(Cross-Posted to DemNotes at www.DemNotes.com)

This afternoon in Virginia, I spent my time in two “official” meetings and one not-so-official meeting. The Association of State Democratic Chairs met, followed by a very informal meeting of all of the state party vice-chairs, and then the day concluded with a meeting of the DNC Youth Council.

The ASDC meeting was the biggest chunk of the day. Pat, Sherry and I attended, and we heard from a number of folks about efforts in place for 2008. Governor Dean kicked off the meeting with a discussion of the challenges ahead in the 50-state program and what he is hoping to see from our field plan. Following Governor Dean, the Party Chairs and Vice Chairs heard from a representative each from Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid’s offices. They discussed the many successes of the Congress, the challeges posed by Republican obstructionism (they were described as the G.O.P. - the “Grand Obstruction Party”), and the problems facing the leadership in getting this message out to the average American.

The congressional staff were followed by Ben Self, who is the DNC Technology Director, who gave us an impressive update of the efforts made to continue the improvement of VoteBuilder (a/k/a VAN). We finally heard from some of the national convention staff, who discussed the next 30-60 days for state parties as they make plans to come to Denver. Of particular interest was Tina Akintayo, who is the DNCC Director of Housing. All of us from Colorado have been getting questions about the housing assignments (is the hotel nice? is it near the Convention Center? etc…) In the end, though, I believe I heard Tina say on a conference call last week that every delegation got either its first or second choice for housing, so I think folks will be generally happy.

Following the ASDC meeting, the Vice Chairs got together for an informal session to discuss our work in the various states and share ideas. We had a nearly hour-long discussion, with a pledge to do something even more organized the next time the ASDC meets.

I then went over to the Youth Council meeting. There are about 20 or fewer members of the DNC aged 35 or younger. For the next 8 months, I am one of those lucky few. This meeting was a truly lively discussion of efforts to include youth outreach in each of the Presidential campaigns and further efforts to reach out to young people who want to be delegates to the National Convention. Representatives from several presidential campaigns were there, and the discussion — while noisy at times — was very productive, I think.

Tomorrow is the big day for speeches. I’ll write more about that tomorrow.

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Sorry for the length of this post, but the NCEC (National Center for an Effective Congress), who does a lot of data crunching and vote analysis on a precinct-by-precinct level for Democrats, has just issued a short analysis of the state of Colorado politics. It is very interesting, and speaks volumes about the work of Democrats in counties like Douglas, Arapahoe, and Larimer counties. Mike Piel from the NCEC forwarded it to me, and gave me permission to post it to DemNotes. Again, I realize it is long, but it is good reading (even if it does skip CD-5):

Colorado Trending Blue
Since 2004, Colorado has transformed from a solid Republican state to one of intense competition where Democrats have suddenly reached parity. In the last two election cycles, Democrats have captured two House seats, a Senate seat, the governorship, and control of both houses of the state legislature. This transformation is symptomatic of a wider development across the country that has Republican strategists deeply concerned. In short, Democrats are performing vastly better in suburban and exurban areas, and this development has put Republicans on the defensive. Colorado ’s nine electoral votes could be immensely important to Democratic presidential aspirations, and the fate of the state could serve as a strong bellwether indicator of the larger race. Colorado will more than ever be a focal point of the national election in 2008. Not only is the presidential election expected to be solidly competitive, but there is also an open Senate race, two open-seat House races, and five potentially competitive House races. In the past two cycles, Democrats have experienced increasing success in key suburban and exurban areas such as Arapahoe, Douglas, Jefferson, and Larimer counties, leaving rural counties as the only staunchly conservative areas left for the GOP.

One of the most important factors in the increased Democratic success in Colorado is the growing support for the party in suburban areas previously dominated by Republicans. Arapahoe County is a solid example of this evolution. Since 2000, the voting-age population of Arapahoe County has increased by more than 42,000, and this increase has dramatically changed the voting habits of the county. In 1996, Bill Clinton received less than 43 percent of the vote in Arapahoe County . By 2002, Democratic support had increased to 46.5 percent in the Senate race. The trend of increased Democratic performance continued in 2004 and 2006. In 2004, Ken Salazar carried Arapahoe County with 52 percent of the vote, and Governor Bill Ritter outperformed Salazar in 2006 when he received nearly 60 percent of the vote (59.5 percent).

