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.

A detailed fact sheet is available here, via Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office:

http://www.coloradodems.org/docs/2007HouseAccomplishments.pdf

Jeffco Dems Kathy and Neil Boucher opened up their lovely home on Friday night and welcomed over 40 guests to raise money for the Colorado Democratic Party. Attendees included Rep. Cheri Jahn, Rep. Sara Gagliardi, CD2 State Board of Education member Evie Hudak, Westminster City Council member Mary Lindsay, Lakewood City Council candidate Karen Kellen, newly nominated school board member Dave Thomas, Jefferson Democratic Chair Dick Barkey, and Colorado State Party Secretary Carolyn Boller.

Our special guest for the evening was the First Lady, Jeannie Ritter. Jeannie personally talked with each of the guests before discussing her work on mental health issues around the state. She took questions and also talked about family life in the Governor’s mansion.

This is the fifth event that the First Lady has done for the party. As of the end of September she has raised $30,000 for the state party. As a thank you gift, I presented her with a brooch containing the state seal surrounded by blue and white stones and matching earrings. We are so grateful for her dedication to making the party strong.

Last night, Saturday, Carolyn Boller and I attended the Gilpin County Democratic Jefferson-Jackson dinner in Nederland. The Gilpin Democrats had the largest dinner in the last three years. It was a great evening with entertainment and a silent auction.

Rep. Claire Levy talked about the accomplishments of the legislature this past session and the challenges for next year, especially with health care. I had an opportunity to also talk about our accomplishments politically in the state and what is ahead for us next year.

But the most important part of the evening was a chance to hear from each of the candidates for the Democratic nomination in CD2. Jared Polis talked about his dedication to improving education in the state, and the importance of ending the war in Iraq. Will Shafroth focused on the environment and his experience with conservation issues. He also confirmed his opposition to the war. Senator Joan Fitz-Gerald talked about her record in the legislature and the importance of taking her experience to Congress. She also discussed her opposition to the Iraq occupation.

We have three fine candidates for Congress, and all are working hard to raise money and get their message to the voters.

Angie Paccione just held a press conference a few minutes ago, where she announced that she will NOT be running for Congress in the Fourth Congressional District. Here is her press release:

There are no words adequate enough to describe the privilege I’ve had representing the people of Fort Collins as their State Representative and as the Democratic candidate for the people of the 4th Congressional District. In 2000, when there was no democratic candidate on the ballot for the 4th CD, I was motivated to enter politics to fill the void in leadership. At that time I offered my service as the voice of the people in representative government. I am forever changed, forever grateful, and forever indebted to the people for the opportunity they gave me to serve them.

I have a passion to serve people by doing whatever I can to unleash their greatness. This is what has always compelled me. I used my skills as an athlete to serve our country in international competition, I used my academic talent to serve our youth as an educator, and I used my political position to serve the people I represented by giving them hope, making the system work for them, and empowering them to participate in politics as well.

Since September of 2005 I have been on a mission to win the 4th Congressional district because I believe and many others do as well, that I would be a better, more effective representative for the people of this district. As an elected official I have always focused on what’s right, not on who’s right. That has allowed me to reach across political divides and partisan politics to get things done for the people of our great state. I am proud of the work I was able to do - as a lead sponsor of legislation and as a co-sponsor. I have always been accessible to my constituents, I have always been responsive to their concerns, and I have always worked with members of both political parties.

Last night I had the privilege of speaking to hundreds of high school students and their parents. I told them what I have been telling young people for nearly three decades - to have the courage to say “yes” to opportunity. Today I am here to do the very thing I encourage others to do - to say yes to an amazing opportunity that has presented itself to me. Since January, I have been working with Pathways to Leadership Inc., a company that gives businesses a competitive advantage over others by helping them unleash the greatness in their employees, teams, and organization. This is a company that changes the results people and organizations deliver - because it changes the lives of the people in the organization.

I thought that I might be able to work with Pathways to Leadership and campaign for Congress at the same time. However, the opportunities with Pathways have grown and I must say “yes” to those opportunities. In addition to locations in the US, my work with Pathways will be taking me to Australia, Switzerland, Mexico, and Italy in the very near future. In those travels, I will be working with businessmen and women who are motivated to improve their leadership skills and the wellness culture in their workplace.

This is a tremendous opportunity for me and I have wrestled with my decision for a number of weeks now. The campaign is very strong, the support is broad-based, and I still believe I am the best candidate to win the seat. However, I am motivated by a passion to serve and my opportunity with Pathways gives me the ability to serve immediately. I could spend the next 14 months campaigning for the opportunity to make a difference or I could spend the next 14 months actually making a difference in the lives of others.

So, today I am announcing that I am ending my campaign for congress in the 4th district.

From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank my staff, my volunteers, and all those who invested time, energy, and hope in our campaign. I am thrilled that I have been a vehicle for their involvement in the political process. Those that have been empowered by my campaign will continue to use their voice to impact the politics of their communities? I am certain of it. And although I won’t be their candidate I will continue to be their friend and will fight side by side with them to change our country and the world.

