Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: Public Accountability

Who is Rob Andrews? Questions grow around leadership, accountability and public trust
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, Local, Top Stories

Who is Rob Andrews? Questions grow around leadership, accountability and public trust

By Michael Hancock | Commentary, Undercurrent Substack Every election season, voters are introduced to a carefully curated version of the candidates seeking their trust. Titles are polished. Résumés are condensed. Claims are simplified into slogans. And too often, no one pauses to ask whether the story being told actually matches the public record. Think George Santos, the former New York Republican who was expelled from Congress for fabricating his background and misusing funds. Rob Andrews’ campaign narrative is a case in point. At a recent town hall, Andrews positioned himself as a metrics-driven CEO—a leader who builds organizations, measures outcomes, and delivers results. He emphasized his experience creating “several successful businesses,” presenti...
Superintendent Exit Follows Reports of Toxic Culture in Cherry Creek Schools
DENVER7, Approved, Local

Superintendent Exit Follows Reports of Toxic Culture in Cherry Creek Schools

By: Tony Kovaleski, Joe Vaccarelli | Denver7 Chris Smith told principals and staff that he will retire. His last day is Friday. GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo. — Cherry Creek Schools Superintendent Chris Smith announced he would resign and retire on Wednesday, effective Jan. 30. A press release from the district states that Smith submitted a letter of resignation to the district’s board of directors, which was accepted during a meeting in executive session on Tuesday. Multiple sources tell Denver7 Investigates that Smith informed a group of principals and staff on a group call at around 1 p.m. Wednesday. An email to parents went out shortly thereafter. In the letter, Smith writes, “After thoughtful reflection and extensive conversations with my family and coll...
NGOs And The Rise Of An Unelected Shadow Government
Defender of the Republic., Approved, Commentary, National

NGOs And The Rise Of An Unelected Shadow Government

By: Defender of the Republic | Defender of the Republic How Nonprofits Can Exacerbate Fraud, Launder Public Money and How Citizens Can Stop It. For years, Americans have been told that NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) are benevolent, independent charities doing work the government “can’t.” The truth is more complicated and more dangerous. Many NGOs today function as unelected extensions of government power, funded by taxpayer money, shielded from transparency, and largely immune from voter accountability. When abused, this structure can exacerbate fraud, enable money laundering, and distort public policy all while appearing charitable on paper. Now before you start questioning my reporting…isn’t about attacking char...
There is No Such Thing as “Non-Partisan” 
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

There is No Such Thing as “Non-Partisan” 

By Michael J Badagliacco, “MJB” | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice I recently stumbled across yet another sanctimonious article whining that school boards, city councils, and other local bodies are supposed to be “non-partisan.” The author practically clutched their pearls at the thought of politics creeping into these sacred spaces. Absolute BUNK! There is no such thing as “non-partisan,” never has been, and pretending otherwise is intellectual dishonesty wrapped in a bow of naive wishful thinking. The “Non-Partisan” Myth Is a Dangerous Delusion This whole non-partisan charade is sold as some noble experiment: take the big, bad party labels off the ballot and, poof, suddenly everyone becomes a pure-hearted servant of the public good, free from ideology, bias, or...
If 2025 Had a Playlist, These Songs Would Be on It
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, National, Top Stories

If 2025 Had a Playlist, These Songs Would Be on It

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice This was a year that kept interrupting whatever you thought you were doing. It arrived unevenly. Some moments swallowed entire news cycles. Others barely registered at first, only making sense months later, once the consequences showed up.  Most of the arguments about 2025 focused on motives or ideology. The consequences were easier to feel than to argue about.  Music, oddly enough, ended up capturing that better than summaries or charts. Not as nostalgia or a clever hook, but as a record. If this year had a playlist, the following songs would be included. We Didn’t Start the Fire — Billy Joel Inflation wasn’t theoretical in 2025. After years of high accumulation, it continued to...
Colorado’s quiet transformation leaves working communities behind
Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado’s quiet transformation leaves working communities behind

