1 North Suburban Republican Forum June, 2011www.NorthS uburbanRepu blicanForum.com www.NorthS uburbanRepub licanForum.org Our next meeting is from 9:15-10:15 am, Saturday morning, June 11 th , with Hitesh Pateldiscussing the Obama Administrations position on Mideast affairs.Remember to invite somebody new to the NSRF as we discuss polit ics for the Denver North Metro area. This is our last meeting at Gander Mountain. Beginning on July 9 th , we¶ll meet at Anythink Huron Street Library from 9:30-11:30am. NSRF upcoming calendar in 2011: July 9 ± Troy Ard, State Chair of Colorado Federation of College Republicans at our new meeting location, Huron Anythink library August 13 -- Board of Education issues with Laura Boggs & Heidi Williams September 10 ± Republican issues with R Block Party, Hear Us Now, Broomfield 9-12, CLaRO, and Colorado Tea Party groups October 8 -- Local candidates running for City Council and Board of Education November 12 -- Redistricting/Reapportionment with Gary Mikes & Brian Vande Krol and local election results December 10 ± Don Beezley on upcoming legislative issues
Our next meeting is from 9:15-10:15 am, Saturday morning, June 11 th , with Hitesh Patel discussing the Obama Administrations position on Mideast affairs.Remember to invite
somebody new to the NSRF as we discuss politics for the Denver North Metro area. This is
our last meeting at Gander Mountain. Beginning on July 9th , we¶ll meet at Anythink Huron
Street Library from 9:30-11:30am.
NSRF upcoming calendar in 2011:
July 9 ± Troy Ard, State Chair of Colorado Federation of College Republicans at our new meeting
location, Huron Anythink library
August 13 -- Board of Education issues with Laura Boggs & Heidi Williams
September 10 ± Republican issues with R Block Party, Hear Us Now, Broomfield 9-12, CLaRO, and
Colorado Tea Party groups
October 8 -- Local candidates running for City Council and Board of Education
November 12 -- Redistricting/Reapportionment with Gary Mikes & Brian Vande Krol and local election
results
December 10 ± Don Beezley on upcoming legislative issues
Our speaker this month is Hitesh Patel, co-chair of NAIRA (National Asian Indian Republican
Association). He will be speaking about the United States and its current position in the
Mideast and south Asia. The Obama administration has made major changes in its policy that
will affect the US position in the world. From the start of his term, Obama has shown the
world that the United States is weak and timid dealing with events shaping US strategic
interests, such as being weak on Pakistan and Iran.
Hitesh Patel was born in Mazabuka, Zambia, and grew up in England. He completed high schooland college in London, and moved to Denver, Colo., in 1985. Hitesh entered the hospitality
industry when he bought a small independent motel in Byers, Colo., in 1994. Currently, he ownsindependent and franchise hotels and holds various positions within those companies.
Hitesh also owns holdings in the technology manufacturing sector and other real estatedevelopment companies, with key financial, legal and administrative responsibilities.In July 2008,he co-founded the Patel Oil Group, which is one of the f irst Indian American-owned oil operatingand producing companies in the United States.
Other business experience, Hitesh Patel sits on the Board of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA), as Director for the Southwest region. The region includes Colorado, Utah,
Arizona and New Mexico. AAHOA, with 21,000 hotels and 10,000 plus paid members is the largest hotel association inthe world. It represents over 40% of all the hotels in the USA, and over $127 Billion in assets.
Hitesh also is founder and Co-Chairman of the National Asian Indian Republican Association (NAIRA), which today is oneof the fastest-growing Indian Republican groups in the United States. (www.naira.org). NAIRA is fast becoming the voiceof not only Asian Indians, but of many grass root organizations advocating Conservative ideals and pro-businesslegislation to help keep the spirit of free alive.
Hitesh and his wife, Anjna Patel, have two daughters, Krutika and Priyanka.
OPINION
Editorial: Major steps in Adams CountyAfter serious problems were exposed by The Denver Post, the county has enacted a massive overhaul of its practices.
By The Denver Post POSTED: 05/26/2011 01:00:00 AM MDT
The most striking thing about the good-government reforms approved Wednesday by the Adams County Commission was
the sheer expanse of them.This wasn't a small adjustment or two. It was an overhaul designed to modernize practices and
rein in a broad range of scandalous activity on the part of various county officials.
The reforms, created largely in response to a series of Denver Post stories, are overdue. If properly enacted, they will go
a long way toward bringing responsible government to Adams County.The county will centralize and better controlpurchasing. The government will undergo independently conducted internal audits.
Individual county department heads now will report to the county administrator. Previously, they had reported to county
commissioners on an intermittent basis."If they didn't like the answer they got from me," said Jim Robinson, county
administrator, "they just went to a commissioner."There are other changes that establish guardrails to avoid situations
where elected officials and employees may have a conflict of interest.
Many of these issues were highlighted in stories written by Post reporters Kevin Vaughan and David Olinger, who have
detailed questionable, if not downright illegal, conduct by Adams County elected officials, employees and outside
contractors.One story examined what looked like an overpriced public purchase of property belonging to the mother of
commissioner Alice Nichol.
