Month: April 2022

(Colorado Peak Politics)

There’s a new conservative boss in town and his name is Joe O’Dea —If you haven’t heard of him, you soon will.

The construction company owner just dumped a quarter million dollars into a statewide ad blitz to boost his name ID among Colorado Republicans, because he’s asking for their vote in the primary to take on U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet.

From the ad:

“He’s running for the Senate to cut the debt, stop inflation, support the police and military, take on rampant crime. Endorsed by conservatives. Endorsed by police. Joe O’Dea. The boss, not a politician.”

As endorsements go, those are solid marks for a Republican primary in Colorado. 

Voters are fed up with politicians who are losing touch with reality as they increasingly cater to the progressive boxes of victim voters that seem to pop up now on a daily basis.

Coloradans are hungry for a leader who can cut through the noise and clutter and have the courage to face the harsh reality of what’s happening in our state and country.

We could use a new boss.

O’Dea will square off on the Republican primary ballot June 28 against state Sen. Ron Hanks. 

 » Read More

(Colorado Peak Politics)

Broomfield Democrat State Rep. Matt Gray was arrested Thursday and charged with DUI, according to multiple news reports.

From the Colorado Sun:

The Broomfield Police Department told The Colorado Sun that Gray was arrested at about 5:30 p.m. at 13770 Broadlands Drive. That’s the address of Coyote Ridge Elementary School.

Another lawmaker told Colorado Public Radio that Gray’s children were not in the vehicle at the time.

Gray is a former district attorney who worked at the 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, which the Sun contacted for comment, and was referred to the arresting police agency.

Awkward.

House Speaker Alec Garnett, D-Denver, said in a statement that we was “deeply saddened and disappointed.”

“I don’t have all the facts at the moment, but it’s my belief that he has been struggling with alcoholism for some time now,” Garnett said. “I’m very thankful no one appears to have been hurt, and I strong believe he needs to take time — beginning right now — to get the help he needs.”

Public radio goes on to report that Gray is reportedly “reviewing treatment options.”

Gray’s alcohol problem has been discussed quietly among lawmakers and staffers for some time, among whom a well-traveled story is again making the rounds about an allegedly intoxicated Gray relieving himself in a trashcan on Capitol grounds.

 » Read More

(Colorado Peak Politics)

Gino Campana made a graceful exit from the U.S. Senate race after finishing 4th at the GOP state assembly and coming up well short of the delegate votes required to make the primary ballot. 

He didn’t complain the system was rigged, or that he was somehow cheated, demand a recount or make a scene. 

When county chairs attempted to tell KBB that their clickers were non operational and they could not cast votes she did not care. Your vote and voice matters. This will not stand. pic.twitter.com/hXIHnApJmI

— Danielle Neuschwanger for Colorado Governor 2022 (@DanielleforCO) April 10, 2022

In an interview with the The Coloradoan after it was all over, Campana shared his hindsight of what went wrong — many new delegates participated in the process, and they were clearly still upset over the 2020 election.

His sense of humor was still intact, and he didn’t take the loss personally.

“It was a tough assembly and we didn’t come out on top. It was an awesome experience until about 4 p.m. on Saturday,” Campana said. “In that little brief moment, it was not so fun.”

Campana ran a solid campaign, but in the end he admitted his mistakes. 

(Joe) O’Dea petitioned his way on to the ballot, forgoing the state assembly process. In hindsight, Campana said he wished he had taken that same route.

“Every consultant told me to do that,

 » Read More

(Complete Colorado Page Two)

Dear Denver City Council:

This letter is to address some of the questions about licensed concealed carry raised at the April 13, 2022, meeting of the Committee on Safety, Housing, Education & Homelessness. This letter is also being made available to the public.

What are crime rates for persons with licensed carry permits?

A concealed handgun permit (CHP) is issued only to persons 21 and over. Roughly speaking, among the Colorado population 21 and over, an adult with a concealed handgun permit is about 39 times less likely to be arrested than an adult without a CHP. The data are as follows.