Douglas County , one of the fastest-growing counties in the country, also shows some of these positive Democratic trends. The voting-age population has increased by more than 69,000 since 2000. While the Democratic gains are not as pronounced as the shift seen in Arapahoe County , there has still been a boost in Democratic support. In 2000, Al Gore received just 31 percent of the vote in Douglas County . In 2002, Democratic Senatorial candidate Tom Strickland received 33 percent of the vote, a modest improvement. In 2004, Ken Salazar received more than 38 percent. The voting trend accelerated in 2006, as Governor Bill Ritter nearly carried Douglas County with more than 46 percent of the vote. While this county remains solid Republican, consistent Democratic gains in this large population center are a direct contributor to the recent success of Democrats in statewide elections.

Jefferson County , another rapidly growing population center home to more than 350,000 registered voters, has exhibited these same voting tendencies. Jefferson County was selected as the center and main voting contributor to the new Seventh Congressional District, which was added in 2002. The voting-age population has grown by 10,000 since 2000, and Democrats have been performing increasingly well there. Ed Perlmutter, a Democrat, now controls the Seventh District; this would have been unthinkable ten years ago. In 1996, Bill Clinton received less than 44 percent of the vote in Jefferson County , but demographic shifts in the county have increased the Democratic share of the vote. In 2002, Democratic Senatorial candidate Tom Strickland got more than 47 percent of the vote in Jefferson County . Ken Salazar won Jefferson County by 4 percent in 2004, and Bill Ritter amassed more than 59 percent of the vote in Jefferson County in 2006—making a 16 percent shift from 1996 to 2006.

A final example of this voting trend is Larimer County , which has seen some of the most drastic changes. Over the past seven years the voting-age population has grown by more than 24,000, and subsequent increases in Democratic support have been seen. In 2000, Al Gore got less than 40 percent of the vote in Larimer County , which is made up of rural, suburban, and exurban areas. A major shift was already evident in this county by 2002, when Democratic Senatorial candidate Tom Strickland received more than 44 percent of the vote. The trend continues, as Ken Salazar won Larimer County with 52 percent of the vote in 2004. Bill Ritter won more than 58 percent of the vote in Larimer County in 2006, which represents an 18 percent surge in Democratic support from 2000–2006.

Implications for 2008

If current trends hold, Colorado will be a major player in the 2008 presidential race, as well as a golden opportunity for another Senate pickup for the Democrats. Beyond statewide races, there are competitive House races as well.

President : Democrats failed in 2004 largely because of their dependence on winning a great majority of the traditional presidential swing states, which left no room for error or a setback. In 2004, there were not enough targets. As the 2008 election approaches, Democrats should look to Colorado to expand the playing field. Picking up Colorado ’s nine electoral votes would be of great importance to the overall Western campaign strategy. John Kerry ended up 18 electoral votes shy of winning the presidency, which caused too much importance to be placed on Ohio . There are three states in the West that are expected to be competitive and that could offset the importance of Ohio and make winning there less crucial. If the Democratic candidate wins Colorado, Nevada, and New Mexico, all states that were decided by less than 5 percent in 2004, 19 electoral votes would be gained, which would be sufficient to make up for any potential defeat in Ohio. If present trends hold there is a good chance that Colorado could go to the Democrats for the first time since 1992.

Senate : Early polling and financial data are both extremely positive for Democrats in this Senate race. Mark Udall holds a significant advantage in money and (thus far) in support. A poll from Hill Research Consultants, a Republican polling firm, had Udall ahead of Republican candidate Bob Schaffer by 5 percent (45-40). Other polling had Udall even further ahead. Udall can also count on the support of vastly popular Democratic Governor Bill Ritter. As alluded to before, increased Democratic performance in suburban areas has been paramount for recent success for Democrats. If this trend holds, Udall is certainly the favorite.

