nsrf august 2011 newsletter

8/6/2019 NSRF August 2011 Newsletter

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North Suburban Republican Forum August, 2011

www.NorthSuburbanRepublicanForum.com www.NorthSuburbanRepublicanForum.org

Our next meeting is from 9:45-11:15 am , Saturday, August 13th featuring a discussion about School Board issues. Leading the talk will be Laura Boggs of the JeffersonCounty School Board, Heidi Williams and Mark Clark of the AdamsCounty School Board, and Mike Sheely of the Bennett School Board.Wemeet at our new location, the Anythink Huron Street Library communityroom, 9417 Huron St, Thornton, 80260. If you have a smart phone, use abar code app for the QR code on the left, it will take you to our web site,www.NorthSuburbanRepublicanForum.com

NSRF upcoming calendar in 2011:September 10 Local candidates running for City Council

October 8 -- Republican issues with R Block Party, Hear Us Now, Broomfield 9-12, CLaRO, andColorado Tea Party groups

November 12 -- Redistricting/Reapportionment with Gary Mikes & Brian Vande Krol and local electionresults

December 10 Don Beezley on upcoming legislative issues


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Adams County school districts prep for more students, less fundingEnrollment climbs while schools cut back on budgets, teachers

Posted: 08/03/2011 09 :59:41 AM MDT Au thor: Joey Kirchmer

Several school distr icts in the coun ty are planning to take on a grow ing nu mber of students this year. The climb in enrollme nt comes ata time whe n school systems are slash ing millions of dollars from the ir budgets and eliminating teach ing p ositions. Unless new schools

are built or more teachers are added, off icials say classroom sizes will grow.

Distr ict 27J, wh ich pr imar ily covers the Br ighton area, is ex pecting the biggest increase with about 525 new students for the 2011-1 2 school year. It equates to about a 3.5 perce nt increase over the last year, said Terry Lucero, the distr icts chief o perat ion off icer. Thats actually dow n from prev ious years. In the past decade, enrollme nt in the distr ict has nearly tr ipled, going from 5,810 students in 2000to 15,172 in 2010.

T he growth curve has slowed, but its still signif icant, Lucero said. W ere still grow ing at a very healthy rate. The increase is part icularly being felt in the wester n port ion of the distr ict, Lucero said. Some schools in the area, including W estr idge Eleme ntary, are over ca pacity and are being forced to hold classes out of the school li brary, mod ular units and other s paces. On e of our greatest challe nges is balancing enrollme nt with ca pacity, he said.

Much of the growth is being f ueled by fam ilies who currently live here as o pposed to new res idents who rece ntly moved into the area, he said. In the Adams 14 distr ict, wh ich covers much of Commerce City, off icials are also gra ppling with climb ing student numbers, but for differe nt reaso ns. Enrollme nt in the distr ict went from 6,731 in 2007 to 7,54 9 in 2010, said John A lbr ight, chief comm unications and strate gy off icer for Adams 14.

W ere thro ugh the roof, Albr ight said.The growth in Adams 14 is more attr i butable to newcomers in the area. Distr ict off icials say the rece nt econom ic colla pse has led to increase in nu mbers because Commerce City offers more o ptions for affordable housing . The same trend has been seen in some of the lower income areas of the Adams 12 Five Star School distr ict. Off icials had to readj ust boundary limits to hel p allev iate overcrowd ing at schools such as Federal Heights Eleme ntary School and McElwa in E leme ntary School in unin cor porated Adams County, said Chr is Gdowsk i, super intendent for Adams 12.

Des pite the increas ing nu mbers, most school distr icts are o pting against ask ing voters for hel p in this falls elect ion. Thus far, it a ppears only Distr ict 27J is mulling such an o ption.The distr icts board will vote th is month on a pro posal to ask voters for a 6-mill

pro perty tax increase that would generate about $4.8 million in add itional revenue for the distr ict, said Joan Kni ss, school board pres ident for 27J. If a pproved, the f unds would hel p pay for add itional teachers, among other things, she said.