The 2003 statute creating Colorado’s current system of licensed carry required sheriffs to make annual reports to the legislature.[1] For 2020, the statewide total was 37,909 new permits issued, and 23,141 renewals. (Permits are valid for 5 years.) In that same period, there were 348 revocations. The majority (196) were for arrests. In Denver, there were 1,685 permits issued and 470 renewals. There was one revocation of a Denver permit in 2020, under the category “mental illness or addiction.”[2]

The figures for 2019 are similar: statewide 23,250 new licenses; 24,473 renewals; and 377 revocations. Two revocations in Denver, both for arrest.[3] Likewise in 2018: 25,643 new licenses; 35,141 renewals; and 537 revocations. Seven revocations in Denver, six for arrest, and one for restraining order.[4] An arrest that leads to a revocation does not necessarily involve misuse of a firearm;

 » Read More

(Colorado Peak Politics)

Corporate media is just giddy with praise for Gov. Polis after he sided with Big Tech and Corporate America over concerned parents who are uncomfortable about strangers discussing sex with their kindergarten children. 

Polis has flipped the script on Republicans, they exclaim, while heaping praise on America’s first gay governor for being so brave in embracing wokeness. 

Big. Shock. Not.

What Polis did, was make a smart ass comment on Twitter.

Florida’s authoritarian socialist attacks on the private sector are driving businesses away. In CO, we don’t meddle in affairs of companies like @Disney or @Twitter. Hey @Disney we’re ready for Mountain Disneyland and @twitter we’re ready for Twitter HQ2, whoever your owners are https://t.co/r7Vcvu20eb

— Jared Polis (@jaredpolis) April 19, 2022

Which was immediately fact-checked by Republican Senatorial Candidate Joe O’Dea.

“we don’t meddle in the affairs of companies”

Colorado’s oil and gas producers called and they’d like to have a word, Governor. https://t.co/Bi9AVNND8p

— Joe O’Dea (@ODeaForColorado) April 19, 2022

The latest feud between Corporate America and Americans is unfolding in Florida, where the legislature passed a law against teaching adult issues about sex and gender to children in kindergarten through third grade.

It’s the exact opposite in Colorado, where the Democrat-controlled legislature mandated teaching LGBTQ issues a few years ago,

 » Read More

(Complete Colorado Page Two)

The state commission charged with adjudicating which Colorado schools must expunge their “American Indian mascots” devolved further into a kangaroo court last week.  Chaired by Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera, the Colorado Commission on Indian Affairs was required to “identify each public school in the state that is using an American Indian mascot” by July 28 of last year.

More than eight months later, the commission is suddenly considering whether to add seven new schools as potential violators for using “Thunderbird” as their mascot.  At an April 6 meeting, CCIA began discussing whether these mascots violate the law which prohibits “names, symbols or images that depict or refer to an American Indian tribe, individual, custom or tradition.”

Ironically, when the commission released its initial list of schools with affected mascots last July, it did include one with a Thunderbird mascot – Johnson Elementary in Montrose which fields no teams and merely displays a Thunderbird logo.

So, how did CCIA find little Johnson Elementary but fail to notice at least seven other schools, including Aurora’s Hinkley High School and Cherry Creek’s Thunder Ridge Middle School, that use the same mascot?

That’s anyone’s guess because random enforcement and inconsistent application of the law is becoming a hallmark of CCIA.  Moreover, nothing in statute empowers the commission to approve new mascots.

For example, commissioners voted to allow Grand Junction Central High and Weldon Valley School to retain “Warriors” as their mascot after each submitted plans to eliminate Indian imagery and simply use a “W” as its logo. 

 » Read More

(Complete Colorado Page Two)

The state commission charged with adjudicating which Colorado schools must expunge their “American Indian mascots” devolved further into a kangaroo court last week.  Chaired by Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera, the Colorado Commission on Indian Affairs was required to “identify each public school in the state that is using an American Indian mascot” by July 28 of last year.

More than eight months later, the commission is suddenly considering whether to add seven new schools as potential violators for using “Thunderbird” as their mascot.  At an April 6 meeting, CCIA began discussing whether these mascots violate the law which prohibits “names, symbols or images that depict or refer to an American Indian tribe, individual, custom or tradition.”

Ironically, when the commission released its initial list of schools with affected mascots last July, it did include one with a Thunderbird mascot – Johnson Elementary in Montrose which fields no teams and merely displays a Thunderbird logo.

So, how did CCIA find little Johnson Elementary but fail to notice at least seven other schools, including Aurora’s Hinkley High School and Cherry Creek’s Thunder Ridge Middle School, that use the same mascot?

That’s anyone’s guess because random enforcement and inconsistent application of the law is becoming a hallmark of CCIA.  Moreover, nothing in statute empowers the commission to approve new mascots.

For example, commissioners voted to allow Grand Junction Central High and Weldon Valley School to retain “Warriors” as their mascot after each submitted plans to eliminate Indian imagery and simply use a “W” as its logo. 

 » Read More