Another article recounted how $1.8 million had been spent over a decade for maintenance of the video and closed-circuit
television system at the county jail ² a deal pursued without a contract and solid paperwork saying what the money was
going for.The Post also published several stories about County Assessor Gil Reyes, who seems to have violated state
laws by taking sports tickets and lunch invitations from a company that wanted its property taxes reduced. The companyalso was Reyes' biggest campaign contributor.
In addition, the newspaper has followed closely a criminal investigation into the county's dealings with Quality Paving, a
contractor. Six people, including the paving company's former president, are accused of participating in a scheme to steal
$1.8 million from taxpayers.Some of the scandals addressed by the policy changes were caused by a lack of checks and
balances. Others may have been the result of Adams County's rapid development ² a 40 percent growth in population
over the last two decades.
"The county has grown up," said Commissioner Erik Hansen. "You can't operate the way you have in the past."With the
passage of these reforms, the commission has taken bold steps in the right direction. But it will take persistent application
of the new policies for the county to shake its reputation for shady business.
Read more:Editorial: Major steps in Adams County - The Denver Posthttp://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_18140174#ixzz1ORcmCgX4 Read The Denver Post's Terms of Use of its content: http://www.denverpost.com/termsofuse
Adams County adopts ethics rules in wake of corruption allegationsBy David Olinger The Denver Post POSTED: 05/26/2011 01:00:00 AM MDT
BRIGHTON ² The Adams County commissioners swiftly and unanimously adopted a package of resolutions
Wednesday, saying the new rules will thwart corruption and wasteful spending in the county.
The resolutions forbid county officials and employees from hiring county contractors for personal business, bar
department heads from political activities, centralize purchases, set competitive-bidding requirements and bring an
independent auditor to examine county contracts.
Adams County also will poll voters' interest in expanding the county commission from three to five members and adopting
a home-rule charter. Home-rule counties can replace some elected officials ² clerk, coroner, treasurer and assessor, for
example ² with employees hired for the job.And the commissioners voted to sue Quality Paving Co., county and
company employees indicted in a payment scandal, and the county's former public-works director in an effort to recover
$1.8 million allegedly paid for work that was double-billed or not done.
After the vote, chairman Skip Fischer offered "a formal apology for not taking these steps sooner" and asked county
voters "for your support as we move forward."Commissioner Alice Nichol, the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation
into her relationship with Quality Paving, voted with fellow commissioners to support the new ethics rules.
"I'm proud to be part of the board of commissioners," she said. "Now, we're going to do business in a different way."
annually. This tax hits everyone who registers a vehicle in the state squarely in the pocketbook ± a tax that was enacted directly by the legislature without a vote of the people."
Joining him in expressing alarm over what lawmakers did, and the apparently snub to voters who approved the TABOR amendment, was R ichard Sokol, a business owner and member of the advisory board of the Leadership Program of the R ockies. He holds a degree in economics f rom Yale and an MBA f rom Har vard.
"The law allows an unelected group of bureaucrats to appoint an unelected administrator and together borrow whatever amounts of debt can be backed by FASTER f unds. On December 1, 2010, they did just that. And now Colorado's citizens are burdened with $300 million of newly issued debt ± with the promise of more to come. « All this, and we weren't asked!"
The law was adopted by a Democrat-controlled Legislature and signed into law by ex-Gov. Bill R itter, a Democrat. But none of the many messages lef t by WND with the multiple off ices in the state legislature requesting a comment on the law and its alignment with state constitutional requirements was returned.Sokol explained the issue brief ly:
"The Taxpayer's Bill of R ights « passed by voters in 1992 and thus enshrined in the state constitution mandates that the state 'must have voter approval in advance f or « creation of anydebt.' It does not prohibit the state or a district government f rom borrowing money; it only stipulates that citizens be asked f irst."
It also requires voter approval f or tax increases, and there was an exception created f or "enterprises," sothat a towel f ee at a publicly owned recreation center could be raised without a vote, or a university dorm f ee could be raised without an election.Sokol noted other state "enterprises," such as a state
university, nursing home system and the like all "sell a good or ser vice to customers, and that compete f or those customers with other businesses. Only willing buyers who actually use the ser vice pay f or it."
However, he said the "Bridge Enterprise" diverges f rom that plan in several ways.Under its provisions, "every person who registers a car in Colorado pays on average an extra $18 a year that is designated f orthe Bridge Enterprise, in addition to an extra $23 per year f or road saf ety. The $41 annual payment is called a 'f ee' rather than a 'tax,' which is nonsensical in itself . « Enterprises cannot be f unded by
taxes."
He continued, "Now every Coloradan who registers a car is considered a 'customer' of the Bridge Enterprise. It does not matter whether the car is driven over one of the designated bridges or not. In f act, there are large areas of Colorado nowhere near one of the designated bridges.""And out-of -state
car owners don't pay at all, even if they constantly use the bridges."
Then came the decision by the "enterprise" ± actually members of the state Transportation Commission
who also run the state highway department, to borrow the hundreds of millions.O bser ved Sokol, "The Bridge Enterprise and CDOT do the same work overseen by the same managers." The same people are
board members, the same person is executive director and the chief f inancial off icers f or the two groups? ± the same person.
He warned that the limits now f or lawmakers to impose "millions in additional 'f ees' without a vote «is limited only by the assembly's imagination."Sokol noted that a true "enterprise" is when a customer has a choice."The state lottery allows someone to decide whether or not to buy a lottery ticket. The more lottery tickets he buys, the more he pays. With the Bridge Enterprise, the government has decidedthat all Colorado car owners pay, even those who live and work nowhere near one of the 128 bridges. Itdoes not matter whether the car crosses one of the bridges one time, a thousand times, or not times."
