Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: Jared Polis

Colorado Copper Theft Disrupts Transit And Emergency Communications
The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Colorado Copper Theft Disrupts Transit And Emergency Communications

By Scott Weiser | The Denver Gazette At the state Capitol, legislators have responded by passing a bill aimed at cracking down down on the sale of stolen metals used in critical infrastructure. While signing the legislation, Gov. Jared Polis said it would deter individuals from selling stolen metal. “Theft of any kind is unacceptable and this new law will help protect Colorado’s infrastructure. This will help keep our trains running, homes heated, and buildings safe. By signing this bill into law today, Colorado is cracking down on crime to prevent copper wire theft, and keep our communities safe,” Polis said in a statement. But others have expressed worries about people who legally collect scrap materials and who rely on the immediate cash from selling it to bu...
Colorado’s New Gun Licensing Scheme Faces Growing Legal Pushback
Complete Colorado, Approved, State

Colorado’s New Gun Licensing Scheme Faces Growing Legal Pushback

By Savana Kascak | Complete Colorado DENVER– In the run-up to Colorado’s  semi-automatic gun licensing scheme, going into effect on August 1, the Colorado Department of Revenue released guidelines which includes approximately 900 firearm makes and models that will be heavily regulated by the looming new law, many of which have gun-rights advocates calling foul.    As previously reported by Complete Colorado, the Democrat-backed Senate Bill 003, passed during the 2025 legislative session, heaps a long list a list of new burdens on potential gun buyers prior to purchasing a semiautomatic firearm.  Among other things, the law requires Coloradans complete a 12 hour, in person, firearms course through their local sheriff’s office, after a backg...
Trump Administration Releases Key Funds For Colorado River Water Project
Approved, State, The Denver Gazette

Trump Administration Releases Key Funds For Colorado River Water Project

By Marianne Goodland | The Denver Gazette The Trump administration on Friday released $40 million, clearing the way for a water district and its partners to finish funding the purchase of some of the state’s most senior Colorado River water rights, Gov. Jared Polis announced. Federal funding for the Shoshone water rights owned by Public Service Company, a division of Xcel Energy, was approved by the Biden administration in 2024 through the Inflation Reduction Act. An executive order issued shortly after President Donald Trump took office in January 2025 put that funding on hold. With the $40 million in federal funding on its way, the project’s funding now stands at $97 million, close enough to its $99 million total cost that the Colorado River Conservation District can move int...
Tina Peters Thanks Polis Accuses Democrats Of Silencing Dissent
Approved, DENVER7, State

Tina Peters Thanks Polis Accuses Democrats Of Silencing Dissent

By Óscar Contreras | Denver7 Denver7 continues to follow developments since the disgraced former Mesa County Clerk and 2020 election denier was granted clemency by the governor last week. DENVER — Former Mesa County Clerk and 2020 election denier Tina Peters spoke out for the first time since her commutation last week, accusing Colorado Democrats of an election cover-up while defending Gov. Jared Polis for reducing her nine-year prison sentence. In a post on X, Peters accused state Democrats of putting “a bullseye on a 70-year-old, nonviolent, first-time offender” and said Democrats were attacking Gov. Polis for showing mercy. “Doesn’t that make you wonder why? It should be obvious to Democrats and Republicans alike that they have something to hide,” Peters wrote. “It is so obv...
Colorado Democrats Punish Polis Over Decision In Tina Peters Case
Approved, DENVER7, State

Colorado Democrats Punish Polis Over Decision In Tina Peters Case

By Kaylee Harter | Denver7 The 90% vote bars Polis from participating as an honored guest, featured speaker or official rep of the Colorado Democratic Party at events. The Colorado Democratic Party State Central Committee voted overwThelmingly to censure Gov. Jared Polis on Wednesday, formally rebuking him for commuting the sentence of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters. The censure bars the governor from participating as an honored guest, featured speaker or official representative of the Colorado Democratic Party at party-sponsored events, including the Obama Gala and DemFest. The motion, read by DNC member Stephanie Beal, said the committee found that Polis' decision to grant clemency to Peters "materially harmed the Colorado Democratic Party's institutional credibility and ef...
Polis Pushes Back As Employers Cite Rising Challenges In Colorado Economy
Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Polis Pushes Back As Employers Cite Rising Challenges In Colorado Economy