Joey Kirchmer: 303-954-2650 or k irchmerj@de nver post.com htt p://yourhu b.com /adamsco un ty/adams -county-school -distr icts-pre p-more -students-less /NigI16 cIIsiEoAQ9z sUgNN- story -0

OPINION

AUGUST 5, 2011

Do We Really Need to Spend More on Schools?By PAUL E. PETERSON

Even as the president was signing the debt-limit bill designed to cut spending this week, he insisted on continuing "to

keep making key investments in things like education." Don't be surprised if the president and his allies reiterate this

call for more spending in the nation's schools, which they argue is necessary if our students are to remain competitive.


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At first glance, the public seems to agree with this position. In a survey released this week by Education Next, an

education research journal, my colleagues and I reported that 65% of the public wants to spend more on our schools.

The remaining 35% think spending should either be cut or remain at current levels. That's the kind of polling data that

the president's political advisers undoubtedly rely upon when they decide to appeal for more education spending.

Yet the political reality is more complex than those numbers suggest. When the people we surveyed were told how

much is actually spent in our schools$12,922 per student annually, according to the most recent governmentreportthen only 49% said they want to pony up more dollars. We discovered this by randomly splitting our sample in

half, asking one half the spending question cold turkey, while giving the other half accurate information about current

expenditure.

Later in the same survey, we rephrased the question to bring out the fact that more spending means higher taxes.

Specifically, we asked: "Do you think that taxes to fund public schools around the nation should increase, decrease or

stay about the same?" When asked about spending in this way, which addresses the tax issue frankly, we found that

only 35% support an increase. Sixty-five percent oppose the idea, saying instead that spending should either decrease

or stay about the same. The majority also doesn't want to pay more taxes to support their local schools. Only 28% thinkthat's a good idea.

So there is the nation's debt crisis in a nutshell. If people aren't told that nearly $13,000 is currently being spent per

pupil, or if they aren't reminded that there is no such thing as a free lunch, they can be persuaded to think schools

should be spending still more.

The public is not altogether foolish about such matters. They know that schools are underperforming. When asked

what percentage of ninth graders graduate from high school within four years, they accurately estimate, on average,

that only 72% manage to do so. (That percentage is almost exactly what official government statistics report.) But thepublic is tempted to think that the way to fix the problem is to spend more.

This picture was taken at the Democrats booth during the 2011 Adams County Fair. Do you think they should have used a spell checker for

the word "bumper"? They just don't comprehend that Republicans and the Tea Party are about creating jobs, not bigger government with

more rules, regulations, higher taxes and wealth redistribution. Thanks to Dennis White for taking the picture. So it makes good political

sense for the president to call for more spending but never mention current expenditure levels, or the fact that more

spending implies higher taxes. But ignoring reality also leads to bigger debts.

Mr. Peterson is a professor of government at Harvard University and directs Harvard's Program on Education Policy and Governance. He is also a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution.

htt p://online.wsj.com /art icle /SB10001 424 053111903366 50457 6486120461565768.html?mod=o pinion_newsreel


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This picture was taken at the Democrats booth during the 2011 Adams County Fair. Do you think they shouldhave used a spell checker for the word "bumper"? They just don't comprehend that Republicans and the TeaParty are about creating jobs, not bigger government with more rules, regulations, higher taxes and wealthredistribution. Thanks to Dennis White for taking the picture

Future uncertain if plaintiffs win education-funding Lobato caseBy Tim Hoover The Denver Post POSTED: 08/07/2011 01:00:00 AM MDT

With a broad coalition of parents and school districts suing the state to get more money for K-12 schools, legal expertsand politicians say that despite dire predictions of financial Armageddon for Colorado, there's no easy answer to anobvious question:

What happens if the plaintiffs win?

"It's such uncharted territory," said University of Colorado law-school professor Rich ard Collins, "that it's very hard to get

a handle on it. One can speculate all over the place about answers to the question." In other states where such school-funding "adequacy" suits have prevailed, court decisions have forced greater spending on schools. But those other statesdon't have Colorado's Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, which requires tax increases to be approved by voters.

Collins said it's unlikely courts would rule that a "thorough and uniform" system of education meaning more money for schools would trump TABOR. And TABOR itself says its provisions "supersede conflicting state constitutional, statestatutory, charter, or other state or local provisions." But TABOR also includes this provision: "When annual district


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revenue is less than annual payments on general obligation bonds, pensions, and final court judgments, (the voter approval requirement for tax increases) shall be suspended to provide for the deficiency."