CO-02: Incumbent Mark Udall has vacated this seat to run for the Senate, but despite its open-seat status, this race is only “potentially competitive.” The major population centers in this district are in Adams, Boulder , Broomfield , and Jefferson counties. The Second District portions of Adams and Boulder counties are solidly Democratic. In 2004, Ken Salazar carried 58 percent of the Adams County portion of the district, and both Kerry and Salazar amassed 72 percent of the vote in Boulder County . Jefferson and Broomfield remain competitive, but Democrats have performed increasingly well there over the past few cycles. Ken Salazar carried the Second District portion of both counties in 2004, outpacing John Kerry by 5 percent in both counties. Republicans lack a candidate at present, so there is little chance that they will lose this district. Any one of the three potential Democratic candidates will most likely be able to hold on to this district.

CO-04: The Fourth District has been trending Democratic over the past three cycles. Marilyn Musgrave’s margin of victory has steadily decreased over the past three cycles, but 2006 might have been Democrats’ best chance to defeat her given the political environment. Angie Paccione lost by a mere 3 percent due to a number of factors.

Paccione performed well in Larimer County , which is essential for any Democrat. She amassed more than 54 percent of the major party vote, which was a large improvement over Stan Matsunaka’s performance in 2002 and 2004 when he failed to carry the county. In addition to Larimer County , Paccione performed reasonably well in Boulder County , receiving nearly 54 percent of the vote. However, in both Larimer County and Boulder County , Paccione ran well behind Governor Bill Ritter’s numbers, which suggests that even though she performed well in both these counties there is room for improvement. For example, Paccione received nearly 5 percent less than did Bill Ritter in Boulder County , and more than 3 percent less in Larimer County . Modest improvement in these counties could put this district increasingly in play.

Another factor that led to Paccione’s defeat is one that was symptomatic of many close defeats for Democrats in 2006: Democrats expanded their performance in urban and suburban areas, but did not improve in rural areas. The Fourth District comprises mainly rural counties where Paccione failed to improve on past cycles. For example, her share of the major party vote ran behind Stan Matsunaka’s 2004 share in Cheyenne , Logan , Morgan , Washington , Weld, and Yuma counties. Slightly increased performance in these counties would have given her a real chance to win the race.

Musgrave has toned down her rhetoric so far this term, which will make her more difficult to beat. However, slight improvements in rural areas, coupled with extended success in Boulder County and Larimer County , could flip this seat in 2008.

CO-06: Tom Tancredo’s retirement will make this a much more competitive race, but winning this gerrymandered district will take a strong moderate candidate who can attract a decent number of Republican votes. The Sixth District pulls in the most conservative parts of Arapahoe, Douglas, and Jefferson counties. In 2004, John Kerry and Ken Salazar ran well below their countywide percentages in the Sixth District portion of these counties. For example, Ken Salazar received 52 percent of the countywide vote in Arapahoe County in 2004, but just 47 percent in the Sixth District portion of the county. The same scenario played out in Jefferson County where Salazar performed more than 4 percent worse in the Sixth District portion of the county in comparison to his countywide performance. Mike Coffman’s entrance into the race will make this district even harder to win, but will lead to a Democrat taking the position of Secretary of State.

CO-07: Ed Perlmutter’s 13 percent victory in this district has led Republicans to essentially abandon the district. No opponent to Perlmutter has surfaced as of yet, and it is likely that he will be reelected.

(Cross-Posted to DemNotes at www.DemNotes.com)

We are now just about a month out from the first actual votes in the Presidential race (maybe even sooner - I understand that some absentee ballots in Feb. 5 states may be in voters’ hands as early as December). Iowa is revved up for January 3, and the Democratic Party is anxiously awaiting the results of the early primaries and caucuses (including Colorado’s Feb. 5 caucus) to see who our nominee will be.

I’m here in Vienna, Virginia — a suburb of Washington DC — for the Winter meeting of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). Several other Coloradans are here, as well. Last night, I enjoyed a couple of drinks with DNC Members Mannie Rodriguez and Maria Handley, as well as CDP Executive Director Sherry Jackson and DNC members from Kansas and New Mexico. Pat Waak stopped by on her way out to dinner to say hello, as well. No matter where you go around here, the talk is about the Presidential race; Mannie was doing everything he could to talk up his candidate, Senator Clinton, while the New Mexico folks were pressing hard to get in some of the finer points about why supporting Governor Richardson was so critical.

