Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: state politics

Inside the 2025 Colorado elections: What voters rewarded, rejected—and why it matters
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Inside the 2025 Colorado elections: What voters rewarded, rejected—and why it matters

By Rocky Mountain Voice Editorial Board An analysis of what Colorado’s 2025 elections reveal about power, performance—and the path forward Colorado voters made their message plain this year, though not all spoke with one voice. In city halls and school races they favored those who stayed engaged, turned away those who coasted and reminded every leader that trust has an expiration date. Aurora: Jurinsky’s crime fight meets a political storm Aurora voters ended two decades of center-right control, electing progressives to every open seat and turning a 7–3 conservative majority into a 6–4 Democratic edge. In the at-large race, Rob Andrews and Alli Jackson won with 29,659 and 29,177 votes, while Danielle Jurinsky—a high-profile incumbent—finished third with 25,246. As ch...
Colorado Sues USDA for Ending Food Assistance to Needy Families
DENVER7, Approved, State

Colorado Sues USDA for Ending Food Assistance to Needy Families

By: Robert Garrison | Denver7 DENVER — Colorado joined 22 other states in filing a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Secretary Brooke Rollins for suspending during the government shutdown the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser made the announcement in a Tuesday press release. The lawsuit argues the USDA acted illegally by halting food assistance despite having access to contingency funds. On Friday, the Trump administration announced it would not use the more than $5 billion in emergency funding the USDA maintains to cover the program, arguing the funds are “not available to support FY 2026 regular benefits, because the appropriation for regular benefits no longer exists.” In an interview with S...
Former Colorado Libertarian Chair Crosses Over to Democratic Party
Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Former Colorado Libertarian Chair Crosses Over to Democratic Party

By Ernest Luning | Colorado Politics Less than a week after ending her second term as chair of the Colorado Libertarian Party, Hannah Goodman changed her voter registration to become a Democrat, the Holyoke resident announced on Monday. Goodman, whose tenure chairing the state’s largest minor political party featured an agreement with Colorado Republicans to help GOP candidates win close races, told Colorado Politics that she decided to join the Democratic Party in an effort to restore balance to state politics by pushing Democrats to embrace what she called the party’s historic principles. She’s also returning to her political roots, Goodman said in an interview after changing her affiliation on Friday afternoon. Describing herself as the kind of “Truman Democrat” re...
Abortion Without Limits: Colorado Clinic Offers Procedures ‘for Any Reason’ to 34 Weeks
Breitbart, Approved, Local

Abortion Without Limits: Colorado Clinic Offers Procedures ‘for Any Reason’ to 34 Weeks

By Katherine Hamilton | Breitbart News A new clinic opened in Boulder, Colorado, that offers to abort babies up to 34 weeks of pregnancy for “any reason,” which is ten weeks after most babies can survive outside the womb and roughly six weeks before a baby is considered full-term. The clinic, called RISE Collective, opened in response to the shuttering of the Boulder Abortion Clinic in April, the Daily Mail reported. That facility was operated by 87-year-old abortionist Dr. Warren Hern and was infamous for being one of only a handful of clinics in the United States that performed abortions in the third trimester of pregnancy. Alicia Moreno, the executive director of the RISE Collective, worked at the Boulder Abortion Clinic under Hern. “When the clinic closed we all said we don...
Colorado Supreme Court Expands Who Can Sue Over Secret Government Meetings
Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Supreme Court Expands Who Can Sue Over Secret Government Meetings

By Michael Karlik | Colorado Politics The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that organizations are entitled to the same recovery of their costs as individuals when they successfully pursue a public entity’s violation of the state’s open meetings law. The Colorado Open Meetings Law permits “any person” to challenge a violation of the law. At the same time, it grants “the citizen” who proves a violation the right to relief and to recover the cost of litigation for holding the government accountable. The question for the Supreme Court was whether an organization, such as a newspaper, is a citizen entitled to the benefits of the law. By 6-1, the court answered yes. “It would be absurd to allow corporations — who are recognized as persons in one part of the statutory scheme an...
Lawmakers Face Public Backlash After Violent Suspect Freed Under New Incompetency Law
Colorado Politics, Approved, Local

Lawmakers Face Public Backlash After Violent Suspect Freed Under New Incompetency Law

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics A high-profile case out of Weld County involving an attempted murder has renewed debate about the state’s competency laws and public safety. The case arose from an incident last spring, in which a group of men led by 21-year-old Debisa Ephraim allegedly attacked a man and his friends in downtown Greeley. After Ephraim was found incompetent to stand trial, his charges, which included attempted murder, were dropped, and he was released from the Weld County Jail earlier this month. The office of Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams posted a video of the Greeley attack on X, saying Ephraim had been released under a 2024 law that, he said, required individuals declared incompetent and unlikely to be restored to be released from jail. “The state le...
Colorado Faces Deep Cuts to Federal Clean-Energy Funds
kdvr.com, Approved, State

Colorado Faces Deep Cuts to Federal Clean-Energy Funds

By Gabrielle Franklin | KDVR Fox31 DENVER (KDVR) — Day two of the federal shutdown is winding down. While members of Congress are not set to vote on another proposal until Friday, President Donald Trump and his budget director are working on a plan to cut federal funding and jobs in blue states. Colorado is set to see cuts. The president’s budget director warned that since Wednesday, Colorado may lose some federal funding for clean energy programs. There is now a better idea of exactly what could be cut. Russell Vought is the U.S. Director of the Office of Management and Budget. He also helped write Project 2025. He met with President Trump on Thursday to determine which agencies he should cut. The president said on social media that the two of them would determine if the cu...
Congressman Evans Urges Colorado to Embrace Oil, Gas and Nuclear
Greeley Tribune, Approved, State

Congressman Evans Urges Colorado to Embrace Oil, Gas and Nuclear

By Tyler Duncan | Greeley Tribune Evans promises to fight for the deregulation of the oil and gas industry to promote job growth, national security. U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans and other Colorado Republicans have set their sights on reducing environmental regulations in an effort to increase oil and gas production and revive nuclear power in Weld County. Evans and State Reps. Carlos Barron and Scott Slaugh, who was recently appointed to District 64 after Ryan Armagost resigned, visited Aims Community College on Monday for a workforce roundtable. Evans’ message to the students and faculty who attended was clear: if we don’t improve our energy production, then Colorado will suffer. Evans discussed China and its innovations in artificial intelligence and drone technology. For every 100,0...
Western Slope Officials Push to Delay Shoshone Water Rights Decision
State, Approved, The Colorado Sun

Western Slope Officials Push to Delay Shoshone Water Rights Decision

By: Shannon Mullane | The Colorado Sun The request for a delay comes days before the state planned to decide whether two powerful Colorado River water rights could be used to help the environment. DURANGO — Western Slope water officials are asking for more time to negotiate before the state decides whether influential Colorado River water rights can be used to help the environment. A state water agency, the Colorado Water Conservation Board, is scheduled to make its final ruling Thursday on the future usage of a pair of water rights tied to Shoshone Power Plant, owned by an Xcel Energy subsidiary called Public Service of Colorado. On Tuesday, the Xcel subsidiary and Colorado River District — the Western Slope water entity leading the effort to use the rights to help the environ...