He also was critical of the continuing manipulation of inf ormation to allow the program to progress. Henoted that because the bridges are owned by the state, not the "enterprise," ownership must be transf erred f or repairs to be done. But there are limits on what the state can transf er to an "enterprise."So what happens?"In 2010, ownership of 77 bridges was transf erred to the enterprise. «CDOT claimed that only two bridges had value, and that their combined valued was only $1.4 million. The other 75 bridges were claimed to have zero value."
Stein explained to WND that that was an accounting procedure that reduces the value of the bridges by 2.5 percent f or each year of their existence.R ubbish, charged Sokol. "Using CDOT's reasoning, our Capitol building ± with its gold-plated dome ± is worthless! Clearly, that is nonsense."Lawmakers thought they had taken care of the issue at the outset.Their law states, "The General Assembly f inds and declares that a bridge saf ety surcharge « is not a tax but instead a f ee."
"Our elected off icials purposely and knowingly breached the f aith they hold with citizens. The Colorado Bridge Enterprise is government without the consent of the governed. Shame," Sokol wrote.Stein said he couldn't even speculate on what would happen should f uture lawmakers ± or perhaps voters ± overturn the creation of the "enterprise" and its new charges, given the f act that the money already has been borrowed.
Mike K rause, a spokesman f or theIndependence Institute, told WND it's an issue that needs explorationand resolution. His organization is non-partisan, non-prof it public policy research organization
dedicated to providing timely inf ormation to concerned citizens, government off icials, and public opinion leaders.
Colorado GOP defends Taxpayer's Bill of Rights targeted in lawsuitBy Tim Hoover The Denver Post POSTED: 05/24/2011 01:00:00 AM MDT
Republicans rallied Monday to the defense of the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights in response to a federal lawsuit allegingTABOR is unconstitutional.The suit, filed in federal court Monday, alleges TABOR violates a provision of the U.S.Constitution that guarantees every state shall have a republican form of government in which elected representativesgovern. TABOR bars the legislature from raising taxes and requires that all tax increases be put before voters.
A bipartisan group of 34 plaintiffs signed on to the lawsuit, including former state Sen. Norma Anderson, R-Lakewood, and
former state Rep. Bob Briggs, R-Westminster.
"TABOR has turned Colorado into a national example of how not to govern," Anderson said in a statement. "States from
coast to coast have considered proposals modeled after TABOR but rejected them because of the bad consequences
they see for economic development and education."But Anderson's and Briggs' voices were among the minority in the
Colorado GOP.
"Colorado citizens deserve the right to vote on any tax increases they will be required to pay," said Colorado Republican
Party Chairman Ryan Call. "The Taxpayer's Bill of Rights doesn't prevent tax increases, it simply requires politicians to
first make their case to the voters as to why a state or local tax increase is necessary."
Other Republicans echoed the sentiment."The Taxpayer's Bill of Rights has played a pivotal role in keeping government
spending habits in check and has prevented Colorado from having the budget problems that other states like Californiaand New Jersey have faced," said House Majority Leader Amy Stephens, R-Monument. "House Republicans will do
everything possible to ensure that the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights is protected."
Read more:Colorado GOP defends Taxpayer's Bill of Rights targeted in lawsuit - The Denver Posthttp://www.denverpost.com/legislature/ci_18125178#ixzz1ORgJtxrj Read The Denver Post's Terms of Use of its content: http://www.denverpost.com/termsofuse
I
n Memory of Barbara FitzgeraldBarbara Fitzgerald passed away on Wednesday, June 1, 2011. Barbara was a long-time member of the
R epublican Trumpeteers of Adams County and is a f ormer District II Director f or the Colorado Federation of R epublican Women. Barbara was an active volunteer f or the R epublican Party. Mary Dambman f ondly remembers, ³I recall her doing mailings at the 7th Congressional District Off ice in Jeff erson County. She
couldn¶t do phone calls or walk, but she was there to do mailings all day f or Bob Beauprez and R ick O¶Donnelland f or US Senate and Presidential Candidates in 2008 and 2010. Sonny took her wherever she was needed.´
The ser vice f or Barbara will be held on Thursday, June 9, at 10:30 am. A viewing will be held prior to the ser vice, at 9:30 am. Our President, Betty Jean Beall, will be preparing f lowers f or the ser vice and would
appreciate donations to cover the cost of the f lowers. The announcement f or the ser vice is in today¶s Denver
Post. Barbara is sur vived by her husband of 39 years, Clendon ³Sonny´ Fitzgerald, and f our children. Sonny said that Barbara knew her time was coming and had time to say goodbye to f amily and close f riends. Sonny also
said that about a half hour bef ore Barbara passed, she said she was ready to go be with her Lord. We ask that you keep the Fitzgerald f amily in your prayers. Betty Jean Beall will be attending the ser vice. If a
ride is needed, please contact Betty Jean at (303) 426-7079. Barbara Fitzgerald ser vice details:
Thursday, June 9, at 10:30 am R iverside Baptist Church
2401 Alcott Street Denver, CO 80211
DA Don Quick term limits goes to petition... There is a petition circulating about that asks the question if 17th Judicial Adams/Broomfield County District Attorneyshould be given the same voter approve terms as the rest of the Adams County elected officials. The Adams Countyvoters approved a measure that increased the terms in office for elected officials from 2 terms to 3 terms in 2008. Thereason why the elected District Attorney was excluded was the fact that he represents both Adams County and BroomfieldCounty
Read more:Jury awards Adams County deputy nearly $125,000 in First Amendment case against his boss - The Denver Posthttp://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_18058474#ixzz1ORhqoPQb Read The Denver Post's Terms of Use of its content: http://www.denverpost.com/termsofuse
Hickenlooper vetoes first billBy Lynn Bartels The Denver Post
Gov. John Hickenlooper issued his first veto of the session Tuesday, nixing a measure that would have required certain
parents whose children are enrolled in a state health-care plan to pay higher premiums.The governor said Senate Bill 213
would have increased premiums costs a "dramatic" 1,000 percent, possibly pushing as many as 2,500 kids out of the
program intended to help the struggling.But Republicans groused, saying the Democratic governor missed his chance at
entitlement reform.