Folks, Rep. Paccione was a great candidate, with a lot of energy and great ideas. I know I will miss her along the many campaign stops over the next year-plus in Eastern and Northern Colorado. I wish her well in this new endeavor.

Now, on to beating Marilyn Musgrave in the 4th CD!

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

Sunday, we headed over to Pueblo to participate in the annual “Fiesta Day” parade in Pueblo. Fiesta Day is part of the wrap-up celebration for the State Fair each year, and draws tens of thousands of people to the streets of South Pueblo to celebrate the Hispanic heritage of the Steel City.

I’ve been in Fiesta Day parades nearly every near for almost a decade now, and each year is more and more fun. This year, we joined Congressmen John Salazar and Mark Udall on the parade route. The focus of the day was to get Congressman Udall in front of as many people as possible and talking about his run for the U.S. Senate. All along the parade route, Salazar and Udall were greeted with cheers and smiles — Pueblo loves Mark Udall, and things certainly look good for him down here in Southern Colorado a year before the race gets to full speed.

Notable was the absence of any presence by the Republican Party in Pueblo at the parade. Beyond not hearing a single “boo” from the crowd, the Republicans didn’t even bother to have an entry in the parade. Neither Bob Schaffer nor any other prominent Republican politician were present. You may recall that last year, I reported from Pueblo that it appeared that the Pueblo Republicans were abandoning nearly every candidate, statewide and local, to focus on keeping the seat of the incumbent County Sheriff, Dan Corsentino. Well, Corsentino lost miserably to Kirk Anderson Taylor, and since then, it just seems like the Republican Party down in Pueblo has fallen to pieces.

That’s not to say the GOP won’t be back in Pueblo. But for now, it is clear that the leadership of the Democratic Party — led by able County Chair Terry Hart — has been very successful at winning races and demoralizing the opposition in this critically blue county.

I’ll be back up in Denver for an event on Saturday which I should be announcing in the next couple of days… stay tuned! Hopefully, I can get pictures of the parade up on DemNotes here really soon…

 UPDATE:  I screwed up on the name of the new Pueblo Sheriff — His name is Kirk Taylor

Hearty thanks are in order for the Pueblo County Democrats and friends for their hard work in staffing a booth at the Colorado State Fair for the past eleven days. They chose a prime location in the upper concourse of the central Fair building, right near an entrance and had TONS of flyers and brochures available, plus energetic workers with a good plan for interacting with the people passing by.

The gate traffic numbers aren’t in yet, of course, but it’s a sure thing that hundreds of thousands of people were exposed to the Democratic message here in Pueblo! Great job, guys!

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

Yesterday afternoon, we headed up to Fort Collins for the annual Larimer Dems’ picnic. As I mentioned in my last post, it was held at a pretty unique location: the New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins.

Now, I’ve been blessed to meet a lot of celebrities over the years in my party activism. But I didn’t expect yesterday to be one of those celebrity-meeting days. I was wrong. I had the great pleasure of meeting Kim Jordan on Saturday.

Who is Kim Jordan? Kim Jordan is the co-owner of New Belgium. She’s also a GREAT Democrat! New Belgium has been a wonderful supporter of the Democratic Party and progressive causes for years — the very first ASDC meeting that Pat and I attended in Little Rock, Arkansas in 2005 featured a reception sponsored by New Belgium. But its not just that Kim is a successful and progressive owner of a brewery that makes her a celebrity — its how she and her husband run New Belgium that makes her a celebrity (she certainly didn’t act like a celebrity — when I met her, she was behind the bar with her employees, pouring drinks). New Belgium is to beer and brewing what Ben & Jerry’s is to ice cream. That’s not over-stating it one bit. After a year of working for New Belgium, every employee becomes a part-owner in the company. They also get a new bike. Take a look at the history and civic responsibility exhibited by New Belgium here:
http://www.newbelgium.com/story.php

Okay. I realize this isn’t really about Kim Jordan and New Belgium. Instead, once folks made their way up to the second floor of the brewery, they were greeted with nearly 200 Larimer County Dems and a lot of fun. The event featured a celebration of the fact that two of the fastest-rising freshmen in the Colorado Legislature are Larimer Dems: Reps. Randy Fischer and John Kefalas. Both did a great job with the crowd. Also featured was the newest county commissioner in Larimer County, Randy Eubanks. Larimer Dems are hoping to win a majority on the Board of County Commissioners in 2008 — they’ve begun winning a lot of the state and regional races county-wide, and are looking to transform that success into better wins at the county level.

There’s also a real effort afoot to focus on local races — strengthening the Democratic bench. Earlier this year, I wrote about the transformation of the Fort Collins City Council into a progressive-majority council. There’s now an effort to elect more progressives and Democrats on the Loveland City Council, as well.

