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Colorado Taxpayers Face Billion-Dollar TABOR Refund Money Grab Under Proposition NN
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Taxpayers Face Billion-Dollar TABOR Refund Money Grab Under Proposition NN

By: Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics A coalition that includes the state teachers’ union on Tuesday launched a campaign for a ballot proposal that would reduce more than $1 billion in taxpayer refunds and spend the money on education. The measure is among several campaigns taking shape this year over state revenue. Broadly speaking, one side has long sought to raise more money, arguing what the state collects is insufficient to pay for services and programs. The other side counters that current revenues are sufficient but used unwisely, and what policymakers need is fiscal discipline. Referred to the ballot by the state legislature via Senate Bill 135, the average Colorado taxpayer would lose about $7,300 in TABOR refunds between the 2026-27 and 2036-37 fisca...
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New Report Finds Colorado Children Face Growing Financial and Education Challenges
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

New Report Finds Colorado Children Face Growing Financial and Education Challenges

By: Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics Despite having one of the country’s highest median incomes, Colorado families are struggling to afford essentials like food, housing, health care and child care. That’s according to the Colorado Children’s Campaign, which released its annual Kids Count report recently. It provides an overview of how the state’s infants, children and teens are faring compared to previous years. The report is broken down into four categories: economic security, health, K-12 education and early childhood. “The data remind us of what is at stake and who is relying on us to pay attention,” Heather Tritten, president and CEO of Colorado Children’s Campaign, said in the report. “This is a moment when data matter. In difficult times, c...
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Colorado ICE Detention Capacity Set to Nearly Double Under New Federal Contract
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Colorado Politics, Approved, Local

Colorado ICE Detention Capacity Set to Nearly Double Under New Federal Contract

By: Nico Brambila | Colorado Politics The federal government has signed a five-year contract with private prison company GEO Group that will effectively double Colorado’s immigration detention capacity to about 2,700 beds. Signed July 9, the contract comes a year after the Trump administration told Colorado’s congressional delegation it planned to reopen the shuttered Hudson Correctional Facility as an immigration detention center. The deal is worth up to $528.6 million, federal contracting records show. Located about 30 miles northeast of Denver in Weld County, the Hudson Correctional Facility is a medium-security prison that closed a decade ago. The prison is operated by the GEO Group, while the Highlands REIT Inc. — a real estate investment firm — owns it....
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Democratic Socialists Target Colorado Springs With Growing Activism And Local Campaigns
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Colorado Politics, Approved, Local

Democratic Socialists Target Colorado Springs With Growing Activism And Local Campaigns

By: Debbie Kelley | Colorado Politics If further proof is needed that the political arena in Colorado Springs isn’t like matchups in Denver, the Democratic Socialists of America is a case in point, say some people involved with the local chapter of the nationwide organization. It’s admittedly been difficult for the Colorado Springs branch of the DSA to organize in the conservative-leaning El Paso County in the successful way that deep-blue Denver has, according to Chauncy Johnson, a democratic socialist who has lost two recent bids for public office. Despite turbulence, local leaders say the chapter is growing and marching toward reaching its goals. As an intermittent card-carrying DSA member for three years, Johnson said he received assistance from the all-volu...
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Federal Appeals Court Rejects Anonymous Lawsuit Against Colorado Judicial Branch
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Federal Appeals Court Rejects Anonymous Lawsuit Against Colorado Judicial Branch

By: Michael Karlik | Colorado Politics The Denver-based federal appeals court concluded last month that a former attorney cannot mask her identity while suing the Colorado Judicial Department for alleged improprieties in her disability and disbarment proceedings. “Jane Roe,” representing herself, sued the Judicial Department and attorney regulators in 2024. She accused the defendants of discrimination, defamation, and violations of her constitutional rights in the proceedings that culminated in her disbarment. Because Roe did not have an attorney, Colorado’s federal trial court routed her complaint through its screening process for self-represented litigants. U.S. Magistrate Judge Richard T. Gurley advised Roe that there need to be “exceptional” circumstances for plain...
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Victor Marx Holds Narrow Lead as Colorado GOP Governor Race Nears Finish
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Victor Marx Holds Narrow Lead as Colorado GOP Governor Race Nears Finish