So, would a judgment that Colorado's education system is not "thorough and uniform" be considered a "final court judgment"? What if the court didn't order the state to spend additional money? What if the court ordered the state to spendmore but didn't specify an amount? No one's sure.

If the additional spending had to come out of existing resources, state leaders say, Colorado's already-strapped budget

would be thrown into chaos. The state now spends more than 40 percent, or $3.2 billion in the 2010-11 fiscal year thatended in June, of its almost $7 billion general fund on K-12 schools. The lawsuit seeks no specific sum of money, butplaintiffs have pointed to studies estimating the state is underfunding education by as much as $4 billion.

"If the lawsuit went the wrong way, in our opinion, you could easily go from having somewhere in the vicinity of just northof $3 billion out of the state's general fund (for schools) to essentially all of the state's general fund," said Gov. JohnHickenlooper, a Democrat. "No money for prisons, no money for federal match for health care, no money for higher education." Plaintiffs in the case say such dire pronouncements are just scare tactics. Kathy Gebhardt, one of the leadattorneys in the case, said the most logical solution is for lawmakers to put a referred measure before voters asking for atax increase to fund a constitutionally adequate school system.

"The legislature has never referred a tax measure to voters since TABOR passed that relates to education," Gebhardtsaid. "I think this is a public dialogue that needs to happen. People are starting to realize there's an issue here." Yetlegislative leaders say the chances of that happening aren't exactly high. In the first place, it takes a two-thirds vote ineach chamber for lawmakers to put a measure before voters, a high hurdle. And any tax-increase measure has to start inthe House, which is controlled by Republicans.

"I think the chances of a tax-increase proposal, whether it's required by a lawsuit or not, are slim to none," said SenatePresident Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont. Would House Speaker Frank McNulty, R-Highlands Ranch, support referring atax increase to voters for education? "Not under current circumstances, no," McNulty said. "The real issue with the statebudget now is that welfare programs are going to eat up more and more of the budget, and it's going to become moredifficult to balance welfare programs and education."

And if the state loses in court, and if lawmakers don't refer a measure, then what? "Those are hypothetical questions thelegislature is going to have to grapple with," Gephardt said. Another hypothetical: What if lawmakers did put a taxincrease on the ballot but voters shot it down?

"I can't surmise as to what happens at that point," Gebhardt said. Coloradans in November could address the issue, atleast in part, by voting for a $3 billion, five-year tax-increase proposal that may be placed on the ballot if the patron of theinitiative, Sen. Rollie Heath, D-Boulder, succeeds. "We're going to have a real good idea if Sen. Heath's tax increasemakes the ballot of what Coloradans think about a tax increase for education," McNulty said.

T im Hoover: 303-954-1626 or [email protected]

Read more: Future uncertain if plaintiffs win education-funding Lobato case - The Denver Posthttp://www.denverpost.com/legislature/ci_18632319#ixzz1UTVx1yUG Read The Denver Post's Terms of Use of its content: http://www.denverpost.com/termsofuse


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C ourt hears testimony in case to stop Douglas C ounty's school-voucher programBy Karen Auge The Denver Post POSTED: 08/03/2011 01:00:00 AM MDT

A business owner and father of three told a packed courtroom Tu esday that he joined a laws uit to sto p the Douglas CountySchool Distr ict's voucher program beca use it will harm his daughters' schools." This is tak ing money from pu blic schools and f unding rel igious and pr ivate schools," K evin L eung sa id. "This is going to cost our school distr ict prec ious reso urces that we do not have."

Leung test if ied dur ing the f irst of an ex pected three days of hear ings on a request to tem porar ily sto p the distr ict from im pleme nting the voucher program until a laws uit challe nging i ts legality is resolved. Two laws uits were f iled against the

program, one by the Amer ican Civil Li bert ies Union, Amer icans United for the Se parat ion of

Church and State and other groups, and another by a res idents group called Tax payers for Pu blic Educat ion. The suits have been comb ined.The pilot Choice Scholarsh ip Pro gram, a pproved by the school board in March, should be str uck dow n beca use it violates the state's pu blic- school f inance act, attor ney Michael McCarthy sa id in his o pening stateme nt before Denver Distr ict Judge Michael A. Mart inez.

