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Big Changes in Store For Colorado Tea Party Alliance - COMING SOON!
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Picuture and article via Huffington Post
“I have loved being chairman, but I’m tired of the nuts who have no grasp of what the state party’s
role is,” he told the Denver Post. Read the full article Here
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Read Dick's Statement Below:
Monday, February 7, 2011
From: Dick Wadhams, State Chairman
It has been an honor and privilege to serve as Colorado Republican Chairman but after much reflection
I have decided to not seek reelection.
I am very grateful to a clear majority of the members of the Colorado Republican State
Central Committee who offered their support and encouragement over the past several weeks.
I entered this race a few weeks ago looking forward to discussing what we accomplished in 2010 and to
the opportunities we have in 2012 to elect a new Republican president; to increase our state House majority
and win a state Senate majority; and to reelect our two new members of Congress.
However, I have tired of those who are obsessed with seeing conspiracies around every corner and who have
terribly misguided notions of what the role of the state party is while saying “uniting conservatives” is
all that is needed to win competitive races across the state.I have no delusions this will recede after the
state central committee meeting in March.
Meanwhile, the ability of Colorado Republicans to win and retain the votes of hundreds of thousands of
unaffiliated swing voters in 2012 will be severely undermined.
For the past four years, I have devoted all of my professional time and energy to serving as state chairman
and am very proud of what we accomplished in the face of unique and unprecedented challenges in both the 2008
and 2010 election cycles.
I will always remain humbled and grateful for the opportunity to travel this magnificent state where I was
born and raised and to work with Republican leaders and elected officials in all 64 counties as state chairman.
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Ted Harvey Declares for State GOP Chair
Leading conservative Senator announces bid to replace Wadhams as State
Republican Chair
HIGHLANDS RANCH -- Today, Colorado State Senator Ted Harvey announced his
intention to run for Chairman of the Colorado
Republican Party at the upcoming Republican Central Committee Meeting.
"I am declaring my candidacy for Chairman of the
Colorado Republican Party because I know I can unite our party and implement
a successful campaign strategy to return
the GOP to dominance here in Colorado," declared Harvey. "I have received
encouragement from legislators, county Party leaders,
and TEA Party activists who believe that I can lead the Republican Party
back to victory in 2012."
"Liberal Democrats have enjoyed four years of unchallenged success in
Colorado, far beyond their party registration. The reason
they have been so successful is because they have run better, more strategic
and aggressive campaigns than Republicans. I am
running to beat the Democrats with better talent, funding and conservative
leadership than we have had in the past. I will
return the Republican Party back to the majority."
"Unfortunately, this last election saw the fracturing of our conservative
political base, and whether or not it is warranted,
Chairman Wadhams has lost the confidence of our grassroots and many of our
Republican leaders. We did not raise the money and
dedicate the resources appropriately to win the statewide and legislative
battles that needed to be won. The Colorado GOP needs
a bold new leader that will re-energize our entire Party.
"It's time for new direction, new leadership and new perspective for the
State Party. I am eager to work hard to unite our
Republican leaders and financial supporters with our traditional party
activists and TEA Party grassroots under a principled,
dynamic and successful GOP banner," stated Harvey."My vision for the party
is simple. I intend to unite our base and return
authentic conservative leadership to the Party structure. I will build an
aggressive and experienced team of professionals
who know how to win elections."
"Upon winning the election as State Chair, I will step down from my current
State Senate seat, roll up my sleeves and take
this fight directly to the Democrats." concluded Harvey.