The meetings start slowly with a few this afternoon: the Association of State Democratic Chairs will meet, followed by the Resolutions Committee and the Youth and Senior Coordinating Councils. I spoke to the Senior Coordinating Council a couple of years ago about what we’re doing in Colorado, and I’m a member (at least until next July) of the Youth Coordinating Council.

Tomorrow, though, is the big show. Hopefully, you will get a chance to catch some of the meeting on C-SPAN. I believe the coverage will start around 8 am Mountain time. Nearly every Presidential candidate will be here to speak to the DNC; Governor Richardson and Senators Edwards, Dodd and Obama will speak to us in the morning session. In the afternoon, we’ll hear from Rep. Kucinich and Sens. Biden and Clinton. Speaker Pelosi will also be addressing us, and the DNC will also hear from a very special guest — Colorado Governor Bill Ritter — about the work we are doing to prepare Colorado for next August’s nomination of the next President of the United States.

Tomorrow is filled with a number of other meetings, as well. The Rules and Bylaws Committee will be meeting in the morning, and they always have interesting news. The Rural Council will be meeting, as well, and the Hispanic Caucus will be electing a new chair. We will conclude on Saturday morning, with a few more caucus meetings and other trainings.

I’ll write about today’s meetings this evening. Again, though, try to record the DNC meeting tomorrow — the candidates really work hard to put together a good speech for the DNC meetings, since all of us are automatically delegates to the national convention and they want our votes.

The campaigns are heating up, and as we move forward, it is always interesting to see the tactics of our opponents. Some of you may have followed the flap from my face off with Dick Wadhams, Republican Chair for Colorado, at the City Club.

It started when Wadhams talked about Rep. Mark Udall’s record being fair game for the upcoming Senate race. I responded by pointing out that Bob Schaffer has failed to take a stand on important Colorado issues, like the Roan Plateau, Pinon Canyon, SCHIP, and doesn’t even have anything on his website about any issues.

Wadhams then demanded that I go back and ask Mark Udall why he refuses to debate Schaffer. According to Wadhams, Aaron Harber of Channel 12, had asked Udall to debate and Udall had refused. News to me. And news to Mark’s campaign manager, Mike Melanson.

Here is part of a message I got from Aaron:

“I know it may have looked like I had a conversation with Dick Wadhams but the last conversation I had with him was when you and Dick appeared together on my program. That is why I was more surprised by Dick’s statement than anyone else when Mike Melanson called me asking about Dick’s statement.

When Mike called me, he gave me the impression Schaffer’s people had proposed six dates to Udall’s people and the Udall team had turned them down. Dick knows this never happened (well, at least as far as I know anyway). Similarly, while I had suggested some dates at different times, at no time were there ever six specific dates proposed by me before the two camps (again, as well as I can remember).”

We should expect a lot of untruths during the coming year. We need a truth squad out there who carries out vigilance.

By the way, Wadhams also said that Governor Ritter did not consult with the business community before he signed his executive order on the partnership program with state employees. I knew that was false because I had conversations with business representatives who had been consulted.

And since we are talking about our Republicans colleagues, Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, who Bob Schaffer calls his “hero.” is featured in U.S. News & World Report’s latest issue. On page 24 under a title, “Financial Aid for the Rich,” Kim Clark reports that Musgrave inserted an exemption in a bill last year that “allows the children of wealthy entrepreneurs to collect aid intended for the needy.” This loophole applies to federal financial aid for college.

Next week the DNC Winter meeting will take place in Virginia. It will be the last big meeting before the DNC Convention next August. Dan Slater, Sherry Jackson and I will be heading off next Wednesday for caucus meetings and general sessions.