"It's obvious that some of these parents have disposable income that is going into beer, cigarettes and lottery tickets," said
Sen. Greg Brophy, R-Wray."I just think it's smart from an economic perspective that they actually participate in the cost of
their health care."In his veto message, Hickenlooper said the state this summer and fall will evaluate its premium system
and might be able to achieve results without legislation.
"The focus will be to implement a change that is minimally disruptive, administratively efficient, effective and elegant, andsupports the goal of ensuring that kids have access to coverage," the governor wrote.The governor has until June 10 to
act upon bills approved by the legislature, which adjourned on May 11.Senate Bill 213 concerned the Children's Basic
Health Plan, or CHP+, which covers low-income pregnant women and children whose families make too much to qualify
for Medicaid.
The bill would have required families to pay monthly premiums of $20 for the first child and $10 for each additional child,
with a limit of $50 per month per family. Currently, families pay an annual fee of $25 for one child or $35 for more than one
child.However, the fee is waived for families with incomes less than 150 percent of the federal poverty line and pregnant
women.
The monthly premiums would only be required of families with household incomes of between 205 percent and 250percent of the federal poverty level, a class of people who were added in an eligibility expansion in 2009 that was funded
by a new fee on hospitals.Under the expansion, a family of four with a total income of $55,875 per year could qualify for
"The president (Obama) says we're not going to tax anyone who makes less than $250,000 a year," Rove told an
estimated 650 attendees at the downtown Antler's Hilton. "But his health care plan is going to tax drugs, tax medical
centers. We're going to be taxing customers, the people who are sick."Rove went on to say that "we must stop Obama
from what he's doing to our economy, and we need a good nominee for president to do it."
Rove said he doesn't know who that nominee will be, but he encouraged dinner attendees to ponder some questions
before settling on a Republican candidate."Ask what these candidates have done in their life to warrant being president.
They have to tell us concretely what they have done in their life to be president," Rove said.
At a speech in Denver earlier Wednesday, Rove made it clear that Colorado will play a significant role in next year's
election."In 2012, as goes Colorado, so goes the nation. You've got a lot of work to do," Rove said.He added that
Colorado Republicans are in a strong position after picking up seats in the state legislature and in Congress in November.
Known in political circles as "The Architect," for his shaping of President George W. Bush's successful 2000 and 2004
campaigns, Rove is traveling the country speaking at high-dollar fundraisers ² tickets to the Lincoln Day Dinner ranged
from $80 to $3,500 ² as he promotes a new book, "Courage and Consequence: My Life as a Conservative in the Fight."
Each of the dinner's guests received a signed copy of the memoir, which was released last week.In a statement released
before the dinner, Eli Bremer, chairman of the El Paso County Republican Party, called Rove one of the biggest names in
politics today."The common thought is that for a Republican to win the White House in 2012, they must win Colorado,"Bremer said. "And for that candidate to win Colorado, El Paso County has to turn out a huge margin for them to win the
state."
Bremer added that Rove's presence in El Paso County shows how important the county will be in 2012.Since leaving his
White House job in 2007, Rove has spent much of his time as a Fox News analyst, an op-ed contributor for The Wall
POLIS DEBT CEILING HYPOCRISY: Signed Letter Demanding Clean
Debt Ceiling Vote, Then Voted Against by: ColoradoPeakPolitics
F ri Jun 03, 2011 at 12:39 08 MDT
Much has already been written about the debt ceiling earlier this week. What hasn't been reported on is the blindinghypocrisy of 34 Democrats, including Colorado's own Congressman Jared Polis.
These 34 Democrats joined with a total of 114 Democrats who signed a letter to House Democrat Chief Deputy Whip PeterWelch in April demanding that he convene a caucus to establish the Democrat position in favor of a
clean debt ceiling vote. In other words, they wanted to raise the limit on the country's credit cardwithout any agreement to curtail the spending that is causing the debt on the credit card. Of the 114Democrats who signed the letter, five voted present when the clean raise came up for a vote, and 29voted no. Jared Polis was among the 29 who voted no.
Polis told the Denver Post's Allison Sherry:
³Congress must work in a bipartisan, responsible and fair way to reduce the federal deficit and debt,´ he said. ³House Republicans have instead chosen a partisan path and may endanger our economicrecovery with their sham debt limit vote today.´
Compare this political grandstanding with what he signed onto in the letter in April.