By Ernest Luning | Colorado Politics Republican Victor Marx held on to a narrow lead Monday over state Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer as county clerks continued to count ballots in Colorado’s gubernatorial primary. Following an update posted at 3:30 p.m. by the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office, Marx had 206,477 votes to Kirkmeyer’s 204,527, for a lead of 1,950, or about 0.38% of the 518,490 votes tallied so far. State Rep. Scott Bottoms trailed in the three-way race with 107,486 votes. At present, the difference between Marx’s and Kirkmeyer’s totals is short of the number that would trigger a mandatory recount under Colorado law. Although Kirkmeyer jumped out to an early lead on primary election night last Tuesday, Marx overtook her the following afternoon and has sinc...
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Cherry Creek School District Withholds Itemized Legal Invoices After $65K Investigation
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Colorado Politics, Approved, Local

Cherry Creek School District Withholds Itemized Legal Invoices After $65K Investigation

By: Nico Brambila | Colorado Politics After previously refusing to disclose the cost associated with the investigation into the former superintendent and his wife, the former human resources chief, Cherry Creek School District officials partially released records showing the cost to taxpayers: $65,054.85. The Denver Gazette obtained “invoice cover sheets” through a June 12 Colorado Open Records Act request seeking — among other things — invoices, billing records or payment records related to the investigation. Caitlin Holzfaster, the district’s records custodian,denied a similar request on May 15, claiming that descriptions could reveal attorney-client privileged information, legal advice or litigation strategy. Abbe Smith, a district spokesperson...
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Boebert Advances to November Showdown Against Laubacher in Colorado’s 4th District
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Boebert Advances to November Showdown Against Laubacher in Colorado’s 4th District

By: Lauren Green | Colorado Politics Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) learned her Democratic opponent on Tuesday after both candidates advanced unopposed. Boebert is set for a matchup with Democrat Eileen Laubacher. Boebert originally representedColorado‘s 3rd Congressional District before she mounted a run in the 4th District after winning by just a few hundred votes in 2022. Boebert now sits in a seat rated “Solid Republican” by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. Boebert will face Laubacher, a retired Navy rear admiral and Colorado native, in November. The at times controversial Republican is a boon for Democratic fundraising. Her Democratic opponent raised nearly $7 million in 2022 and more than $17 million in 2024, which would have been ...
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Colorado Primary Sends Shockwaves Through State and National Politics
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Primary Sends Shockwaves Through State and National Politics

By: Ernest Luning | Colorado Politics Voters in Colorado’s Democratic primary on Tuesday night mostly let their elected officials know that they’re fed up with the party’s Washington politicians and ready to back the most aggressive fighters they can find. At the same time, the voters who cast ballots in the Republican primary mostly embraced the GOP’s establishment, throwing the beleaguered party a potential lifeline in a state that hasn’t rewarded the party’s candidates with statewide wins in the last decade. It was a mixed bag for the two camps, as early frontrunners fell or struggled to keep it close in one of the most wide-open primaries the state has seen in years, with some standout exceptions keeping the night from delivering a simple message. Democratic...
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Energy Secretary Chris Wright Pushes Expanding Energy Supply To Lower Costs In Colorado
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Colorado Politics, Approved, National

Energy Secretary Chris Wright Pushes Expanding Energy Supply To Lower Costs In Colorado

By: Mark Samuelson | Colorado Politics As a heatwave in the U.S. and Europe punctuated widespread calls for recommitments to solar and other “renewable” sources, U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright doubled down on America’s current policy, telling a Thornton crowd on Monday that energy goals would be fixed on increasing the nation’s capacity — no matter what the source. “I went to college to work on fusion energy. I worked on solar energy in graduate school, and geothermal energy right after,” Wright told the Colorado audience. “I don’t care where the energy comes from,” Wright said. “The lights are kept on by gas, coal and nuclear. We have got to grow the capacity, and we are majorly focused on that.” Wright’s visit to Colorado coincides with new calls for le...
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