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Three GOP candidates take aim at Colorado’s open primary law—and bring the math
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Three GOP candidates take aim at Colorado’s open primary law—and bring the math

By Candice Strutzreim | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Republican candidates Ron Hanks (CD-3), David Willson (attorney general) and Scott Bottoms (governor) have filed a lawsuit to challenge the constitutionality of CRS 1-7-201. Also known as the Open Primary statute, the law was created through Proposition 108 in 2016. The hearing will be held in Denver District Court this Thursday at 1:30 pm, one day before primary ballots are scheduled to be sent to overseas and military voters for the June 30 election. How is this lawsuit any different than all the other challenges to “Prop 108” that have been previously brought before the courts? Counsel for the plaintiffs, Gary D. Fielder, intends to prove that Governor Jared Polis and Secretary of State Jena Griswold are promulg...
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“Regardless of party”: Colorado’s teacher unions say one thing. A decade of records shows another.
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“Regardless of party”: Colorado’s teacher unions say one thing. A decade of records shows another.

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado teachers are Republicans. They are Democrats. They are unaffiliated. They work in every county in the state, in every kind of classroom, for every kind of family. Their union says its political spending reflects that same range. The money says something else. RMV examined contributions from 13 Colorado teachers union entities across 22 data files between 2016 and 2026. Every identifiable contribution to a school board or state legislative candidate went to a Democrat. Not most. Not nearly all. Every one. Zero went to a Republican. The Colorado Education Association Victory Fund — the independent expenditure committee for the state’s largest teachers union — filed its political mission with the Colorado Secr...
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“Your Transaction Cannot Be Completed At This Time.”
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“Your Transaction Cannot Be Completed At This Time.”

By Maria Orms | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice That’s what my banking portal told me when I tried to send $1,500 through Zelle for a personal transaction. I was below my daily limit. Everything was correct. And yet, my money was blocked. When I called customer service, the interrogation began. The agent asked who I was sending the money to. I said I did not have to disclose that. He insisted Zelle was blocking the payment and could not lift the block unless I answered. After repeated prodding, I reluctantly said it was a personal friend. Next came the question of the purpose of the transaction. Again, I refused. He cited fraud prevention. I confirmed the payment was legitimate, but the questioning continued: “Is this for a loan, an investment, a product, or what?” I fi...
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DataRepublican never spoke in a meeting. A million people are listening now.
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DataRepublican never spoke in a meeting. A million people are listening now.

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Jennica Pounds was in the corner, as usual. It was a meeting at Snap, and the way it worked was simple: her communication partner, Brent Mills, typed notes to her on a laptop. She typed back. Mills translated her shorthand for the room. Most meetings, nobody looked at her screen. That was fine. It had worked for years. Then Evan Spiegel stopped mid-sentence. “Wait,” the CEO said. “I want to know what Jennica is saying.” Forty years. That was the first time anyone in a meeting had done that. Jennica Pounds—known online as DataRepublican, small r—is deaf and nonspeaking. She spent more than fifteen years inside some of the biggest technology companies in the world: Amazon, eBay, Snap, Upstart, where she was a senior distinguished m...
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Ninety-six minutes later—Barrett denies Tina Peters’ renewed motion to disqualify him
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Ninety-six minutes later—Barrett denies Tina Peters’ renewed motion to disqualify him

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Defense attorney John Case filed the motion at 3:17 p.m. Monday. Judge Matthew Barrett denied it at 4:53 p.m. Ninety-six minutes later, Tina Peters’ latest effort to remove the judge overseeing her case was over. The motion cited three major court decisions and included a new sworn affidavit from Rev. Robert Babcox, chief chaplain for the Colorado State Patrol in Grand Junction. Barrett’s denial spanned four paragraphs. The filing argued Barrett was not free to dismiss or reframe sworn affidavits supporting disqualification if Colorado law required the court to presume those statements were true. 2026-0511 DENIED_Defendants Motion for Reconsideration of Order Denying Motion to Disqualify Judge Matthew BarrettDownload Judge Ma...
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Colorado’s Fair Map Fight: What’s Happening and Why It Matters
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Colorado’s Fair Map Fight: What’s Happening and Why It Matters

