.
STATE BILL COLORADO
These are the bills signed by Gov. Bill Ritter for the 2010 legislative term. They are listed in order of signing date.
STATE BILL COLORADO
These are the bills signed by Gov. Bill Ritter for the 2010 legislative term. They are listed by short title.