"The debt ceiling vote is about one thing: affirming that America pays its bills. It does not authorize new taxpayerobligations; it affirms to the world our commitment to pay obligations already incurred.
To do so otherwise, or threaten to do so, or to leverage our duty to pay our bills to achieve a partisan advantage in budgetdisputes, jeopardizes the full faith and credit of the United States of America."
So when Congressman Polis voted against the clean debt ceiling raise he demanded in April, was he admitting that he was
"jeopardiz[ing] the full faith and credit of the United States of America"?
Or does Polis believe that he can have his clean debt ceiling vote and vote against it too? No wonder no one wants to berepresented by Polis after redistricting.
ROLLIE THE JOB-KILLER: Study Shows $3 Billion TaxHike Would Kill 119,000 Jobs by: ColoradoPeakPolitics Thu May 26, 2011 at 14:03 11 MDT
The key to winning a tough ballot initiative is having a rhetorically-potent one sentence argument. Rollie Heath'sargument: let us tax you more for schools.
The key to defeating a ballot initiative is to have a one-sentence argument almost as good asthe proponents -- not even necessarily better, just strong enough to create doubt.
Today, the opponents of Initiative 25, Rollie Heath's five-year $3 billion tax hike, found anargument that easily clears that bar: if approved, Heath's tax increase will kill 119,000 jobs.
This was the finding of an independent study by Eric Fruits of Economics International Corp andPortland State University:"Earlier this year, Colorado Senator Rollie Heath proposed three education-funding initiatives for
the November 2011 ballot. The proposed measures would raise the individual and corporate
income tax rate from 4.63 percent to 5 percent (an 8 percent increase) and increase the statesales tax rate from 2.9 percent to 3 percent (a 3 percent increase).
...If passed, the measures constitute a potentially significant shift of resources from private hands to the public sector.Information from Colorado Legislative Council Staff suggests that the Heath Measures would increase state taxes by$536.1 million a year. A substantial portion of the Heath Measures¶ increased taxes would be borne by Coloradansearning less than $100,000 a year."The press release we received about this study included a chart on job losses, which we've recreated in easier-to-readformat for our readers. Here is what happens to job losses in Colorado for each year of the tax hike:
This kind of data seems like it could be used pretty effectively in an ad blitz against the initiative, though we wonder if it will even be necessary to put much effort into opposing it. After all, Heath can't even seem to get any majorDemocrats on board with him.Tax hike ballot initiatives always have an uphill battle, especially in a weak economy. Studies like this just serve tohammer home what everyone, including Governor Hickenlooper, already knows: raising taxes kills jobs.
Former Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott McInnis will not face disciplinary action from the state's Office of
Attorney Regulation Counsel after an investigation of a plagiarism complaint found insufficient evidence to establish ethics
violations.Regulation Counsel John Gleason said new evidence and follow-up interviews with witnesses revealed no
"clear and convincing evidence" that McInnis, a lawyer, violated disciplinary rules.
McInnis lost the Republican primary in the 2010 governor's race after The Denver Post revealed the former congressman
in 2005 and 2006 had presented several articles on water policy as his own work, though they were nearly identical to
essays written by now-Supreme Court Justice Gregory J. Hobbs.McInnis was paid $300,000 by the Hasan Family
Foundation for the articles and a series of speaking engagements. He has since repaid the foundation the full amount,McInnis and the foundation have said.
At the time the allegations surfaced, McInnis blamed Glenwood Springs water engineer Roland Fischer, whom he said he
hired to do research. Fischer, however, said McInnis was lying and had tried to get him to take the blame for something
he hadn't done.Colorado Ethics Watch filed a complaint with the OARC, which investigates attorneys for violations of cour
rules and the Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct.
In a letter to Ethics Watch director Luis Toro, Gleason said e-mails, notes and interviews with Fischer, Seeme Hasan,
McInnis and former campaign manager Sean Duffy convinced him McInnis had told Fischer his articles might be
published by the Hasan Family Foundation and instructed him not to plagiarize.Though McInnis and Fischer spoke
extensively with the media as news of the water articles broke, neither ever mentioned that McInnis had admonishedFischer not to plagiarize. Last summer, Fischer said he believed he was helping McInnis with background for a U.S.
Senate campaign, not writing articles for the foundation.
But Fischer told the OARC that he alone copied Hobbs' work without crediting him, that he didn't tell McInnis he had done
so, and that he expected McInnis to publish the work as his own, according to Gleason's letter.Reached at his home
Monday morning, Fischer acknowledged he had been deposed by the OARC but declined to comment further.
Gleason's letter also says McInnis had notified Seeme Hasan in writing in 2005 that he had hired a research assistant but
that Hasan had forgotten about the communication by the time the issue flared up five years later. Neither McInnis nor
Hasan had previously said he had disclosed the hiring of a research assistant to the foundation.
"While both Mr. Fisher (sic) and Ms. Hasan provided contradictory accounts to the press at the time this issue was raised
by The Denver Post, a more thorough review of their archived materials demonstrates that both had forgotten several
specific communications with Mr. McInnis that had occurred several years before," Gleason wrote.Hasan said Monday
that she gave copies of all communication between McInnis and the foundation to her attorney but that she was not aware
of any memo in which McInnis notified her about a research assistant."If (the OARC) has something they know of, I
haven't seen it and they didn't share it with me," she said.