By Robyn Carnes | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice A nonpartisan overview of the competing redistricting initiatives on Colorado’s 2026 ballot — and what’s at stake for every voter. A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR As a former elected official and candidate, I’ve experienced Colorado’s election system from the inside. I’ve seen how much trust in that system matters — not just for candidates, but for the communities we serve. I’m doing this because I believe in fair process, strong institutions, and trust in elections. This isn’t about parties — it’s about process. The Big Picture In 2018, 71% of Coloradans voted to take map-drawing power away from politicians and give it to an independent constitutional commission. It worked. In 2021, the commission drew a balanced map ...
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A Rodney King-era civil rights law drives the federal lawsuit over Colorado’s magazine ban
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A Rodney King-era civil rights law drives the federal lawsuit over Colorado’s magazine ban

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado's magazine ban has been challenged before. The surprise this time is not the Second Amendment argument. It is the DOJ’s decision to use a federal civil-rights law traditionally aimed at police misconduct investigations to make it. On May 5, federal attorneys filed against Denver over its assault-weapons ban. The next morning, they were back in court with another complaint—this one against the state, over the 15-round magazine limit. The law driving both lawsuits came out of the aftermath of Rodney King. Congress passed §12601 in 1994 after Los Angeles erupted in riots, giving the federal government authority to intervene when police departments repeatedly violated constitutional rights. DOJ has used the law fewer than 100 times in t...
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When the people vote, the majority should not pre-load a workaround
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When the people vote, the majority should not pre-load a workaround

By C. J. Garbo | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado is supposed to be a representative government, not a manager class that “handles” voters the way an accountant handles a problem line item. Yet that is exactly what HB26-1430 represents: a legislature preparing a conditional “counterpunch” that activates only if voters approve Initiative 175 this November. Reasonable people can disagree about Initiative 175. That is not the point. The point is this: the majority is building an escape hatch before the people have even spoken. That posture is a warning sign in any republic, because it reveals what leadership thinks about consent. What HB26-1430 is, in plain English Initiative 175 would amend the Colorado Constitution to redirect certain transportation-rela...
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Manny Rutinel wants to represent Colorado’s oil country. His law is bearing down on its only refinery.
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Manny Rutinel wants to represent Colorado’s oil country. His law is bearing down on its only refinery.

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice State Rep. Manny Rutinel is asking voters in the heart of Colorado’s oil country to send him to Congress. Seven weeks from now, a law Rutinel helped write could reshape how Colorado’s only petroleum refinery operates. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment published a refinery assessment on May 1 after HB24-1338—the 2024 bill Rutinel co-sponsored—required the state to conduct it. The state hired Eastern Research Group to do the work. ERG compared Suncor's Commerce City refinery—in Rutinel's own state House district—against standards in California, Texas and Indiana and found multiple areas where Colorado's current permits fall short. A public meeting on the assessment is May 13. If CDPHE acts on the findings, a new refine...
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As EEOC complaints climb, former federal official teaches Colorado workers their rights
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As EEOC complaints climb, former federal official teaches Colorado workers their rights

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice A congressional candidate is teaching workplace discrimination law to the public as Congress faces new harassment scrutiny and the EEOC operates with its smallest workforce in nearly half a century. Patty McMahon spent her career at the EEOC's Denver Field Office—training community groups, unions, businesses and educators on federal anti-discrimination law, serving as the office's congressional liaison and public affairs officer, and holding special certification to deliver the agency's "Respect in the Workplace" training. Now she's taking that knowledge to library meeting rooms—four free workshops this month and next, open to anyone who shows up. The sessions are called "Know Your Federal Employment Rights." Each one covers what the law ...
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