Labor, Mountain Dems and Morgan’s Big Ten
Labor Education and Advisory Committee (LEAC)
LEAC was created two years ago so that labor could have an opportunity to keep the party abreast of issues they cared about. On Thursday, they invited Don Mares, who now heads up the Department of Labor and Employment. Don talked about what he is trying to accomplish, especially in terms of workmen’s compensation. LEAC also discussed organizing an education seminar for the legislators and other elected officials, finding people to serve on boards and commissions, and making sure that some of them run for delegate to the 2008 convention.
Mountain Area Democrats
Saturday morning I drove through the rain into the snow and met with a room full of Democrats to discuss CDP and where we are going both as a party and as a part of the 2008 convention. This group always feels like famly because many of them work closely with my husband, Ken Strom, on bird conservation through Audubon. However, it was good to see other faces, like Marilyn Roger from NEA and Linda Rockwell, who ran for office in Jeffco last year. One of the issues we discussed concerned trying to do a better job of notifying folks when someone special is coming to town. In particular, some of the group did not get notification of Barack Obama’s visit until the morning of the event.
Morgan County’s Big Ten Dinner
Having promised to get there this year, it was great to see 80 people out in the rain for this annual event in Fort Morgan. Linda Iungerich did a great job as the emcee. She is stepping down as chair, but she will remain as treasurer. Her shoes are being filled by Tom Proctor. Tom has been chair of both Logan and Morgan counties in the past and brings much experience to the job. Congrats to Lesle Bundy, who was announced as the Democrat of the Year.
The highlight of the evening was Colorado State Treasurer, Cary Kennedy. She once again demonstrated her knowledge of the state’s budget. Some points made included the fact that currently the state has 4% of its budget in reserve for emergencies. She would like to increase budget savings to 6-8%. Cary has also been appointed as one of the co-chairs of the panel on transporation finance by the governor. Transportation is showing in excess of a billion dollars in short fall annually. Much needs to be done to improve the transportation, but we need to find a way to pay for it. Cary also mentioned that the state has $300 million in unclaimed funds being held by the office of the treasurer. Everyone should be checking to see if they are on the list.
Chair’s Travels
Next weekend I will be in Routt County for their Jefferson-Jackson Day dinner.
Pat