Glenn Merrick, the foundation's attorney, said the only communication the foundation turned over to investigators that
mentioned Fischer was a 2005 fax cover sheet from McInnis to Hasan. In it, McInnis said he was sending the foundation
article No. 8 and that he believed the series was reaching its goal of educating the public."On a regular basis I have been
assisted by Rolly Fischer, and his confidence that we are reaching our goal is high as well," the cover sheet states.
Merrick noted that the communication doesn't mention what type of assistance Fischer was providing, research or
otherwise."Maybe Rolly's his typist, for all I know," he said. "If this is the document (Gleason) is referring to, I disagree
with Mr. Gleason."
In 2005, McInnis wrote a memo to Seeme Hasan updating her on his fellowship in which he said: "All the articles are
original and not reprinted from any other source."In 2010, Hasan issued a statement saying she was "shocked, angry and
disappointed," and that "the work that the Foundation hired Mr. McInnis to do was to be done solely by Mr. McInnis, and
not in concert with anyone else."
"I'm not backtracking," Hasan said Monday. "We still stand by our original statement."Gleason said Supreme Court rules
prevent him from releasing any of the evidence on which he based his decision. He also declined to specify how McInnis
told Fischer not to plagiarize or how he told Hasan that he would use a research assistant or whether any of the
conversations were memorialized in writing.
Victoria Lovato, an attorney for McInnis, said she would not release or discuss any of the evidence Gleason cited. Shesaid the decision to release any further details would be up to McInnis, who did not return a phone message.Hasan said
she accepts the OARC findings and that the foundation is ready for the issue to be put to rest. Ethics Watch released a
Read more:Ex-GOP gubernatorial candidate Scott McInnis won't be disciplined in plagiarism complaint - The Denver Posthttp://www.denverpost.com/legislature/ci_18125524#ixzz1ORZqgCWs Read The Denver Post's Terms of Use of its content: http://www.denverpost.com/termsofuse
Beltway Blog ² GOP targets Per lmutter on debt ceiling vote By ALLISON SHERRY The Denver Post
Lynn Bartels Congressman Ed Perlmutter is being targeted by a national Republican group for his vote to increase the debt ceiling.
WASHINGTON ² Voters in Democrat Rep. Ed Perlmutter¶s 7th Congressional District will receive automated robocalls today and this
weekend from the National Republican Congressional Committee ripping him for his vote this week to increase the debt ceiling.³The
American economy is still in trouble. We are drowning in government debt, owed to countries like China. The national debt is now 14
trillion dollars, and Congressman Ed Perlmutter just voted for two trillion dollars MORE debt«.without any budget cuts. More
American debt means fewer American jobs,´ the call says.
Tuesday¶s Republican-led mostly ceremonial vote on raising the debt ceiling ² unattached to any spending cuts, which the GOP is
insisting on ² was meant to send a message to the president that if his administration wants more money, they¶re going to have to start
cutting federal budgets. The measure failed 318-97.Perlmutter and Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Denver, were the only two members in
Colorado¶s delegation who voted yes. Rep. Jared Polis, D-Boulder, voted against it. He called the suspension vote ³a sham´ because it
Population changes will make redrawing Colo. legislative districts a challengeBy Tim Hoover The Denver Post POSTED: 05/17/2011 01:00:00 AM MDT
The 11-person panel charged with redrawing the boundaries of legislative districts will have to balance growth in northern
Colorado and on the Western Slope with population declines in rural areas.The process of legislative reapportionment, no
to be confused with congressional redistricting, will decide the district lines for the state's 65 House and 35 Senate seatsfor the next 10 years.The commission must hold public hearings and submit maps to the Colorado Supreme Court by Oct.
7.
Population has increased rapidly along the northern Front Range, which grew by 27 percent over a decade, and on the
Western Slope, which grew by 20 percent in the same period, state demographer Elizabeth Garner told commissioners
Monday. Meanwhile, population growth is slow or in decline along the Eastern Plains and in some rural counties in the
state.Many observers believe it's likely Jefferson County will lose a House seat, while Adams, Weld and Douglas counties
will pick up representation. The Eastern Plains may lose a House seat.
The 11-member panel is made up of people appointed by the governor, lawmakers and the chief justice of the Colorado
Supreme Court.Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, appointed former state Rep. Gayle Berry, R-Grand Junction; former
Denver Mayor Wellington Webb, a Democrat; and Arnold Salazar, a Democrat from Alamosa.
House Speaker Frank McNulty, R-Highlands Ranch, appointed former Rep. Rob Witwer, R-Evergreen, while Senate
Minority Leader Mike Kopp, R-Littleton, appointed Mario Nicolais, an attorney with the Hackstaff Law Group.Meanwhile,
Senate President Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont, appointed Sen. Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, while House Minority Leader
Sal Pace, D-Pueblo, appointed Rep. Matt Jones, D-Louisville.
Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael Bender's appointments included Dolores Atencio, a Democrat from
Denver and lawyer at Garcia Calderon Ruiz, LLP; Mario Carrera, an unaffiliated voter from Parker who is the vice
president and general manager of Entravision Communications Corp.; Robert Loevy, a Republican from Colorado Springs
and a professor of political science and American government at Colorado College; and former state Rep. Steve Tool, R-
Windsor.