Further, McCarthy sa id, beca use so many of the schools part icipating in the program are religious in nature, the program "im perm issi bly entangles rel igion" into pu blic- school f inance.The plaintiffs also say the program unfairly excl udes children with s pecial needs.

Ar guing on behalf of the defe ndants, wh ich include the school distr ict and the state, James Lyons sa id the program is "rel igion-neutral" because parents and students, not the school distr ict, dec ide where to s pend the voucher money. Lyons sa id several of those fam ilies will test ify that their childre n have already take n summer -school courses and part icipated ins ports at the pr ivate schools, wh ich they might have to leave if the in junction is granted.

Lyons ar gued that sto pping the program now would harm not only those fam ilies but also other pu blic- pr ivate partnersh ips across the state, such as the Colorado Opportunity Fun d, which prov ides a colle ge stipend to state res idents.

Students can a pp ly that stipend at religious schools, Lyons sa id.As des igned, the pilot program prov ides up to 500students with about $4,575 each to use toward tuition at any of the 21 p r ivate schools that have agreed to part icipate.

State Educat ion Comm issioner R obert Hammo nd test if ied that the counsel the state De partme nt of Educat ion prov ided to the distr ict as it was formulating the voucher program was not unusual, as some voucher o pponents have char ged.Offer ing"tech nical adv ice and support" to school distr icts is part of the de partme nt's role, Hammo nd sa id.

Karen Auge: 303-954-1733 or [email protected]

R ead more: Court hears test imony in case to sto p D oug las County's school -voucher program - The Denver Posthtt p://www.de nver post.com /news /ci_1860 5111#i xzz1UU8U 712E R ead The Denver Post's Terms of Use of its content: htt p://www.de nver post.com /termsof use

S tudent performance mostly flat in 2011 CS AP testingBy Yesenia Robles The Denver Post

Scores released today for the final year of Colorado Student Assessment Program testing showed student performancewas mostly flat.Reading scores declined slightly for all grade levels except for third grade in 2011 testing.Math scoresincreased slightly. Science scores were almost unchanged.


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The greatest improvements were logged in writing, where fourth graders improved by 6 percentage points this year over last.Now, 56 percent of fourth graders are proficient or advanced in writing.In reading this year, 73 percent of third gradersscored at least proficient compared to 70 percent of students last year.By 10th grade, student proficiency levels in readingaverage 65 percent statewide a 1 percentage point decrease from last year.

Fourth graders were the best performing group of math test takers, with 71 percent scoring proficient or better.Next year,instead of the CSAP test, students will take the Transitional Colorado Assessment Program, or the TCAP, during atransition to a new test by 2014 that will align with new state standards.State CSAP scores over the past five years showfluctuating changes, much like the changes this year that have overall shown insignificant growth.

In the last six years, the overall percentage of students scoring proficient or above in third grade reading for instance,have gone up and down, ranging from a low of 71.4 percent in 2005 to a high of 72.8 percent in 2011.Select schooldistricts have had better results making improvements, and outpacing the state.Boulder, Denver, and Cherry Creek PublicSchools all were among the metro districts with the largest growth in multiple areas, according to state growth modelsreleased this year with the test scores. Boulder was the top metro district for growth in middle school reading.

Denver was in the top three of metro districts with the largest growth for middle school math, reading and writing, and highschool reading.Douglas County Public Schools saw their growth slow from previous years, and decreased scores in somecases, but the district still holds average scores higher than statewide averages.

In math scores, Douglas County's largest jump was at the seventh grade level. This year, seventh graders scored 70percent proficient or advanced in math, up from 67 percent last year.Douglas County had the second largest metro-areagrowth in high school writing, just behind Mapleton schools.

In Mapleton Public Schools a 6,000-student district covering 25 square miles of north Denver and parts of Thornton improvements have been more steady for years.Mapleton students increased math and writing scores at nearly everygrade level in 2011, and all tested grades have better scores than they did five years ago.

The greatest gains over that time were for third graders in math, and high schoolers in writing.This year, the third graderswere a 53 percent proficient or advanced in math, up from 41 percent in 2007.In writing, 19 percent of high school

freshman and sophomores were proficient or advanced in 2007. This year, 33 percent of freshmen were proficient; 30percent of sophomores were proficient.