Other important upcoming events:
December 3, 2007 Fort Collins community meeting with Sky Gallegos and me.
December 5, 2007 Boulder Community Conversation with Leah Daughtry, DNCC, and
Rep. Alice Madden
December 8, 2007 State Executive and State Central Committee Meetings in Denver
December 9, 2007 Durango community meeting and training with Sky Gallegos and
me.
January 12, 2009 Engaged Spirituality Seminar at Iliff School of Theology,
Speakers include Gov. Bill Ritter, Leah Daughtry, Rep. Terrance Carroll, Rep.
Morgan Carroll, Dr. Miguel de la Torre and others.

(Cross-Posted to DemNotes at www.DemNotes.com)

I forgot a couple of VERY key points in the last post that Colorado Democrats need to know about the hotel assignments (for those on e-mail, my apologies for three in one day).

First, please, please, please do not call the Grand Hyatt in a mad dash to book your rooms. They won’t have any. All of the rooms have already been set aside by the DNC for the Host Committee. A barrage of phone calls to the Grand Hyatt will just unnecessarily upset their staff. Furthermore, if you think you may be a delegate, don’t worry. If you are elected a delegate, you will have a room if you want it (and want to pay for it — they aren’t free). Instructions on how to reserve your room within the DNC / CDP room block will come to you with plenty of time once you are elected in May.

Furthermore, please, please, please don’t call the Colorado Democratic Party about the room block. While the CDP has some degree of control over the room block, nearly every room in our block will be taken by delegates, alternates, and standing committee members. Any rooms left over will go to other key elected officials. No matter how much you push or beg, Sherry Jackson, Pat Waak and everybody else at Headquarters just can’t make a room appear. If something changes, the Party will make an announcement — but that is unlikely to happen.

Finally, if you really, really want to be a part of the delegation fun at the Grand Hyatt, while we can’t promise you a room, we can reserve a place for you at the always-exciting delegation breakfasts. Every year, we have national figures stop by and chat with our delegates while we eat breakfast and hear of plans for the day. In 2004, for example, we had members of the Kerry family, Senator Max Cleland, fmr. Sec’y of State Madeline Albright, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Donna Brazile, and Sen. Tom Daschle each address us during breakfast. Demand for such a spot will be heavy (delegates and their families, of course, will be welcome to all delegation events such as this for free), so the price to attend is reflective of the demand. You can become an Ambassador and be a part of every delegation breakfast, or you can become a Host and attend one delegation breakfast. For more information about either of these wonderful (and limited) opportunities, go to the CDP website at:
http://www.coloradodems.us/events/dineatourtable

(Cross-Posted to DemNotes at www.DemNotes.com)

As I indicated at the end of my post earlier today, the DNCC has announced the housing assignments for the Democratic National Convention in Denver next August.

First, some background: Somewhere between 17,000 and 19,000 rooms across Denver have been blocked off by hotels in the metro area for the Convention. Of these, around 6,000 to 7,000 are set aside for state delegations. The ones that are set aside for delegations are all in one of three areas: Downtown, Tech Center, and Stapleton. This summer, nearly every state sent a representative to Denver to tour hotels in those three areas and make their preferences known to the DNCC. Since September, the DNCC has been working on a complicated puzzle, trying to take into account the preferences of the delegations (some wanted close hotels, some wanted cheaper hotels, some wanted hotels with a lot of amenities, and some were limited to the largest hotels, etc.) and the available hotels.

Today, the DNCC announced the assignments.

For starters, the Colorado Delegation will be staying in a pretty good downtown spot: the Grand Hyatt. (Note that this is not the newer Hyatt Regency, which will be the DNC’s Headquarters Hotel; no delegation is staying there). Here’s an interesting point: normally, we share our hotel with one or two other delegations. In 2004, we shared the Wyndham in Boston with the Georgia delegation. However, according to the press release from the DNCC, no other delegation is staying at the Grand Hyatt. The full press release is available at:
http://www.demconvention.com/a/2007/11/delegation_hote.html

Some other notes of interest:

