Politics & Government

Colorado Senator Cory Gardner is being both celebrated and castigated for his role in the apparent defeat of fellow Republican Judge Roy Moore in Alabama’s U.S. Senate election yesterday, December 12. As is clear from a collection of tweets on view below, those who backed Moore’s opponent, Democrat Doug Jones, see Gardner’s decision to criticize and withhold financial support from Moore as a heroic act, while fans of the judge and President Donald Trump, who offered the alleged sexual assaulter his full-throated endorsement, see his moves as downright traitorous to the GOP cause.

Twelve months of meetings. Discussion among 23 people about parliamentary procedures and committee positions. Hours spent debating the nuances of words like “gentrification.” Listening to reports from Denver’s Office of Economic Development. Public comment periods. Presentations from community groups about how Denver should tackle its affordable housing crisis.

In a new interview, Vail’s Lindsey Vonn, among the most famous and accomplished skiers ever from the State of Colorado, says that if she makes the United States team for the next Winter Olympics games, to be held during February 2018 in Pyeongchang, South Korea, she will be representing America but not President Donald Trump. Vonn adds that should she be invited to the White House with the squad or after earning a medal, she will not attend.

This morning, Monday, December 5, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, with the nine jurists charged with considering whether Denver-based Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips discriminated against a gay couple, Charlie Craig and David Mullins, by refusing to make them a wedding cake because their union contradicts his fundamentalist Christian views. Given the current ideological makeup of the court and the ultra-conservative proclivities of the newest justice, Colorado native Neil Gorsuch, many observers expect the court to side with Phillips in a ruling that critics say would preference one group of Christians over all others. But an expert thinks there’s still a chance the Supremes will reject the Masterpiece claim and suggests arguments that may sway the court’s potential swing justices.

Pod Save America, currently the country’s hottest political podcast, is bringing its live tour to Denver in early 2018 in a double bill with its Crooked Media sister program, Lovett or Leave It. The shows will take place back to back at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Thursday, February 8, 2018, at the Temple Hoyne Buell Theatre.

When federal agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement want to arrest someone at the Office of Denver Adult Probation, they must follow the office’s twelve-step procedure that is supposed to help facilitate undercover arrests by ICE.

Denver Millennial Political Action Coalition doesn’t have a lot of members, but its low-cost model for local, community-based projects doesn’t require them.

For the last four Thanksgivings, my husband and I hosted Thanksgiving dinners at our home in Vienna, where I was serving as the U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. We invited a group of ambassadors and their spouses. The dinner was not formal: We made invitations with handprint turkeys.

Representative Diana DeGette has revealed a past episode of sexual harassment against her, detailing an unwanted physical advance in an elevator by ex-San Diego Mayor Bob Filner when he was a Congressman. This disclosure, made in a November 20 interview on view below, makes DeGette the highest profile Colorado politician to go public with disgusting tales of unwanted contact and more since early October, when shocking tales about allegedly criminal behavior by disgraced Hollywood executive Harvey Weinstein unleashed a slew of accusations against powerful men, including retired Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning.

In today’s highly partisan political landscape, crossover votes are becoming less and less common. But one Colorado congressman has successfully navigated political polarization and redistricting to successive victories, despite representing a district that typically favors a party different from his own at the presidential level.

Former Congressman Tom Tancredo is running for governor of Colorado in 2008. It’s Tancredo’s third bid for the office, and he remains as outspoken as ever on topics such as immigration, education, health care, marijuana and more, as he demonstrates in this frank and wide-ranging question-and-answer session.

Edwards takes issue with Coffman’s frequent challenges against President Donald Trump, argues Roy Moore should have his day in court, and promises to vote conservative every time.

During a recent interview with Westword, former Congressman Tom Tancredo, who’s running for governor, said City of Denver employees who assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement representatives in ways that go beyond current city policy could be fined up to $1,000. Turns out he’s right, as indicated by a slide from a PowerPoint presentation sent to city employees, one of whom shared it with Tancredo. The graphic, on view below, notes that violations during interactions with ICE agents can lead to fines, jail time and even firing.

South High School has become a haven for refugees who come to Denver from around the world. Author Helen Thorpe spent a year in Eddie Williams’ class, learning from the students as they learned English and how to be an American.

Yesterday, November 13, as we’ve reported, 18th Judicial District DA and Aurora theater shooting prosecutor George Brauchler pulled out of the race for Colorado governor in 2018 in order to run for state attorney general in the wake of AG Cynthia Coffman’s own gubernatorial bid. Shortly after the announcement, Brauchler spoke to us in detail about the motivations behind his decision and his take on both the governor’s contest and the competition for attorney general in a frank Q&A on view below.

In one of the least suspenseful votes in recent Denver City Council history, the cat declawing ban pushed by council member Kendra Black and supported by, among others, Animal Planet star Jackson Galaxy and Paw Project founder Jenny Conrad passed at a meeting held last night, November 13.

On Monday, November 6, Denver City Council voted 9 to 4 to approve $200,000 for an immigrant legal defense fund. It was a $100,000 increase over what Mayor Michael Hancock originally budgeted for the initiative, which he enacted through executive order on August 31 as a supplement to another bill that limits the city’s cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

George Brauchler, currently the 18th Judicial District DA, has suspended his run for Colorado governor in 2018 in favor of pursuing the office of state attorney general opened up by AG Cynthia Coffman’s own gubernatorial bid.

At 23 years old, Murillo is the youngest council member in Aurora, and the daughter of Mexican immigrants and the first in her family to graduate from high school and college.

On Tuesday night, Democrat Ralph Northam won Virginia’s gubernatorial election against Republican Ed Gillespie, beating him by nearly nine points, higher than pre-race polling showed and Hillary Clinton’s margin of victory in the state in 2016.

With no statewide ballot issues, the election in Colorado yesterday, November 7, was hyper-local, with voters determining the fate of proposals that will directly impact them. Here are the latest numbers for Denver and other municipalities in the metro area in regard to the biggest issues.

Donna Lynne, a Democrat who’s both Colorado’s lieutenant governor and the state’s chief operating officer, is running for governor in 2018. In the following in-depth interview, she touts her experience in both the public and private sectors and her intimate understanding of policy under her current boss, Governor John Hickenlooper, as reasons voters should choose her from among a very crowded field bidding for Colorado’s top elective office.