On Friday, February 29, 2008, we hosted the 75th anniversary Jefferson-Jackson Day dinner at the Denver Convention Center. It was one of the largest dinners in the history of Colorado. We were also celebrating the fact that the Democratic National Convention is coming to Denver for the first time since 1908.

The highlight of the evening was the keynote address by Senator Jim Webb of Virginia. Senator Webb was the last of the 2006 Democratic races we won. He was the “tipping point” for control of the U.S. Senate. Also his was the race that swung Virginia into the “blue” category.

The Senator gave a speech that focused on national security, economic fairness and a return to the traditions of the Democratic Party. I particularly enjoyed talking with him as we made our way through the back halls of the Convention Center. He is smart, funny and personable.

The other highlights of the evening were awards. Rep. Rosemary Marshall was presented with the Democrat of the Year award. Rep. Ed Casso, Jr. received the award for the Rising Star. We gave out two Lifetime Achievement awards to Wally Stealey, who gave a feisty speech and to Ernie Duran, whose daughters Crisanta and Carol received it on his behalf. The Volunteer of the Year went to Jennifer Trujillo Sanchez.

I had the honor to give the Chair’s Award to Rep. John Salazar. He dedicated so much time to helping the party this past year, and we are deeply appreciative. Meanwhile the Colorado Young Democrats gave awards to Cindy Lowery, Leah Daughtry, Elbra Wedgeworth and Sen. Peter Groff.

This year I did not hold an after party reception because it was an early morning for the next day. I started the day by going to Elbert County. Now I have been in Elbert County at the Carlson Building many times. Usually there are maybe 20-25 people in attendance.
On that Saturday morning the room was packed and there was standing room only.

The Elbert County Chair, Rick Brown, gave me a wonderful intro, and I had the pleasure of addressing an enthusiastic and excited group of county assembly/convention attendees. My challenge, as always, is for everyone to stay involved in all of the party activities. We need their help through the year to make this a great election for the people of Colorado and the nation.

From Elbert County I drove to Broomfield. Over 160 people attended the county assembly/convention. It was Chair Kevin Kreeger’s first, and he was doing a great job. I arrived to hear Joe Whitcomb, who is running for Senate District 23, my district. He was followed by Don Quick, District Attorney for Adams County.

I want to mention that Don and I talked before we each spoke. We often do not pay enough attention to the District Attorney races. As a result we do not have enough Democratic D.A.s. Don is the example of one of our finest, and we need to not only get him elected, but to find many more like him who will run.
It was my chance to speak and of course, one of my first questions was “how many of you are here for the first time.” Like Elbert County and last weeks’ counties, most of the audience raised their hands. So I talked about our chance to win back the White House and all of the other races, including Rep. Diane Primavera’s re-election.

From Broomfield I headed to Clear Creek County. So many times I have had to cancel my trips to Idaho Springs because of snow and ice. Saturday was a beautiful and sunny day. And Clear Creek’s assembly/convention was filled. Becky Cook and Tim Mauck are the co-chairs, and they had a great team helping them get everyone registered.

Clear Creek had many new people participating, so my same message went out to them. It was thrilling to see their excitement.

Next weekend we are racing from Larimer to Weld, then Adams to Denver, and finally Arapahoe. These counties will be huge gatherings so I look forward to continuing the opportunity to talk to as many of the participants as possible.

On Monday, I met with the new communications director for the coordinated campaign, Lauren Rose. We will have more to announce in the next week or so about our communications team. However, it was a good planning session.

Lauren and I headed for Lakewood to attend the latest DNCC community conversation. Rep. Ed Perlmutter from CD7 and Leah Daughtry, CEO of the Democratic National Convention Committee were the main speakers. They mostly talked about the logistics of the upcoming convention. The DNCC is using 7 hotels in the Lakewood area.

Some of the questions related to delegate selection. I had an opportunity to talk about the next steps in the delegate process. One person asked about “superdelegates.” Both Rep. Perlmutter and Leah Daughtry explained the history of automatic delegates. For more on this, you might want to go to Colorado Matters and listen to the interview taped by Rep. Perlmutter, Maria Handley and me. It was aired on Feb. 28, 2008.

There were questions about getting the arts involved. President of the Denver Host Committee, Elbra Wedgeworth, stepped up to talk about some of the plans for spotlighting Denver arts and culture. Business opportunities were high on the list. Leah Daughtry said that one possibility would be to set up activities for children and child care.

