Common Sense Policy Roundtable and the Leadership Program of the Rockies, and both of these hyper conservative organizations are associated with the oil and gas industry and the Koch brothers. As such, Ganahl, a very successful businesswoman, is now one of the major players in the Republican Party/oil and gas industry Redprint strategy for turning Colorado from a blue to a red state and keeping it that way. Part of that strategy depends on maintaining control of the leadership of the CU system, which the election of Ganahl as regent will assure. Which brings us to the Blueprint candidate. Regent candidate Alice Madden knows all about the Colorado Blueprint, the Democrat’s strategy for turning Colorado from red to blue which got its start back in 2004 and has been operating to one degree or another ever since. The Blueprint involves using the funding of billionaires Tim Gill and Pat Stryker and a good dose of backroom deals with the oil and gas industry to win strategic political races that can give Democrats control of the statehouse, governor’s mansion, university, etc. And doling out millions of dollars worth of state and federal solar energy grants to friends of the Blueprint didn’t hurt the cause either. If you want a clear picture of the Blueprint, just think Hickenlooper and oil and gas. It may be blue, but it’s not a pretty picture. That’s the short version. So here is BW ’s dilemma: We have always taken the position that both the Redprint and Blueprint are equally undemocratic and therefore wrong. Even though we support many of the same progressive ideals as those behind the Blueprint, we think both political strategies relinquish too much control to a small number of uberwealthy individuals who have their own political goals and too often have made backroom deals with the oil and gas industry in order to realize those goals. What Coloradans end up with is Republicans pushing oil and gas extraction and Democrats pushing natural gas extraction. Since the same companies are producing both, often out of the same hole in the ground, both the Redprint and the Blueprint are killing Colorado when it comes to our environment and are greatly hindering the fight against global warming. The future of the planet is too important for any political party to trade away, yet both have done so. For these reasons, in other years, we might not have endorsed in this race, but this time it is different. The next Board of Regents may well be the one that helps to pick Bruce Benson’s successor. There are more than 60,000 students in the University of Colorado’s fourcampus system who deserve leadership that is not informed by the Koch brothers, is not actively using university resources to support the oil and gas industry and that just maybe will once again recognize the rights of free speech for both faculty and students. It is not an exaggeration to say that there are way too many climate change deniers in positions of leadership at the University of Colorado, and for the sake of the students and faculty, it’s time for that to change. BW therefore endorses Alice Madden because it is critical that the Republican Party’s stranglehold on the Board of Boulder Weekly
Regents be broken. And should she win, we implore Alice Madden to change her positions on natural gas not just her rhetoric on natural gas. And we hope she will help lead CU’s movement to divest from all fossil fuels including natural gas. The Blueprint Democrat’s continued commitment to politically exploiting the outdated “beyond coal” strategy, though expedient, may well be doing more environmental harm than good. The science has changed and now the Party must follow suit. It is our hope that a Democratic majority on the Board of Regents would work to restore leadership at the university more concerned with education than politics. REGENT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO — CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT 4 Suzanne M. Sharkey (R) Bob Owens (D) Boulder Weekly endorses Bob Owens. As described previously in the write up for the Regent At Large seat, we believe it is critical that the Republican stranglehold over the board be broken. The University of Colorado is being pushed too far to the right by its current hyper-conservative, activist Republican leadership and Bob Owens only a change in the Board of Regents can alter the university’s current course. It is critical for the morale of faculty and the education of the more than 60,000 students in the system. It is not BW ’s desire to see the University of Colorado system become a tool for the Democratic Party as it has been for the Republican Party. As stated previously, it is our hope that a Democratic majority on the Board of Regents would work to restore leadership at the university more concerned with education than politics. STATE SENATOR — DISTRICT 17 Matt Jones (D) (uncontested) Colorado State Senator Matt Jones has represented the people of Boulder County for many years, first in the House of Representatives and then in the Senate. He’s been at the forefront of legislation to provide proper oversight of the oil and gas industry in the state, while he believes local governments should Matt Jones have the authority to regulate industrial development. He wants to make the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC)more accountable to the citizens, while promoting renewable technology that not only can meet our energy needs but also create more jobs. He wants to reform TABOR, allowing for more funding in education, while also creating tuition caps and reducing student loan debt. Sen. Jones has worked tirelessly for the people of our community and we