– For the home states of our “front-runners” for the nomination, the New York delegation is staying at the Adams Mark; the Illinois delegation is at the Marriott City Center; the North Carolina delegation is at the Doubletree Denver Tech Center; and the New Mexico delegation will be at the Crowne Plaza, Downtown.
– California is also at the Adam’s Mark; Texas is at the Radisson Denver Southeast.
– Governor Dean’s Vermont delegation is at the Magnolia Hotel.
– Where will you see the most delegations? The Stapleton Doubletree and the Four Points by Sheraton, Southeast both have four delegations each staying at their properties. Alabama, Georgia, North Dakota and South Dakota are staying at the Stapleton Doubletree; Alaska, Minnesota, Puerto Rico and Rhode Island are at the Four Points Southeast.
– Our neighbors besides New Mexico? Wyoming is the Hyatt Place at the Denver Tech Center; Utah (who got the first priority during the lottery) is at the Warwick; Arizona is at the Hyatt Regency in the Tech Center; Oklahoma is at the Embassy Suites Southeast; Kansas is at the Doubletree Tech Center; and Nebraska is also at the Embassy Suites Southeast.
– Finally, if you want to see some of the Party’s rising stars, you should hang out near the Wyndham at the Tech Center or the Downtown Courtyard by Marriott around breakfast time. The New Hampshire delegation is staying at the Wyndham; the Iowa delegation has the Downtown Courtyard. Aspiring presidential hopefuls beyond 2008 often work to stop by each of those two delegations to speak to their delegation breakfast meetings.

Whew! With every passing day, this dream of holding the National Convention in Denver becomes more and more real, doesn’t it?

(Cross-Posted to DemNotes at www.DemNotes.com)

As I mentioned in my last post, we drove up to Glenwood Springs Friday night for trainings all day on Saturday. Thankfully, we arrived in Glenwood early enough to spend some time relaxing in the hot springs there.

We woke up and headed off to breakfast with Kim Phillips, who is the extraordinary DNC field director for Northwest Colorado. We had a discussion about some of the changing demographics and statistics for voters on the Western Slope. We talked about specific numeric targets for the counties and what work Kim is doing to help counties meet those targets.

Then, it was down the street to the RE-1 Administration building, where I spent an hour and a half going over the caucus process with about 30-40 folks, mostly from Garfield and Eagle counties. It was a really productive session, with a lot of extremely good questions from a wide variety of folks there. Kim then talked about the work that she is doing, and how the county party activists could help her. At least that’s what I think she did. I had to rush out after I was done to head down the road to Montrose. Bill Winter also came to both Glenwood Springs and Montrose to talk on behalf of the Obama presidential campaign, although his appearance was independent from, and not a part of my presentation or Kim’s presentation (I understand other Presidential campaigns were informed of the trainings, as well).

I then rushed down the road to Montrose. A wrong turn at Paonia did not help my already-rushed cause. We arrived in Montrose about ten minutes late, and I still had not had lunch. I rushed in and gave the same presentation as in Glenwood Springs, and again, there were a lot of wonderful questions and comments from the group assembled. In Montrose, there were even more counties represented among the crowded audience of about 35-40 folks: Montrose, Delta, Ouray, and San Miguel were among those in attendance.

Brandy was kind enough to run by Subway during the end of my presentation in Montrose, so I had something to eat finally as we headed back down the road toward Saguache. Of course, I wasn’t paying attention to what was planned in Saguache — about 3/4 of the way through my sandwich, I realized that we were going to be treated to dinner at the Oasis Restaurant as part of the evening — less than two hours away.

We actually arrived in Saguache a little before I thought I’d get there, surprising Esther Grant, who is the county chair. We sat down, and the food was on the way; of course, I was already full. I tried to eat as much of the wonderful chicken-fried steak as I could, but I was worried I’d burst if I ate much more, like a scene from Monty Python’s “The Meaning of Life.”

After dinner, the group heard from HD62 candidate Rocky White, who is running against Ed Vigil and (possibly - it is unclear if he is running for re-election) incumbent Rafael Gallegos. White is a physician in Alamosa, and talked at length about his work on the health care issue, as well as other issues. After Rocky spoke, we headed over to the County Courthouse so I could give the caucus presentation. Again, it was a good session with a lot of questions.

Then, it was time to pack up and head back to Canon City.

All three of the caucus trainings went better than I had hoped. The “math” portion of the caucus evening can be very daunting, but it seemed that everybody understood it well, and got what I was trying to say.