Over 200 people came out on a Monday morning. This is another indication of the excitement for Colorado around the upcoming convention.

Dear friends,

We are now two weeks out from the caucuses and still processing the results. I have heard from so many about you the vote, the caucus process, and the super delegates.

First, all of our predictions about voter turnout were very low. We should celebrate the fact that 120,000 plus people chose to come out and participate. In a conference call with county chairs last night, we heard stories of their caucuses and the ongoing verification of affirmation forms and entry of delegates into the system.

I have received many messages over the past week about my status as an unpledged delegate. They have been encouraging, requesting, admonishing, and even demanding. I appreciate the fact that so many people care deeply about the election process and want to share your views with me

In the interest of fairness, I made a commitment three years ago to remain
neutral in all contested races. As chair of the Colorado Democratic Party, I
believe that you would expect no less of me. Espeically in light of the upcoming Democratic National Convention.

My intention is to maintain that neutrality until all voters have spoken through
the primary/caucus process. I believe the race will be decided by the voters. I look forward to watching Colorado’s historic process continue.

I have been in headquarters since early this morning where every phone is ringing off the wall. It has been this way since 7:00am. Of course, we also got thousands of calls over the weekend.

The enthusiasm over the election is infectious. I have also been subjected to a lot of email “abuse” from people upset about the caucus process. It certainly gives us a chance to educate folks, although a bit late.

What I did want to share with you is the fact that our message did get out to a lot of people. Between September 1 and December 5, 2007, 18,063 people registered as Democrats with the Secretary of State’s office. And 10,561 people affiliated themselves with Democrats during the same time period. So that means we have over 28,000 new voters in the Colorado Democratic Party.

Anticipating tonight’s turnout, Jefferson County has reported up to 800 caucus goers in a non-Presidential year and 1200 caucus goers in 2004, when we had a Presidential caucus. They are estimating 8,000 participants tonight.

All of this is great for the Party and for democracy.

First, as many of you know, I flew out to the Nevada caucuses to help with all the activities. Unfortunately, 24-hours in I learned that my father had passed away. For those of you who I have not gotten back to, I want to thank you for the outpouring of sympathy. I have appreciated every note, card and flowers.

I came back last Sunday to find an incredible level of activity. I must have done 8 interviews with press on Monday, and as many every day after. Wednesday was a great day for Colorado. Even for me who is trying to maintain her neutrality. I went to both campaign events.

Senator Barack Obama attracted historic crowds at Denver University and surprised everyone with the presence of Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg. One count was 14,000 people. All I know is that the arena was filled, along with the lacrosse field and the gym.

That night former President Bill Clinton and Chelsea Clinton arrived at DU to speak on behalf of Senator Hillary Clinton. Although there was a snow storm, 3,000 enthusiastic people listened to speeches on behalf of the campaign.

All of this is great for the Colorado Democratic Party. The outpouring on interest and enthusiasm was just what we wanted when we moved up our caucuses to February 5.

Tomorrow, we are hosting a Caucus Rally at Mountain Ridge Middle School. At 1:00pm, I will be joined by Congressman Mark Udall, Mark Benner, Congressman Ed Perlmutter, Actress Kerry Washington, and former DNC Chair Terry McAuliffe. The address is 10590 Mountain Vista Ridge, Highlands Ranch, CO. Hope to see you there.

Major education overhaul, economic-development plans and health-care reform are hallmarks of Governor’s second annual speech to the people and legislature

Read the full text of Governor Ritter’s speech here:

http://colorado.gov/cs/Satellite?c=Page&
cid=1199955793227&pagename=GovRitter%2FGOVRLayout

Gov. Bill Ritter delivered his second annual State of the State Address to the people of Colorado and the legislature today, announcing major bi-partisan plans to revitalize Colorado’s education systems, strengthen businesses and the economy, and address health-care cost, quality and access issues.

“It’s my hope that each of us approaches this new legislative session with a sense of hope, of promise and of immense possibility,” Gov. Ritter said. “My hope for the next 120 days is that we strengthen what is great about Colorado and build on the work we started in 2007. We must make steady progress across the board, doing what we know is right and what we can afford. This will take discipline, focus, leadership and courage.”

Gov. Ritter offered a bold and ambitious vision for building a better Colorado – a vision that calls for aggressive progress on education reform and business development, and steady building-block strategies for health-care reform, higher-education and transportation funding and continuing broad-based on how best to address the conflicting provisions in our Constitution.