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics How does Colorado get back to the climate in the early 2000s, when there was collaboration between state government, companies and colleges and universities? That was the question posed to Gov. Jared Polis and a panel convened Tuesday by the Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce as part of its annual state of the state luncheon that follows the end of the legislative session. Mowa Haile, the CEO of Sky Blue Builders who chairs the chamber board, noted that, in the last year, the state has gained more than $2 billion in capital investment, along with 1,000 jobs. Colorado is still an amazing state, he said. “But we see cracks,” Haile said. Several issues today make Colorado less competitive for businesses, he said,...
Vance Backs Compensation For Tina Peters As Colorado Fallout Grows
DENVER7, Approved, National

Vance Backs Compensation For Tina Peters As Colorado Fallout Grows

By Jessica Porter | Denver7 The Vice President made the comments when asked about a new $1.8 billion fund for political allies. DENVER — Vice President JD Vance held Tina Peters up as a shining example of someone who should be compensated under the Trump administration's newly created $1.8 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund.” “This innocent grandmother was going to spend 10 years in prison, completely disproportionate to any misdemeanor trespassing that I have ever seen. Was that fair, no? Is it reasonable to get some compensation for the fact that she was treated unfairly? I think the answer was yes,” Vance said during a press conference on Tuesday. Tina Peters was convicted in 2024 of allowing an unauthorized person to download software from Mesa County’s elec...
Polis Predicts History Will Favor His Decision In Tina Peters Case
The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Polis Predicts History Will Favor His Decision In Tina Peters Case

By Brian Eason and Jesse Paul | The Colorado Sun Gov. Jared Polis made the remarks at The Colorado Sun’s annual legislative recap event at the University of Denver, only to be drowned out by a small group of protesters. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Tuesday said he doesn’t regret his decision to commute the prison sentence of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, despite widespread condemnation from Democrats and some Republicans, who said it will embolden election conspiracy theorists ahead of the 2026 midterms. “I think this will be remembered fondly,” Polis said at The Colorado Sun’s annual legislative recap event at the University of Denver. “The nation needs to have a reconciliation and healing. “People know I’m a man of action,” he added. “I’m a bold pers...
Polis explained both commutations in writing. One drew a party revolt.
Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Polis explained both commutations in writing. One drew a party revolt.

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Democrats organized a censure push over Tina Peters. No comparable campaign emerged over the commutation of Brandin Kreuzer. On the same day Gov. Jared Polis commuted Tina Peters' sentence, he granted clemency to a man convicted of shooting a Douglas County sheriff's deputy during a 2008 crime spree. Peters drew a formal complaint signed by hundreds of Democrats, an impeachment call and a sitting U.S. senator's rebuke. The other commutation drew none of that. No party complaint. No impeachment call. No signature drive. Polis put both of his reasons in writing. Two letters, one day Brandin Kreuzer was charged with attempted first-degree murder of a peace officer and convicted of first-degree assault, along with second-degree kidnappi...
Nearly 500 Democrats move to censure Polis. His own party meets Wednesday to decide what to do.
State, Rocky Mountain Voice, Top Stories

Nearly 500 Democrats move to censure Polis. His own party meets Wednesday to decide what to do.

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice The Colorado Democratic Party's central committee meets Wednesday to decide what to do about its own governor. In front of it is a formal complaint, signed by hundreds of Democrats and growing by the hour, asking the party to censure Gov. Jared Polis for commuting Tina Peters' sentence. The signers are not asking a court to undo the commutation. They are not asking the legislature to reverse it. They cannot.  Colorado's constitution gives the governor sole clemency authority, and neither the courts nor the legislature nor the party can take back what Polis already signed. What the signers want is for the party to declare that one of its own governors acted against its interests, to bar him from its marquee events and to say publicly ...