By the way, for those of you who attended the training, I did have one part backward. I’ve based the caucus training on the agenda we used statewide in 2004. Yesterday, in a conversation with Billy Compton at the State Party and Carolyn Boller (Party Secretary), it appears we will be switching things around a bit in 2008 and holding the Presidential preference poll BEFORE we hold the assembly preference poll.

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There is one other bit of Party news this morning. I was on a conference call with other state chairs and vice chairs this morning, and our hotel assignments for the National Convention in Denver were distributed. While they are kind of public, I am going to wait to let you all know Colorado’s hotel until I do a separate post this afternoon, so the hotels themselves can receive notice of the delegation assignments directly from the DNCC. I’ll also remind you in that post that calling the hotel will do you no good — the rooms are all blocked by the DNCC and will be distributed to the state’s delegation next summer by the State Party.

Some of the travels in the last few days should be of interest to all of you. On Monday, I met with the Metro Chairs after the County Chairs conference call to go over the DNC’s new Neighbor to Neigbor Project. The room was full, and we reviewed the powerpoint put together by the Democratic National Committee. I had several copies of the DVD to share with chairs in the room. There were representatives from Larimer, Weld, Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Park, and Denver Counties. We have a lively discussion of using MySpace and other sites for communicating with young people.

On Tuesday, Bill Compton and I spent time with DNC Political Director, Dave Boundy, and Artie Blanco, the Southwest DNC Director. Colorado will be a target state, so Dave spent the day visiting with the Udall campaign staff, the Governor’s political people and various other organizations. We talked about the potential campaign for 2008. Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada are definitely on the radar screen because winning these four states can compensate for a loss in a big Eastern state.

Wednesday was filled with meetings and planning so that Thursday morning I could hop a flight for Las Vegas. There we had a Western Strategy meeting sponsored by the Project New West. I had the opportunity to hear about the latest data, along with other chairs from Montana, Wyoming, and Utah and staff from New Mexico, Idaho and Arizona. Following the briefing, we attended the Presidential Debate. Many of you saw the debate, although I must say that those of us there were lucky not to have the press spin.

After the debate, we attended a reception and then a dinner. At the reception, Rep. Kucinich, Gov. Richardson, Sen. Biden and Sen. Edwards came by. (For Desparate Housewives fans, James Denton was there.) In fact a lot of Creative Coalition folks were at the reception.

A dinner was sponsored by the Project New West. I sat with former Congressman Larry LaRocco from Idaho. We had met many years before when he was first running for office. This time he is running for Senate — the Craig seat. He talked about how he is spending a day each at different jobs around the state so he can see what it is like.

Friday morning, I flew back to Colorado and tried to catch up on more fundraising work. That evening I spoke at the House Majority Project fundraiser in Denver. We should be so proud of the work that our representatives are doing to serve Colorado.

Saturday morning, Jonah Fructer, who works on the Coordinated Campaign, and I drove to Steamboat Springs. We met 50 people at a pot luck lunch, and then Sky Gallegos, Deputy
CEO for Intergovernmental Relations, DNCC, and conducted a community conversation on the upcoming 2008 Democratic National Convention.

I followed that with caucus training and a presentation of the Neighbor to Neighbor Project. We got good coverage this morning in the local paper. http://steamboatpilot.com/news/2007/nov/18/democratic_convention_boost_economy_voter_interest/

That night we attended the Backcountry Ball in Steamboat Springs in support of Ken Brenner’s announcement that he filed the papers for a potential candidacy in Senate District 8. Ken has done a great job as a Steamboat Springs Councilman and has been involved in regional planning.

Just so you know we are not slacking, Jonah and I drove back to Erie this morning. I then went to Arvada to moderate two very fine debates. John Giardino and Evie Hudak are both running to replace Sen. Sue Windels. Before an audience of 75 people, they answered questions posed by the community.

The second debate featured the candidates for Congressional District 2: Will Shafroth, Executive Director of the Colorado Land Coalition; Jared Polis, former President of the Colorado State Board of Education; and Joan Fitz-Gerald, former Colorado State Senate President. The crowd grew to over 100 people. Each candidate answered 5 questions that had been submitted by the community. They all did a great job.