Setting his priorities for the second regular session of the 66th General Assembly, Colorado’s 41st governor outlined an agenda that focuses on:

Education Reform – Gov. Ritter announced the “Colorado Achievement Plan for Kids,” a revolutionary proposal to align content standards for pre-school through high school with college admission standards. This will take unprecedented collaboration from the Departments of Education and Higher Education to establish new policies that measure actual student learning and proficiency and prepare all Colorado kids for college or a career in the 21st century.

The bi-partisan plan will be co-sponsored by Senators Chris Romer (D-Denver) and Josh Penry (R-Fruita) and Representatives Rob Witwer (R-Genessee) and Christine Scanlan (D-Silverthorne).

Gov. Ritter’s announcement was made the same day Education Week magazine gave Colorado a “C” and ranked it 38th in the nation for overall education performance and policies. “Education is the cornerstone of our economy and it dictates how we will move Colorado forward in the 21st century,” Gov. Ritter said. “If ever there was a place to be bold and ambitious, to push hard and fast against the status quo, this is it. We have to think bigger about revitalizing our education systems than ever before, or the world will pass us by.”

Other components of Gov. Ritter’s education package include moving forward on recommendations from his P-20 Education Coordinating Council, co-chaired by Lt. Gov. Barbara O’Brien, business leader Bruce Benson and CSU-Pueblo President Joe Garcia.

Those recommendations include offering full-day kindergarten to 22,000 more children over five years, eliminating the current 3,000-child waiting list for the Colorado Pre-School Program, and creating a Colorado Counselor Corps that would deploy 70 guidance counselors into targeted middle and high schools to keep students in school and get them ready for college.

Economic Development – Gov. Ritter declared that strengthening the state’s robust economic climate will be another priority during the legislative session. Bills will be co-sponsored by Representatives Cheri Jahn, Jim Riesberg, Joe Rice, Mary Hodge and Bernie Buescher, and Senators Bob Bacon, Bob Shaffer, Steve Ward and Suzanne Williams. Proposals include:

* Increasing the Business Personal Property Tax exemption threshold from $2,500 to $7,000, easing the tax burden for more than 30,000 Colorado small businesses.

* Establishing a single-sales factor for corporations to calculate their Colorado taxes.

* Creating a $3.5 million annual Life and Bio-Sciences Business Development Fund and dedicating $3.5 million from the Clean Energy Fund to economic-development activity.

Gov. Ritter also called for bi-partisan collaboration to make meaningful progress on complex funding issues for higher education and transportation – two pillars of Colorado’s economy.

Gov. Ritter also introduced the three co-chairs of his new Jobs Cabinet, which will strive to ensure that Colorado’s economic-development strategies, education programs and regional workforce needs are aligned and producing a high-quality, 21st century labor force. The co-chairs are: Ruth Ann Woods, president of Trinidad State Junior College; Qwest vice president Teresa Taylor, and long-time civic leader and local attorney Jim Lyons.

Health Care Reform – Controlling costs, eliminating waste, improving quality and expanding access to public health programs for low-income children and other vulnerable populations will dominate reform efforts in 2008. Gov. Ritter said he is directing his health-care team to spearhead a collaborative effort that will address cost and quality and involve multiple stakeholders, including insurance companies, hospitals and physicians.

In 2007, the Administration enrolled an additional 10,000 eligible children into Child Health Plan Plus and 2,500 more eligible low-income adults into Medicaid. Plans call for enrolling an additional 17,000 children this year, simplifying and streamlining the application process for eligible Medicaid families, fully funding the Childhood Immunization Information System, expanding the prevention-first “Medical Home” model for Medicaid children, implementing five disease-management programs, and requesting $10.6 million to improve services and facilities for people with developmental disabilities.

Other highlights from Gov. Ritter’s speech:

Public Safety – Gov. Ritter announced plans for legislation that will create a School Safety Resource Center, which will work with local schools and districts around Colorado to create individually tailored safety programs. The resource center would be established through Senate Bill 1, being co-sponsored by Sen. John Morse (D-Colorado Springs) and Rep. Amy Stephens (R-Monument). The Governor also said the Departments of Corrections, Public Safety and Human Services will continue the work begun in 2007 to reduce the state’s high rate of offenders returning to prison within three years of release. Gov. Ritter also is requesting funds to increase monitoring of county foster-care programs.

