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Northglenn -Thornton
November 28, 2013
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A Colorado Community Media Publication
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Adams County, Colorado • Volume 50, Issue 16
Votes counted for Speers in Adams 12 race By Ashley Reimers
areimers@ourcoloradonews.com Around this time, most city councils and school boards are welcoming newly elected officials. But in the Adams 12 Five Star School district, one position still remains unoccupied. On Nov. 18, Denver Chief District Judge Robert Hyatt ordered the clerks of Adams and Broomfield counties to count the votes cast for Amy Speers in the District 4 race against Rico Figueroa. Speers was ineligible to run for District 4 because she resides outside of District 4 boundaries. After the votes were tallied, Speers end-
ed up with the most votes. In Adams County Speers earned 63 percent of the votes, over Figueroa’s 34 percent. Numbers were similar in Broomfield, with Speers earning 66 percent of the votes and Figueroa Speers earning just 38 percent. “I am very happy that the people in the community get to hear the results and glad their voices were heard,” Speers said. “It is bittersweet for me.” According to the district website, the order made by Hyatt invalidates the emer-
gency rule that the Secretary of State issued on Nov. 5 that stated, ““If the designated election official determines, after ballots are printed, that an individual whose name appears on the ballot is not qualified for office, the votes cast for that individual are invalid and must not be counted.” After the election a group of plaintiffs filed a suit against the Secretary of States’ authority to administrate the emergency rule. The Secretary of State had until Nov. 21 to appeal the ruling. As for moving forward, Joe Ferdani, Adams 12 communications director, said the school board will accept the certified votes from the counties during a Dec. 2 meeting,
which will also include the swearing-in of District 3 board member Kathy Plomer, but due to the ongoing legal process the district is unsure where everything will be for the District 4 position. If the District 4 seat is declared vacant, Ferdani said the board has 60 days to appoint a new board member. “As soon as we know the finality of the court proceedings, that will create more clarity for next steps,” he said. “There are many moving pieces and parts to this.” Until then, Figueroa will remain on the board until he is elected or another person is appointed.
Hudak in a crunch: Lawmaker weighing options in recall effort By Vic Vela
vvela@ourcoloradonews.com State Sen. Evie Hudak could be in a lose-lose situation, and she knows it. The Westminster Democrat acknowledges that if organizers behind a recall effort collect enough signatures to force a special election, there is only one sure-fire way that she will remain a senator. “The way I win is if they don’t get enough signatures,” she said during a recent interview with Colorado Community Media. “Other than that, I think you’re right, that I’m in a lose-lose situation if they get enough signatures. People will be angry if I were to resign. People would be angry if I were to be recalled.” Hudak refused to answer affirmatively if she will run in a recall election, if things go that far. “Obviously, people like you have forced me to contemplate,” she said. “The reason I can’t make a decision is because I don’t know if they’re going to have enough signatures. There are a lot of things in play. “Right now, I want to remain a senator. I think I’ve done a good job.” Hudak was asked whether it would send a bad message if a lawmaker steps aside from office, through the mere threat of a recall — without even fighting back in an election to keep his or her seat. “You’re expressing why it’s so difficult, and why I can’t give you an answer right now,” she said. Organizers have until Dec. 3 to submit 18,962 valid signatures of District 19 voters to the secretary of state’s office. Hudak’s district includes Westminster and Arvada. Hudak has run in tough elections before. She initially won her Senate seat in 2008 with 51 percent of the vote. Last year, Hudak was re-elected by a slim margin of 342 votes over her Republican opponent, and one where a Libertarian candidate received 6.5 percent support. Hudak is the third Democratic
Chris Leinster of Westminster talks on his smartphone while seeking signatures for a petition to recall Democrat state Sen. Evie Hudak of District 19 on Nov. 1. Recall effort supporters had tables set up on both sides of Wadsworth Boulevard north of West 80th Avenue. People with placards in opposition to the recall stood on the sidewalks near the tables including Arvada’s Nick Dogich, center background, and Liz Geisleman, at right in background. File photo lawmaker to be targeted for recall. The other two, former Senate President John Morse of Colorado Springs and Sen. Angela Giron of Pueblo, lost their races. The group that is behind the recall effort, which calls itself Recall Hudak Too, has a laundry list of reasons why she should be recalled. Clearly, though, Hudak is being targeted over her support of gun legislation that was signed into law this year, and because she is a vulnerable Democrat whose loss in a special election could flip control in the General Assembly’s upper chamber to the Republicans.
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That’s why there has been chatter among state politicos that Hudak could end up resigning from office, a move that would allow another Democrat to hold that important seat. “At this time, I have no intention of resigning,” she said. “I hope I won’t have to make that decision.” Mike McAlpine, who is organizing the recall effort, did not respond to multiple requests for comment on this story. Learning from recent recall efforts Hudak and her campaign manager Chris Kennedy say they
learned from what happened in Colorado Springs and Pueblo. “I don’t think we knew how serious it was and how capable these guys were,” Kennedy said. He said because of that, the Hudak campaign has sent volunteers door-to-door, as well as positioning volunteers in areas where petition gatherers are attempting to collect signatures. The actions of volunteers on both sides of the recall attempt have been the story within the recall story, as efforts on the part of some groups have stirred controversy. The Democracy Defense Fund,
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A pro-Hudak group — one that the senator says she is not affiliated with — has directed robocalls that warn District 19 voters that some of the recall petition gatherers have criminal backgrounds. “We’re trying to get the message out, why it would benefit people in the community not to sign the petition,” Cheryl Cheney, a Democracy Defense Fund volunteer said. On the other side, the Rocky Mountain Gun Owners has said it will be giving away an AR-15 rifle,
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Hudak continues on Page 10
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