And it was a great day for Colorado.

Pat

(Cross-Posted to DemNotes at www.DemNotes.com)

Well, tonight we pack up and head out on the road for a day on the Western Slope and in the San Luis Valley tomorrow. I will be giving caucus training in Glenwood Springs, Montrose, and Saguache. Take a look at a map — it won’t be a short drive. At least I’m looking forward to getting to the Hot Springs pool later tonight in Glenwood Springs for some relaxation.

We start at 10 am tomorrow (Saturday) in Glenwood Springs. There, I’ll be delivering a presentation on the caucus process at the RE-1 School Administration Building First Floor Conference Room. I’m told that the building is at the corner of 14th and Grand Avenue in Glenwood. We hope to see folks from Eagle, Pitkin, Rio Blanco and Mesa Counties, in addition to Garfield county Dems.

Then, I’ll be whisked away toward Montrose. I’m told I’m not even allowed to stop for lunch — lunch will be eaten in the car! At 2 pm, I’ll give the same presentation in Montrose at the Montrose County Library, 320 South 2nd Street in Montrose. We’re hoping to see folks from Delta, Ouray, San Juan, and San Miguel counties join Montrose Dems at this event.

Finally, I’ll head back east, to Saguache. At the Oasis Restaurant in Saguache (right on the highway), I’ll be giving the caucus presentation to Sagauche Dems, and we are hoping to have others from the San Luis Valley join us there. The Saguache training is set for 5:30, although I will likely not get there until at least 6:00. The event in Saguache includes either an enchilada platter or a chicken fried steak dinner for $20.00. If you haven’t RSVP’d for that event yet, you should do so ASAP to M. Esther Grant at 719-256-5490 or Jackie Stephens at 719-530-1356.

Then, of course, I’ll head home. If I can find internet access and a breath on Sunday, I’ll try to write about my adventures then — otherwise, you’ll just have to wait until Monday!

But that’s not all of the CDP Democratic fun going on in the Western Slope on Saturday. If you’re up in the northwest part of the state, you may want to consider stopping by Steamboat Springs. At 11:30, State Chair Pat Waak will be joined by Sky Gallegos from the DNCC (Democratic National Convention Committee) for a forum on the National Convention and a caucus training / neighbor to neighbor training. That event will be at Olympian Hall, 845 Howelson Parkway, in Steamboat.

See you there!

For the first time in Colorado state government history, all of the executive branch budget requests are now posted on the Governor’s Office of State Planning and Budgeting website, making the budget process more open to the general public.

The FY08-09 budget requests are available for viewing or download by clicking here:

http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite?c=Page&
cid=1193823054606&pagename=GovRitter%2FGOVRLayout

This past June, the Governor’s office and State Treasurer Cary Kennedy released the State Taxpayer Accountability Report:

http://www.colorado.gov/treasury/starReport/STAR-Report-FY205.pdf

“We are doing everything possible to bring greater fiscal transparency to state government,” Gov. Ritter said. “We believe taxpayers have a right to know how we spend taxpayer dollars. My FY08-09 budget recommendations address high-priority needs in public safety, education, child services, health care, energy and natural resources, and it is in the best interest of the taxpayers to see how we propose to make those investments.”

For access to additional information, visit:

http://www.colorado.gov/governor/ospb

Today Sen. Fitz-Gerald announced that she was resigning from her seat in the Colorado General Assembly. The Party will begin the process of filling the vacancy left by her early retirement.

Sen. Fitz-Gerald took this action so that she could dedicate herself full-time to her race for the Congressional District 2 seat being vacated by Rep. Mark Udall. Although she is not the only Democrat in that race, her attention to the district is important.

I remain neutral in all contested races. However, I did want to acknowledge the fine work Sen. Fitz-Gerald has done as a member of the Colorado Senate. She has been committed to improving the lives of all Coloradans. And her leadership extended to a national role as head of the DLCC.

We will miss her outspoken leadership for the state, but she is a loyal Colorado Democrat and has a road to journey down. Thank you for your service, Joan.