Ted Harvey's supporters include:
Senate Minority Leader Mike Kopp (Jefferson County)
Senate Minority Caucus Chairman Mark Scheffel (Douglas County)
Senate Minority Whip Scott Renfroe (Weld County)
State Senator Kevin Grantham (South Eastern Colorado)
State Senator Kent Lambert (El Paso County)
State Senator Kevin Lundberg (Larimer County)
State Senator Steve King (Mesa County)
House Majority Caucus Chairwoman Carol Murray (Douglas County)
State Representative Cindy Acree (Arapahoe County)
State Representative Mark Barker (El Paso County)
State Representative David Balmer (Arapahoe County)
State Representative Randy Baumgardner (North West Colorado)
State Representative Laura Bradford (Mesa County)
State Representative Kathleen Conti (Arapahoe County)
State Representative Don Coram (Montrose County)
State Representative Chris Holbert (Douglas County)
State Representative Janak Joshi (El Paso County)
State Representative Marsha Looper (El Paso County)
State Representative Robert Ramirez (Jefferson County)
State Representative Ray Scott (Mesa County)
State Representative Jerry Sonnenberg (North East CO)
State Representative Libby Szabo (Jefferson County)
State Representative Glenn Vaad (Weld County)
Former State Senator David Schultheis (Colorado Springs)
SW Colorado lawmaker says stop raiding
severance-tax proceeds
“I’ve been talking about this, including with Joint Budget Committee members and metro Denver legislators,
and they understand it. They get it. There’s not been anybody who actually questions the merit of what this bill does.
What they say is, ‘Well, these are tough times, and we have no other choices.’ My point is, we’re just kicking the ball
down the field.”
Read more: here
Hedging against a run-up in electricity rates
Until polar bears took precedence over people, the Colorado Public Utilities Commission looked after
ratepayers by requiring utilities to apply the “least cost” principle when planning new facilities or buying fuel.
But it was only a rule, not a law, and it was repealed by the PUC in 2007, soon after Ron Binz became
chairman. It justified the action on grounds it had to accommodate “renewable energy” mandates imposed
by voters and legislators concerned about what used to be called global warming. After all, wind and solar
power are expensive as well as inefficient and unreliable generators of electricity.This year the General
Assembly will be asked to restore the “least cost” principle, this time putting it into law so it can’t be
compromised by the PUC.
http://facethestate.com/peter-blake/19913-hedging-against-run-electricity-rates
Gov. Hickenlooper encourages Gessler to turn over surplus funds
secretary of state
New Colo. secretary of state wants salaries set by citizen commission
By Tim Hoover
The Denver Post
Posted: 01/27/2011 01:00:00 AM MSTUpdated: 01/27/2011 01:35:12 AM MST
Secretary of State Scott Gessler, who's trying to moonlight at his old law firm,
told lawmakers Wednesday that Colorado should form a citizens commission to set salaries.
Gessler, a Republican, told members of the House State, Veterans and Military Affairs
Committee that he wasn't complaining about the current $68,500 salary the secretary of state earns.
"However, I do think that Colorado would be better served by, for example, appointing some type of
citizen commission to regularly review elected officials' salaries," Gessler said, "essentially
removing that decision from elected officials and placing it to a large extent in the hands of a
citizen commission to do that analysis." Read more:
Colorado Spending Transparency
Legislators Call for PUC Audit
The move will require the approval of the seven-member Legislative Audit Committee, but
two Republicans, Sen. Scott Renfroe and Rep. Steve King, plan to ask for an audit of the
Public Utilities Commission because of some of its recent decisions in the energy, taxi,
and telecom sectors–the list is quite extensive: “We felt it was appropriate to ask for a
performance audit of the PUC to see if they are complying with the laws, to get an unbiased
source and take this out of the political fray,” Renfroe said. Read more.
Lundberg Legislative Report
January 21, 2011
Topics:
1. My Bills
2. Concealed Carry Statewide Data Base in Violation of the Law.
1. During this first full week of the session most of the work was
in committees and bill preparation.
I am now prime sponsor for six introduced bills and I am working
on the introduction of three others, which I will discuss as they are introduced.
The first six bills include three House and three Senate bills:
HB-1025, Repeal Hospital Provider Fee, JOSHI--LUNDBERGThis gets rid
of the hospital 'bed tax' put in place two years ago in order to expand the
Medicaid program. HB-1025 would save the people of Colorado hundreds
of millions of dollars in fees every year.
HB-1048, Income Tax Credits For Nonpublic Education, SWALM--LUNDBERG
This creates a tax credit for families who move their children from a public to a
private educational program. A bill similar
to this one last year was then estimated to save the state general
fund $100,000,000 if 3 % of the public school population participated.