New Energy Economy – “Last year, I stood before you and said the New Energy Economy would become our calling card to the 21st century,” Gov. Ritter said. “And it has. It serves as a hallmark for what responsible and forward-thinking public policy can achieve. It’s more than just a collection of laws. It’s a new direction for the entire state.”

Gov. Ritter announced the next phase of the New Energy Economy: “Bringing Home the New Energy Economy.” Plans call for creating a Colorado Carbon Fund, new residential solar and insulation incentives, and tools to help people and businesses reduce their carbon footprint.

Gov. Ritter said Rep. Judy Solano and Sen. Brandon Shaffer will be sponsoring net-metering, or home-grown energy, legislation that would require utilities to provide financial credit to people and businesses that sell solar- and wind-generated electricity back onto the energy grid.

Gov. Ritter also introduced the recipients of the first Governor’s Excellence in Renewable Energy Awards: Craig Cox from Intrawest Energy Alliance; New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins; the Fort Carson Army Post; the Northeast Denver Housing Center; and the Smiley Building in Durango.

Government Efficiency – Representatives Andy Kerr and Bernie Buescher and Senators Bill Cadman and John Morse will co-sponsor legislation to consolidate the state’s splintered Information Technology systems under one roof in the Governor’s Office of Information Technology. Gov. Ritter also said he expects to report additional findings from his government-efficiency review later this spring. The review already has identified $145 million in five-year savings and benefits.

Voting and Elections – Gov. Ritter said he is working with Secretary of State Coffman, legislators and county clerks to ensure secure and fair elections in 2008.

Natural Resources – Gov. Ritter said he is looking forward to legislation addressing forest health, conservation easements and the Federal Mineral Lease distribution formula, keeping local impacts as his top priority.

“A year after my inaugural address, I believe more than ever that hope wins out over cynicism,” Gov. Ritter said. “I believe that if we govern well, we can build a public trust in the institutions of government. I believe in the Colorado Promise, doing all we can to fulfill the God-given potential inside every one of us. Our goals are ambitious. Achieving them will only happen over the course of time, with patience and prudence and reason. We made enormous progress in 2007, and we will continue to push ahead in 2008.”

This year’s J-J dinner is of special note. It is the 75th anniversary dinner, and we are holding it on February 29, 2008 in the Korbel Ballroom at the Convention Center. We will be celebrating so much, including the fact that 100 years ago Denver hosted the Democratic National Convention.

Senator Jim Webb, who soundly defeated George Allen in Virginia, will be our keynote speaker. And we know he will be a tremendous voice on behalf of the Democratic Party.

We will also be honoring some great Colorado Democrats. We will be publicly announcing those names in the next few days. So join us in kicking off the 2008 campaign season.

Last night’s caucuses in Iowa really sets the stage for this year’s activities. Reports that 229,000 people attended the Democratic precincts, a record number, also suggests that Colorado will have a record turnout on February 5, 2008.

The excitement about the 2008 election cycle promises to re-energize long time voters and new first time caucus participants. We want this to be a great experience for everyone. For that reason, CDP officers are continuing to work with county officers on caucus training, organizational questions, outreach and even convention updates.

On January 23, 2008, Sky Gallegos and I will conduct another community conversation in Alamosa. We will let you know the site, as soon as the logistics are finalized. Our part of the program will be scheduled from 5-6pm.

Following this chance to talk about the upcoming DNC convention, Dan Slater will conduct caucus training for attendees. He has a great powerpoint presentation which takes everyone step by step into organizing their caucus.

And finally, I will be presenting the Neighbor to Neighbor program. This powerpoint presentation will explain how we are recruiting neighborhood leaders across the state.
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Another event coming up is the Engaged Spirituality Seminar at Iliff School of Theology on January 12. Rev. Jackie Conley, Rev. John Petty, Pastor Ted Fritschel, Joey Medrano and Teri Nilson Baird have done a fantastic job organizing the event. To follow is the agenda and instructions for participation.

Registration is 9:30 a.m. Program begins at 10:00 a.m.
End time: 4:00 p.m.

The event is at the Iliff School of Theology, 2201 S. University Blvd.
Denver, CO 80201. The meeting will take place in the Great Hall to the right as you enter the main entrance.