By Scott James | Commentary, Scott K. James I am sounding the alarm on the quiet erosion of Colorado’s values, warning of a top-down agenda that’s silencing everyday citizens. Not the Colorado of glossy tourism ads and climate conferences. The real Colorado. The one where: Kids worked ranches and feedlots, not “sustainability internships.” You and I went to Northeastern Junior College, Aims, CSU, UNC, CU – not Cornell, Yale, or Harvard – and that was good, solid, honest. We measured a person by whether they showed up and worked, not by what panel they spoke on. A neighbor expanding his cow–calf operation was a reason to crack a beer, not a reason to clutch pearls about “emissions.” Colorado used to be: Free. Pragmatic. Op...
Trump said release the Epstein files—now Congress agrees
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, National, Top Stories

Trump said release the Epstein files—now Congress agrees

By RMV Editorial Board Congress finally did what Washington avoided for years. The House went 423 to 1 and the Senate—unanimously. Washington doesn’t move like that unless people feel something shifting under their feet. Whatever held this shut is starting to give way. For years Democratic leaders and their media allies pushed the idea that Jeffrey Epstein was a Trump problem. If Epstein’s name came up, Trump’s name came next. It was a neat little narrative that kept uncomfortable questions away from Democrats.  Then Congress began releasing documents, and the story stopped cooperating. The clearest political fingerprints on the Epstein files now belong to Democrats, not Trump. The evidence shows Epstein’s network cultivating political allies, guiding congressional questio...
White House Unveils Website Exposing Criminal Illegal Aliens on Medicaid
Breitbart, Approved, National

White House Unveils Website Exposing Criminal Illegal Aliens on Medicaid

By: Nick Robertson | Breitbart The White House will launch a website on Monday night exposing criminal illegal aliens, including murderers, rapists, and burglars, who have received taxpayer-funded Medicaid benefits, Breitbart News has learned. The website features mugshots and photos of dozens of illegal aliens convicted of brutal crimes, undercutting Democrat claims that illegal aliens have not received healthcare benefits. The top of the page chronicles the Trump administration’s efforts to crack down on illegal aliens convicted of crimes who have received Medicaid benefits, as well as Democrats’ efforts to restore Medicaid benefits to illegal aliens and noncitizens: The Trump administration has intensified enforcement against criminal illegal aliens receivin...
Critics Say City Resources Misused in Denver’s $1 Billion Bond Campaign
Colorado Politics, Approved, Local

Critics Say City Resources Misused in Denver’s $1 Billion Bond Campaign

By Deborah Smith | Colorado Politics A group that is seeking to push back on government debt argued that big dollars are rolling in from funders supporting Mayor Mike Johnston’s $1 billion debt package and alleged some of those contributions may be legally prohibited. The group said the contributors included entities that receive taxpayer funding, questioning whether public money is going to the campaign that seeks to persuade voters to support the borrowing package. Denver Mayor Mike Johnston is asking residents to let the city take on nearly $1 billion in new debt as part of his “Vibrant Denver” bond initiative on the Nov. 4 ballot. City officials have framed the bond as a “much-needed” investment in the city’s future, aimed at repairing and improving infrastructure and commu...
Ethics board clears DIA execs’ $100K Madrid trip—but blasts ‘appalling’ public spending
CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

Ethics board clears DIA execs’ $100K Madrid trip—but blasts ‘appalling’ public spending

By Brian Maass | CBS Colorado Denver's Board of Ethics on Friday cleared Denver International Airport and its Chief Executive Officer, Phil Washington, of an ethics violation related to a trip to a conference in Madrid earlier this year. That trip was the subject of a CBS Colorado Investigation, but the board said it was "appalled by both the amount of funds that were expended for this conference and by Mr. Washington's seemingly cavalier attitude in responding to this complaint." Washington and eight of his top executives flew in April to the three-day airport conference in Madrid, with all of the executives flying either first class or business class for every leg of the trip, both to and from Madrid. CBS Colorado found that one of the tickets was over $19,000, and another cost nea...

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