HB-1095, Protect Security of Business Records on the
Secretary Of State's Web Site, NIKKEL--LUNDBERGCurrently any
changes to private business records on the Secretary Of State's website
are not password protected, and anyone can change any record! This
bill will require security measures to be in place to protect the integrity
of the information posted on the SOS website. I first became aware of
this problem last spring. At that time I brought this to the attention of now
Secretary of State Scott Gessler, who does support our bill.
SB-006, Alternative Medicaid Program For Elderly, LUNDBERG
This is an optional program for Medicaid recipients that gives them
more choices and saves the state significant expenses. I have been
working on this idea for several years and I will continue to pursue such
free-market reforms that can save the state's budget millions of dollars.
SB-055, Prior Notice For Security Scans, LUNDBERG--JOSHIElectronic
security scanning systems will have to have information posted that
explains what radiation exposure they create, what modesty protocols
are in place and what alternatives are available if anyone refuses to submit
to the electronic scanning system. This bill requires the government to
be more transparent about their use of electronic scanning systems.
SB-056, Use Tax Exemption for Out-of-state Sales, LUNDBERG--BALMER
Currently any out of state retail sale shipped to Colorado where sales tax
is not collected is subject to a use tax, which the consumer is supposed
to send to the Department of Revenue. This bill would eliminate the use
tax liability. Unfortunately, the Senate President has assigned
this bill to State Affairs, which is known as the 'killing' committee. In that
committee bills are regularly killed on party-line votes. It would seem
Democrat leadership wants to continue to hang this useless and
onerous tax on the backs of Colorado taxpayers.
2. In a Judiciary Committee meeting this week, in answer to a question I
posed, the Director of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation said the
statewide concealed carry permit database is searchable by a wide range
of data queries, such as date of birth, drivers license number, address, etc..
However, the law states, concerning the concealed carry database:
"...any database operated by a state agency that includes permittees shall
be searchable only by name." -CRS 18-12-206(3) (a)
As a followup to this line of questioning in Judiciary committee I sent a
letter to the CBI director, Ron Sloan, noting that the CBI database is being
used in violation of the law and asking what he is going to do to correct the
violation. When he responds I will report his answer.
Going after part of ‘dirty dozen’
Bill would restore tax credit for
certain agricultural products
Gene Davis, DDN Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Sen. Greg Brophy, R-Wray, and Rep. Jerry Sonnenberg, R-Sterling, have introduced a measure
HB 1005 that would repeal HB 1195, which suspended the tax exemption for agricultural products
like bull semen and pesticides. Brophy said eliminating that tax exemption was particularly harmful
to the majority of people in his rural district.
read more:
http://www.thedenverdailynews.com/article.php?aID=11378
The Colorado version isn’t nearly that broad, Lambert said, because
the Legislature’s single-title restriction doesn’t give him the leeway
to include as many provisions as the Arizona law. What his measure
does is give officers the right to arrest anyone they suspect of having
committed a felony, could be extradited or detained by the federal
government, or if they’re in violation of any other federal law. That
includes being in the U.S. illegally.
Read more:
http://coloradopolitics.freedomblogging.com/2011/01/19/arizona-style-immigration-bill-introduced/
Renfroe was Right!
Last April, State Senator Scott Renfroe, R-Greeley,
made a call on the Senate floor to eliminate
Disability and Dental insurance for state employees
as a way to help balance the budget. At the time,
Renfroe was vehemently attacked by Senator
Abel Tapias, D-Pueblo, despite Tapias’ admission
that he does not offer those benefits to the
employees of his private business.
Read more: http://www.greeleygazette.com/press/?p=8172
Tancredo returning to GOP after failed gov bid
DENVER (AP) - Former Republican congressman Tom Tancredo,
who quit the party last year to run for governor under the
American Constitution Party, is headed back to the Republican Party.
GOP state chairman Dick Wadhams, who clashed publicly with
Tancredo over criticism of the Republican Party, said everyone
is welcome to join the Colorado GOP. He refused to say whether
he thought Tancredo would be welcomed.