Read more:Population changes will make redrawing Colo. legislative districts a challenge - The Denver Posthttp://www.denverpost.com/legislature/ci_18077540#ixzz1ORfvXocW Read The Denver Post's Terms of Use of its content: http://www.denverpost.com/termsofuse
Hickenlooper signs health-exchange billDenver Business Journal - by Ed Sealover
Date: Wednesday, June 1, 2011, 11:38am MDT
Gov. John Hickenlooper on Wednesday signed a historic and hard-fought bill establishing a board to create a private-market healthcare exchange for individuals and small businesses in Colorado. Just seven states have put into place the framework for such exchanges as mandated in the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), and Colorado was the first to do it with bipartisan sponsorship, said Hickenlooper at the signing at Lakewoods St. Anthony Central Hospital.
Senate Bill 200, sponsored by Sen. Betty Boyd, D-Lakewood, and House Majority Leader Amy Stephens, R-Monument, sets up a nine-member board that will recommend how the exchange can work so that it can slow the rise of insurance costs to business by combining their buying power. The board members must be appointed by July 1, and the board must present the Legislature a plan for a working exchange by January 2013.
We are going to do this in such a way ... that it helps the business community control costs and, at the same time, expand accesss,Hickenlooper said. As we become a leader in the solutions around health care, it attracts business.SB 200 was hammered out as a compromise between health-care advocates and business groups. Business interests wanted to ensure that insurers and brokers would be able to play a role in setting up a system in a way that would not disenfranchise the industry.The bill ran into trouble when Stephens, feeling heat from conservative constituents, proposed a poisoned-pill amendment that it be implemented only if Colorado was given a full waiver from PPACA. But she reversed course and sided with business leaders who had pushed such an idea even before federal health care reform.
Tony Gagliardi, state director of the National Federation of Independent Business, said that reducing the cost of health care has beenthe top priority of his roughly 7,500 members for nearly 20 years. Failing to create a Colorado exchange would mean that Colorado
would be lumped into a federally created exchange without having any say over how it works, he said. It was a simple choice of whether Colorado should take the bull by the horns ... or rely on a one-size-fits-all federal program,Gagliardi said.Boyd added that allowing individuals and businesses of 50 or fewer workers to combine their buying power and make insurance affordable for several hundred thousand Coloradans who are now uninsured will make the economy more robust when the exchange is implemented in 2014.
Stephens did not attend the ceremony. Hickenlooper said she was in Hong Kong with a sick parent.About 70 Coloradans applied beforethe May 23 deadline to sit on the nine-member exchange board, said LorezMeinhold, the governors deputy policy director.Hickenlooper gets to appoint five of them, while the Senate and House majority- and minority-party leaders each get to appoint one.
Read more: Hickenlooper signs health-exchange bill | Denver Business Journal
Colora do business gr oups got the res ult they wante d when the state Senate gave fina l appr oval We dnes day t o a bi ll cre ati ng a he althcare exchange b oard, b ut the y we re not happy with the vote t ally.Eve ry Repub lican in the Se nate vote d against Se nate B ill 200, sponsore d b y Se n. Betty Boyd, D-Lakewood. And f or the f irst t ime this se ssion, the re appe are d t o be a re al, albe it temporary, rift betwee n the GOP and b usine ss-associat ion lobb yist s.
SB 200 cre ate s a nine -membe r b oard t o draw up the rule s f or an exchange, e sse nt ially an online marketplace whe re individuals and small b usine sse s can pool purchasing powe r and get lowe r-cost he alth insurance.Eve ry ma jor b usine ss group in Colorado b acke d the me asure, saying it will pre se rve the f ree market and, at the same t ime, he lp t o slow skyrocket ing insurance cost s.
B ut the way Se nate Repub licans spoke ab out the b ill, the y e ithe r didnt get that me ssage or just didnt b uy it.Se n. Kevin Lundberg, R-Be rthoud, calle d S B 200 the f irst sub st ant ial policy step that Colorado is t aking in impleme nt ing fe de ral legislat ion that is, in f act, in violat ion of the Unite d St ate s Const it ut ion.S uch st ate exchange s we re mandate d in the fe de ral he alth care ref orm law signe d b y Pre side nt Barack Obama last ye ar, b ut groups like the Nat ional Fe de rat ion of Indepe nde nt Busine ss we re pushing exchange s e ve n bef ore the n.Se n. Keith King, R-Colorado Springs, the n propose d an ame ndme nt that if a fe de ral court doe s rule the Pat ie nt Protect ion and Aff ordab le Care Act unconst it ut ional, S B 200 would not be impleme nte d. That lost on a part y-line vote, with Boyd saying it misse d the point that the st ate is cre at ing it s own exchange rathe r than lett ing the fe ds cre ate one f or it.
It t ook Se n. Irene Aguilar the same De nve r Democrat who is running a b ill t o st udy the imposit ion of a single -paye r he alth care system t o get up and remind pe ople of the b usine ss support f or the me asure. That didnt change any GOP minds, howe ve r. (It prob ab ly didnt he lp e ithe r that Se n. Jeanne Nicholson, D -Gilpin Count y, f ollowe d he r b y saying, in f avor of S B 200: This b ill is an int rusion int o the opport unit ie s f or he alth care companie s t o make signif icant prof it s.)NFIB st ate direct or Tony Gagliardi said afte r the vote that he was disappointe d that b ill was, in his opinion, characte rize d with so much misinf ormat ion and polit icize d.