commend him for his dedication to public service. STATE SENATOR — DISTRICT 18 Stephen Fenberg (D) M. Peter Spraitz (R) Boulder Weekly spoke on the phone with Stephen Fenberg. M. Peter Spraitz requested questions be sent over email. They were, but he never responded. Let us state upfront that we have concerns with some of Fenberg’s campaign contributions, most notably those from Ted Trimpa, Pat Stryker and Rep. Jared Polis. In addition, The Gill Foundation has funded New Era Colorado, the nonprofit founded by Fenberg. In other words, it’s as if Fenberg has stepped right out of the pages of Adam Schrager and Rob Witwer’s book The Blueprint: How the Democrats Won Colorado (and Why Republicans Everywhere Should Care). To make a very long and complicated story short, Trimpa, Stryker, Polis and Tim Gill helped construct a political strategy for the Colorado Democratic Party called “The Blueprint” that is a system we see as being built on manipulation rather than transparency. With that being said, at this point we’re still willing to support Steve Fenberg as State Senator for District 18, though we lament what appears to be his launch into the Dem’s establishment poliStephen Fenberg tics. We hope he can refrain from playing their game. Our support is based on the fact that Fenberg is on the right side of all the issues that matter to Boulder residents: Reforming TABOR; changing the mission of regulatory agencies such as the COGCC and the Public Utilities Commission to prioritize people over profits; getting more Coloradans engaged in the democratic process; creating more funding for education and public transportation; significantly increasing the state’s renewable energy portfolio; and supporting policies that create equality for LGBTQ Coloradans with an extra focus on “Transgender Coloradans who often suffer the brunt of discrimination in the health care, criminal justice, and education systems,” according to his website. STATE REPRESENTATIVE — DISTRICT 10 Edie Hooton (D) (uncontested) STATE REPRESENTATIVE — DISTRICT 11 Jonathan Singer (D) Corey Piper (R) We’ve endorsed Rep. Jonathan Singer in every election since 2012 and this year is no different. He has represented the voices of residents in northeastern Boulder County with clarity, diligence and authority. He has introduced a number of bills
improving child welfare, government transparency, and mental health services and benefits. He has fought tirelessly on issues relating to oil and gas development and says by this point the lobbyists know to leave him alone. He’s decidedly against the Raise the Bar (Amendment 71), but supportive of raising the minimum wage and a statewide health care system. And yet he still has “unfinished business” as State Rep., including income inequality and local control for industrial development. He believes in more transparency at the State House and he wants to continue higher education and skilled trade education reform. He hopes to find more funding for mental health, combating the opiate epidemic and rebuilding trust with law enforcement. He wants to scale back certain government regulations to make small businesses run Jonathan Singer smoother. As more and more people are disillusioned with politics, he says it is his responsibility to listen to people, something he has done well to this point. Republican candidate Corey Piper is running as part of what he sees as a diverse party with a diversity of views and he is clearly an independent thinker who does not simply fall lock stock in step with his party. He’s against the Raise the Bar initiative, in that it benefits the political structure more than the citizens. He is, however, a staunch defender of the Second Amendment, isn’t concerned with health risks caused by fracking in Boulder County, and doesn’t support either the Affordable Care Act or ColoradoCare (Amendment 69). He does believe in individual rights and using taxation to fund essential programs, not control behavior. Although his values are decidedly different from ours, we found his authenticity and rationale to be refreshing in a political world that is often marred by hypocrisy. For the job he’s done so far and the work he has left to do, we endorse Jonathan Singer to represent District 11. STATE REPRESENTATIVE — DISTRICT 12 Bob Dillon (R) Mike Foote (D) First elected in 2012, Rep. Mike Foote has fought for campaign finance reform, more funding for K-12 education and increasing regulation on encroaching oil and gas development. He’s sponsored bills protecting pregnant women, victims and the mentally ill, while also fighting corporate use of foreign tax Mike Foote havens. Republican candidate Bob Dillon entered the race for District 12 at the party caucus this year, when it became clear there were no challengers to many incumbent Democrats in the state. As a veteran himself, Dillon is concerned with veteran affairs and a mental health care system that often leaves people in the emergency room or jail. However, he doesn’t take issue with fracking and doesn’t believe local control would be good for the See VOTE Page 18
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