Read the full article here:
http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=176408&catid=188
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Liberty Watch
"Several of us who have been part of these efforts since 2009 have been consulting with the Republican Study Committee of Colorado (RSCC), Sen. Schultheis and others to create the 2011 Liberty Watch Legislative Team of citizens. Liberty Watch will be a collaborative effort between 912, tea party & other liberty groups and their members from across the state and we will be successful by everyone working together as we did to fight the draft "Voter Fraud" bill last year. "
http://us2.campaign-archive1.com/?u=734572425408b86cb3f650a59&id=9983882ff3&e=da6ed192aa
Rep. Glenn Vaad aims to change emissions testing program
By Nate A. Miller
nmiller@greeleytribune.com
Vaad, and Sen. Scott Renfroe, R-Greeley, sponsored a bill last year that also would have removed Weld and Larimer from the testing area. That bill died in committee on a 3-2 party-line vote.
Rep. Jim Riesberg, D-Greeley, voted for the 2009 legislation to include Weld and Larimer in the testing program because of concerns about the health costs of poor air and because the EPA could impose a compliance plan on the state if the area doesn’t meet the federal standard. At an open forum hosted by Riesberg on Saturday, Weld County Commissioner Sean Conway asked Riesberg to sign on as a co-sponsor of Vaad’s bill.
Read more: http://www.greeleytribune.com/article/20110109/NEWS/701099984/1008&parentprofile=1001
Bill passes committee to remove Pinnacol's tax-exempt status
By Tim Hoover
The Denver Post
Legislation aims to minimize Colorado's ag-land tax breaks
By Christopher N. Osher
The Denver Post
"Just how many people would be affected by the legislation is unclear. A survey that 23 of the state's 64 assessors responded to this past year found more than 20,000 ag-land homesites in those counties, and some of those homes, particularly in eastern Colorado, would be considered integral to an agricultural operation."
Read more: Legislation aims to minimize Colorado's ag-land tax breaks - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_17031623?obref=obnetwork#ixzz1AwUAiCUv
Stage Set for Upcoming Legislative Session & Grassroots Activists.
Tea Party Leaders from around the state outlined communication arrangements at the CoTPA Tea Party/Legislative Summit, Thursday, January 6th in Downtown Denver.
Legislators and Tea Party Leaders began building a bridge over recent turbulent waters of distrust and suspicion between grassroots and lawmakers.
“We need more communication from you” “What can we do when you say one thing and do another?” “We want to know what we can do” were just a few of the comments made by participants.
Each Tea Party Leader specifically identified and addressed the overall concerns of their particular group. And, while concerns varied, the central theme of the Summit was simply that Legislators must adhere to the demands of the people.
Legislators at this summit agreed that a communication “hub” should be developed and further agreed that, at least for the legislators invited to the summit, they would welcome accountability measures.
Here's a few pictures of the summit. More are available at the link below.
Pictures of the event can be seen on the Colorado Tea Party Alliance Facebook Page. Click HERE.
For more details on how to be a part of the next CoTPA Summit, and/or how to stay "in the Legislative loop" please select the "join" tab. It's Free!
Senate Minority Leader Kopp’s Statement on Golombek Appointment
Submitted by admin on Mon, 2011-01-03 15:34
Today Senate Minority Leader Mike Kopp issued the following statement on the appointment of Ellen Golombek as Executive Director of Department of Labor and Employment. “Governor-elect Hickenlooper’s appointment to the Department of Labor may certainly take some of the air out of the bipartisan atmosphere he has promised to promote as Governor. His selection of a noted progressive activist and union boss in Ms. Golombek, certainly will raise plenty of eyebrows in Colorado’s business community. And for good reason.” Just a few weeks ago at the Colorado Press Association the Governor-elect went to great lengths expressing a desire to be “pro-business” and to “do things differently.” Kopp said, “This appointment seems to be a complete reversal of that policy.” “Nonetheless,” Kopp added, “Ms. Golombek will go through a senate confirmation process. Senators have the constitutional obligation to put to her the same critical questions that every Colorado employer will be asking: Will she promote policies that make it more costly or less costly for businesses to operate in Colorado? Will she be on the side of the bureaucracy or the taxpayer?” Learn more at www.ColoradoSenateNews.com.
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Legislative View 
Colorado Tea Party Alliance
5 hrs ago 