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One Board, One Council, One Legislator at a Time
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

One Board, One Council, One Legislator at a Time

By Michael J Badagliacco, “MJB” | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice While attending the Colorado Republican Assembly in April 2026, I reflected on how Colorado fell to the radical far left. A conversation with a friend came to mind. It described the precise mechanism the left uses to convert our Constitutional Republic into a social democracy, contrary to the vision of the founders. The U.S. was founded as a Constitutional Republic with power rooted in local government, built from the bottom up rather than imposed from the top down. Although we look to the president for national leadership, the true foundation lies in town councils, school boards, and state legislatures.  Article IV, Section 4 of the United States Constitution guarantees to every state in the Union a...
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Colorado murder bill advances: Sentencing cuts collide with voter mandate
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Colorado murder bill advances: Sentencing cuts collide with voter mandate

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado voters approved Proposition 128 in November 2024 with 62 percent support, requiring those convicted of second-degree murder and several other violent felonies to serve at least 85 percent of their sentence before becoming eligible for parole. Seventeen months later, House Bill 26-1281 is headed to the House floor. While much of the debate has focused on how the bill treats completed murders, most of its effect may come from how it changes penalties for attempted cases — incidents far more common in Colorado. The bill would reclassify some first-degree murder convictions as second-degree and also reduces penalties for attempted cases—crimes that occur far more often than completed homicides, including drive-by ...
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The Trust Weapon: Up the Hill Without the Spill
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Devotional, Top Stories

The Trust Weapon: Up the Hill Without the Spill

By Drake Hunter | Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.”~ Proverbs 3:5 ~ Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water. Jack fell down and broke his crown, and Jill came tumbling after. We’ve all heard this simple nursery rhyme—it’s such a charming and memorable little song. It’s one of my favorites, especially because I recently shared it with my grandchild. That special moment truly highlighted for me how this lovely rhyme reflects a kind of leadership—a wonderful kind at that—The Art of War, Jesus Style. In many ways, we’re all on a journey up a hill—whether it’s building a business, serving in a ministry, caring for family, leading a team, or guiding our own lives. This journ...
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When systems fail: A contested Colorado convention raises broader questions about your digital life
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

When systems fail: A contested Colorado convention raises broader questions about your digital life

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice A hospital cancels surgeries. Not because of a storm. Not because of a staffing shortage. Because a cyberattack forced it to. “They had to block Stryker from coming into their network and cancel all of the surgeries that required that robotic device,” said Maria Orms, a cybersecurity professional who was a gubernatorial candidate at the April 11 assembly.  “That could cause someone to die.” This wasn’t just a what-if. In March, there was a cyberattack tied to an Iran-linked hacking group that hit companies in the medical technology space, including Stryker and Intuitive Surgical. What that meant in practice wasn’t always clear in the moment. But hospitals rely on those systems every day—robotic platforms, connected net...
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Cleaning the rolls, cutting the cost: How Las Animas County found a better way
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Cleaning the rolls, cutting the cost: How Las Animas County found a better way

By Bob Cooper, COIFFE Director | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice The Clerk and Election team in Las Animas County also adopted a “best practice” to improve Colorado Elections while reducing costs. We now have our largest Colorado county (El Paso County) and a medium-sized county (Las Animas) using a commercial credit agency to flag registered voters who no longer reside at the address in SCORE. SCORE is the Statewide Colorado Voter Registration and Elections system.        These two counties demonstrate leadership by pursuing real “Gold Standard” election operations.  Every Colorado voter should demand other counties implement this best practice because it significantly reduces costs associated with undeliverable ballots while at the same time reduces the opportuni...
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Colorado GOP says no race changed: Delegates and experts point to broader system failures
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Colorado GOP says no race changed: Delegates and experts point to broader system failures

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice They came to Pueblo to vote. Instead, many spent hours in the cold, waiting. At the April 12 Colorado Republican state assembly, delegates stood in line outside the Massari Event Center early Saturday morning as credentialing stalled. Some leaned on canes. Others searched for places to sit. What was expected to be a long but routine day quickly turned into something else. In the days since the assembly, that experience has taken on new weight. For party officials, the issue has been explained. For many who were there, it raised deeper concerns. Party says results stand In the days following the assembly, questions focused on an 80-ballot discrepancy between the number of votes cast and the official credentialing report. Colora...
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After GOP vote to close primary: Clerks warn timing could complicate June election
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

After GOP vote to close primary: Clerks warn timing could complicate June election

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado Republicans left Pueblo with more than a slate of candidates. They left with a plan to change who votes—and how soon that could happen. At the state assembly, delegates backed a legal push to stop Republican ballots from going out to unaffiliated voters. Republican National Committeeman Randy Corporon and attorney John Eastman are expected to file an injunction in court this week. The primary is set for June 30. At this point, it’s not about whether Republicans want a closed primary. It’s whether it can happen in time. Colorado law currently allows unaffiliated voters to take part in primary elections by choosing a party ballot. Changing that—even through a court order—would have to work inside a system that is already u...
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Weiser’s Record: The Lawsuit Machine and the Scorecard
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Weiser’s Record: The Lawsuit Machine and the Scorecard

By Shaina Cole | Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Marya Washburn is a federal Forest Service firefighter. She was fired by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins last year, right before fire season. At a January forum in Denver, Attorney General Phil Weiser singled her out by name as evidence of what his office has accomplished. "My office got involved in one of the 50 lawsuits we brought against this administration," Weiser told the Colorado Young Democrats forum. "We got our job back." It is also incomplete in ways voters should understand. The lawsuit Weiser was describing is captioned State of Maryland v. USDA. Maryland filed it. Maryland's attorneys drafted the complaint and argued the case. Colorado was one of several states that added its name to the filing. Weiser's o...
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What tax day looks like in Colorado: A business owner, a paycheck—and what changed this year
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

What tax day looks like in Colorado: A business owner, a paycheck—and what changed this year

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice A mother approached a federal official after a recent event with a simple observation. She said her daughter, who is working through nursing school, saved about $8,000 because of the no-tax-on-tips provision. “That’s three to four months of rent,” U.S. Small Business Administration Regional Administrator Justin Everett said, recalling the conversation. As Americans file their taxes, Everett is part of an effort to highlight what the administration is calling “Working Family Tax Cuts,” a set of federal tax changes aimed at reducing the burden on small businesses and workers. According to White House estimates Everett cited, Colorado families could see between $4,500 and $8,100 in tax savings, with take-home pay rising higher in some ...
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