Of course, the highlight of the afternoon was to hear the three Democratic candidates for the Fourth Congressional District. Angie Paccione, Betsy Markey and Eric Eidsness all did a great job sounding the same message: regardless who wins the Democratic nomination, we must unite behind the nominee to ensure that we defeat Marilyn Musgrave in November of 2008. I’ve got no favorites in that race, but the Larimer Democrats who attended seemed to be the loudest for former Rep. Angie Paccione. However, it was clear that both Markey and Eidsness had good pockets of supporters present, as well.

Thursday night, I’m headed to an event in Denver sponsored by the Colorado Young Democrats with former Senator Gary Hart. If you’d like information on that event, go to the CYD website at:
http://www.coloradoyoungdems.com/

Hope to see you there!

Clear Creek County Democrats
Invite Everyone to Our
4th Annual

Bands, Beer, Brats,
& Democrats

Saturday, August 11 • Noon to 6 pm
At Shadows Ranch, Georgetown
(2miles east of Georgetown Lake on frontage road)

Free Tommyknockers Beer

Music by:

Jimmy Lewis & the Progressives
and Paper Bird

Delicious BBQ & Fixins
Kids Activities

We Proudly Welcome the Following Speakers:

Senate President - Joan Fitz-Gerald
State House Dist 13 Rep. - Claire Levy
State Board of Education - Evie Hudak
Candidates for Congressional Dist. 2:
Jared Polis and Will Shafroth

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

This past weekend, I went to two very different parts of the state for two very different events. Saturday night, I was the keynote speaker at Rio Grande County’s dinner and dance. Sunday morning, I woke early and headed up to Arapahoe Basin ski area for a joint BBQ hosted by the Clear Creek and Summit County Democrats. By Sunday night, I was dog-tired. Could barely last through the Sopranos…

I drove to Monte Vista in Rio Grande County to support the Rio Grande County Dems with their fundraiser. The dinner featured a wonderful selection of … baked potatoes. It was truly a celebration of the San Luis Valley’s number one crop, as we were treated to baked potatoes, chili, and all the fixins. Rio Grande County is generally a tough county for Dems, but the new chair of the Party there, Bennie Chacon, has done a great job building enthusiasm and a Party identity.

Bennie has tough shoes to fill — her predecessor is Glenn Graham, who also was a great party-building chair. Glenn is now the Mayor of Del Norte, and Saturday night he announced his candidacy for Rio Grande County Commissioner. There was a lot of excitement over the announcement, and Glenn even brought his whole family, including grandkids, to help celebrate the announcement. It will be a tough race, but it is certainly a race we can win, building a Democratic foothold there in Rio Grande County.

It was also very good to see support from the neighboring San Luis Valley counties there. There were attendees from both Saguache and Alamosa Counties present. After Glenn, I gave a keynote address that stressed the need to organize our Party from the precincts up, and further emphasizing the need to never under-estimate the Republican Party in Colorado.

After my speech, the wonderful folks in Rio Grande presented me with a framed resolution of the county party naming me an “honorary member” of the Rio Grande Dems’ Central Committee. The resolution was printed on denim paper — there was some discussion that the denim may have come from Leroy Salazar’s jeans; I still don’t know what to make of that.

I drove back home late Saturday night because I knew I had to get up early and drive up to Summit County, where an entirely different event was waiting for me…

Sunday was “closing day” at A-Basin. I’d never been to A-Basin; I don’t ski much (maybe three times in my life?) - while I’d love to ski more, I find that I’m just too busy to find time to get out on the slopes. Anyway, A-Basin is a wonderful, small, cozy ski area. There seemed to still be plenty of snow on the slopes, and several of the Democrats had already been down the slopes a couple of times by the time I arrived there. State Representative Dan Gibbs — who is the picture-perfect ski resort state rep, by the way — led a group of Democrats down on an organized run at 9 am.

I arrived about the same time as Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald, who represents this area in the State Senate. Senator Fitz-Gerald gave a great speech about how much she enjoys representing the area, and also talking about her run for Congress. She described the upcoming Democratic primary in the Second CD as potentially the “most expensive primary in Colorado history”. She was well-received by the group on the deck at the lodge, where Summit County Chair Sandy Briggs was grilling chicken and steaks to go with the wonderful salads and other items.

I was really impressed by the visibility that this event generated for the Democratic Party. The slopes seemed crowded, and everybody who came down the slopes had a wonderful view of the Summit Dems’ and Clear Creek Dems’ banners hanging from the side of the lodge. In addition, on the way to the lifts, Be The Change had a booth with voter registration, bumper stickers and general information about getting involved. Looking down on the booth from the deck, it looked like they had a steady stream of interest from skiers who were enjoying the last day of skiing of the season. We even had the President of A-Basin stop by and say a few words to the Party folks on the BBQ deck.

When I talked to Sandy later that day, it was clear he really wants to push to make this a major-league event next year. With the election coming up, that seems like an ideal time for this event to really blossom into an annual “happening” that skiers can expect to be a part of closing day at A-Basin!

I hope to get pictures from the two events up soon!