Agenda to follow:

Engaged Spirituality Forum
Faith and Politics Project of the Colorado Democratic Party
Hosted by Iliff School of Theology
January 12,2008

10:00 a.m. Native American Meditation: George Tinker

10:15 a.m. Welcome: Iliff President David Trickett

10:30 a.m. Greeting and Introduction of Keynote Speaker: Pat Waak, Chair, Colorado Democratic Party

Keynote Speaker: The Rev. Leah Daughtry, Chair of the 2008 Democratic Convention

11:00 a.m. A panel discussion: Exploring the Constitutional Mandates: Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause
The Rev. Ron Stief of “Faith in Public Life”
Taj Ashaheed: Executive Director of the Colorado Muslim Council
Representative Morgan Carroll, Colorado General Assembly

12:30 p.m. Lunch with Governor Bill Ritter

1:30 p.m. & 2:30p.m. Break-out Workshops
Faith and Immigration: American Hospitality and Economic Necessity
Representative Terrance Carroll, Colorado General Assembly
Dr. Miguel de la Torre

Faith and War: Superpower for Conquest or Common Good
Larry Howe-Kerr, Catholic Social Justice Activist
Pastor Ted Fritschel

Faith and Healthcare – Life-Health Issues in a Broader Context
Representative Jim Riesberg , Colorado General Assembly
The Rev. Dr. Michael Attas, Medical Ethics Professor at Baylor

Faith and the Environment – Making the Connections
The Rev. Peter Sawtell, Director of Eco-Justice Ministries, UCC
Eileen Regan, Environmental Scientist and Spiritual Director

Registration fee is $20, which includes a box lunch. You can register online at www.coloradodems.org

Contact for information: Pat Waak, Chair, Colorado Democratic Party, pwaak@coloradodems.org

The DNC announced today that Sal Pace will be joining the State Partnership Program Staff. He is replacing Annajo Sanchez in the SE Region; however, we are working with the DNC to realign the counties for the next several months. We welcome Sal and his field expertise to our team.
Pat Waak

By Carolyn Boller, Secretary of the Colorado Democratic Party

On October 23, Governor Ritter was the featured speaker at a fundraiser for the Colorado Democratic Party. I was lucky to stand in for Chair Waak as she traveled on behalf of the party. The hosts and staff did an outstanding job of organizing the event and the room was packed. I am so proud of the Governor—he answers to questions about education, business, budget and others were answered in great detail and was a indepth understanding of the problems facing our state and possible solutions.

I frequently get asked about what Congress is doing. The answer is a lot. I will try to share updates with you from time to time. To follow are some talking points from the DNC.

“This Week: While Democrats continue to invest in America’s priorities and improve Americans’ quality of life, President Bush and some Congressional Republicans insist on standing in the way. We are working to fund such critical priorities as education, health care, and housing, but the President - who has spent six years ignoring working-class Americans while spending billions of dollars on a flawed Iraq policy - is blocking these efforts under the guise of “fiscal responsibility.”

APPROPRIATIONS

Republicans are content to continue rubberstamping President Bush’s misguided policies, sustain his ill-conceived vetoes and obstruct legislation at a record rate. But Democrats will continue to pursue proposals that invest responsibly in America.

Projects in the Labor/HHS bill will strengthen our education and health care systems, protect seniors and improve workers’ safety.

Over President Bush’s objection, we are working to increase by billions of dollars our investments in research for diseases like Alzheimer’s, diabetes and cancer; job training and technical-education programs to make America more competitive in the global economy; special-education and Head Start programs for low-income students; and aid for poor children and families.

We saw last week how recklessly President Bush wields his veto pen, and he is now threatening to stand in the way of these critical health and education programs. We call on him to join us in addressing America’s priorities through this legislation.

FISA

Democrats want to improve the flawed, temporary surveillance law the President signed in August.

We will ensure the intelligence community has all the tools it needs to protect Americans’ safety while also protecting the privacy of law-abiding Americans.

As that bill reported by the Senate Intelligence Committee moves through the legislative process, we will seek additional improvements to current law so that all Americans can have high confidence in the effectiveness and constitutionality of federal surveillance laws.

CHILDREN’S HEALTH CARE

CHIP is a critical program that the vast majority of the American people rightly support. As long as this President denies American children the health care they need when they get sick, Democrats will work in a bipartisan manner in the fight to do right by those who need our help the most.

We will not abandon any of the uninsured children we would have covered with the bipartisan legislation already passed by Congress.”