Repub licans have t old us repe ate dly that the y wante d t o he lp us b and t ogethe r, the y wante d t o lowe r insurance cost s, Gagliardi said.
The exchange is the only way you can do that.S B 200 he ads now t o the House, whe re it s sponsor is Ma jorit y Le ade r Amy Stephens, R-Monume nt. Stephe ns e arlie r t rie d t o add an ame ndme nt that Se nate Democrat s said would have e rode d the ir support and kille d the b ill, b ut she s said since the n that she wont use such an ame ndme nt t o kill the b ill.
Gagliardi says he and othe r b usine ss le ade rs are conf ide nt that the y have the vote s t o pass the b ill in the House ove r the object ions of Repub licans who may be thre ate ne d b y radical f act ions.But t o do so, the y ll nee d t o work more close ly with Repub lican le ade rship in that chambe r than the y did in the Se nate.
Re ad more: Busine ss pre vails ove r GOP on he alth exchange b ill | De nve r Busine ss J ournal
Gessler puts spotlight on illegal voting
By Gary Harmon
Friday, June 3, 2011
Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler said he has turned his attention to illegal voting and intends to keep spotlighting the issue.³We have moved
the needle on this debate´ in the state, Gessler told about 60 people at a Western Slope Conser vative Alliance gathering Thursday night in the Grand
Gessler earlier this year garnered headlines ² and criticism f rom some county clerks ² when he said more than 11,800 noncitizens in Colorado had
registered to vote over the previous f ive years.Of that number, Gessler said, 5,000 voted, but he had no way of knowing whether they had obtained
citizenship when they cast ballots.³We know we have a problem in Colorado, but we don¶t know the size of it,´ Gessler told The Daily Sentinel
editorial board Thursday.
Gessler said he gleaned his inf ormation by comparing voter-registration rolls to a Division of Motor Vehicles database. He compared driver¶s license
numbers in both databases to reach his f indings.His eff orts to gain more inf ormation f rom state databases such as jury pools were f rustrated in the las
legislative session, but Gessler said he intends to continue studying the extent to which noncitizens have cast ballots in the state.
He intends to tread caref ully, Gessler said, because ³I need to understand all the risks in the legal thicket´ should he be sued.To be sure, Mesa County
Clerk Sheila R einer said, her clerks routinely check the DMV database to make sure people are legally in the United States, but the check doesn¶t
guarantee they are citizens.³We need good tools,´ R einer said.
R einer criticized Gessler when he announced his f indings and has said elections off icials should be allowed to investigate whether they have allowed
noncitizens to register and vote.Gessler, whose job as the state¶s chief elections off icer makes him most visible, also told the Sentinel he would
continue pursuit of providing education to judges across the state in commercial litigation.A judiciary that¶s better schooled in dealing with
commercial disputes could be an economic advantage f or businesses that might look to pursue or def end themselves in other, more speedy and
Tell Senator Bennett! by Al Maurer | 3:05 pm, June 5, 2011 |
Friday afternoon, Sen Bennett sent out a newsletter seeking ideas about reducing the deficit. The links in thenewsletter don¶t work, but there is a link to go here and answer the two questions online.
You get to pick one choice of a reduction plan:
y Rep. Paul Ryan¶s plan
y A comprehensive plan (spending cuts, changes to entitlements, tax reform) based on the President¶s Fiscal
Responsibility Commission
y President Obama¶s deficit reduction framework
y Other
y No Action
There are embedded links to the three plans. None is sufficient. If you really want to see what¶s needed, visit the Cato
Institute¶s Downsizing Government site. I¶m not going to tell you which one to pick but I¶m going to bet you¶re going
to pick something the senator doesn¶t expect.
The second question is an ³all that apply´ kind of question.
What components would you like to see in a debt reduction plan? (Choose all that apply.)
y Bipartisan
y Cuts in discretionary spending (not including defense spending)
y Cuts in discretionary spending that include defense cuts
y Reforms of entitlement programs such as Medicarey Tax reform
y A comprehensive plan that includes cuts in discretionary spending, entitlement reforms, and tax reforms
y Other
y No debt reduction plan is necessary
This is an interesting list. The Democrats lay great stress on legislation being ³bipartisan.´ This didn¶t seem importan
to them when they controlled the presidency and both houses of Congress so one suspects their motives now.
Obviously, any deficit reduction before January 2013 will have to be bipartisan. Their track record indicates that
means compromise±and not in a good way but rather closing the deficit by less than we would like.
The next four all seem to roll up into the fifth and those±like me±who favor cutting everywhere might be tempted to
check pretty much everything. As one who designs survey questions, I wonder why this was an ³all that apply´ type
question when all the combinations can be had by checking just one box. The exception, of course, is the ³bipartisan
red herring, which is not about what to cut at all but rather something about how the decision should be reached.
Tax reform by itself is quite misleading: to free market adherents like me it means tax reduction and simplification; tSen Bennett I think it means closing off tax exemptions for people or groups not politically aligned with him or actua
tax increases.
Answer carefully but let the senator know what you think. It will be interesting to see whether he releases the results.