Mapleton's third graders also made big gains in reading, moving from 45 percent of students scoring proficient or abovelast year, to 58 percent this year.Superintendent Charlotte Ciancio credits reforms implemented six years ago."It's reallynot a year in the making, it's six years in the making," Ciancio said. "We're happy to see the scores. They're confirmationthat we are doing the right thing, but we are not surprised."

Y esenia Robles: 303-954-1372 or [email protected]

htt p://www.de nver post.com / break ingnews /ci_18608680

G uest C ommentary: G ambling with our taxes

By Brian Vande Krol POSTED: 08/06/2011 01:00:00 AM MDT

Fired. Can you believe it? Gov. Hickenlooper fired the entire gaming commission board. Their sin? They granted a taxrate reduction for Colorado's casinos. When Coloradans are facing layoffs, wage cuts, increasing energy and grocerycosts; and when the state is short on revenue and struggles to close budget shortfalls, these commissioners granted a tax


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rate reduction to one industry. Hickenlooper, in a fit of populist rage, appointed a new board that he hopes will reverse thetax cut.

The gaming commission is charged to "encourage business growth and investment in the gaming industry and to permitlicensed operations to realize a fair and just profit." Isn't that what the commissioners tried to do? In their judgment, a 5percent tax rate cut would help the gaming industry achieve a "fair and just profit." Keep in mind that statewide gamingrevenue dropped an average of 7 percent during the last three years.

You might ask, "Where's the tax cut for all the other businesses in Colorado? What's fair about that?" That questionassumes the gaming industry starts from a fair position. They don't. The gaming commission sets tax rates for theindustry. Whereas other businesses pay 4.63 percent of their profits, the gaming industry pays a graduated tax on their

Adjusted Gross Proceeds. The tax rate can vary from 0 percent up to 40 percent. Adjusted Gross Proceeds means the taxis based, not on profits, but on revenue less payouts, which is a higher portion of the same income. Casinos can't deductwages, benefits, capital expenditures, interest, depreciation or other normal business expenses.

This is an industry that asked permission to operate in Colorado. Colorado said, "Okay, but you're going to pay dearly for that permission. You will be subject to the whims of an unelected commission. If the Governor doesn't like what thecommission does, you'll be subject to a whole new commission. You really can't guess how to budget for Colorado taxes,but rest assured: You will pay them!"

Compare that to the tax situation for Gaylord Entertainment's proposed project in Aurora. We're not talking quarter slots,this is real money - $300 million in public financing. It's your money and politicians are gambling with it. GaylordEntertainment wants to open a convention center and hotel with 1,500 rooms and 400,000 square feet of conferencespace. Aurora, Denver, and the State of Colorado are offering subsidies worth over 36 percent of the projected cost of theproject. Governor Hickenlooper, where is your rage?

They justify this under the premise that it will bring conferences, people, and money to Colorado. The new activity issupposed to generate new tax revenue. According to their website, Gaylord Hotels "strive to make planning easier for youby providing 'everything in one place.' From guest rooms and meeting space, to recreation and dining, in a self-containedenvironment " Any conventioneers that come to Colorado will not need to visit anyplace other than Gaylord Hotels.

Reality check: what are the chances that the CEO of a large corporation will say, "Let's have a convention, hold it in Aurora, and stay inside?" No offense, but Aurora? Yet that's what will be required for Gaylord to generate new revenue.Here are three possible and obvious ways that your tax dollars will fail to generate the predicted tax revenue:

1. Tax revenue might be diverted from other local hotels, restaurants, and other businesses to Gaylord. Instead of generating new revenue it just relocates it. Businesses that once depended on that revenue could be hurt.

2. Conferences might very likely continue going to convention centers that are in more exciting locations than Aurora.

3. Gaylord appears to be a healthy, profitable corporation. So did Enron. If Gaylord fails, our tax money has been wasted.

If it's a viable, worthwhile project, private investors will invest in it. If it isn't worthy of private investment, why shouldgovernment force us to invest? Let's leave the gambling where it belongs - in Blackhawk, Central City, and Cripple Creek.

B rian Vande Krol lives in Westminster.

Read more: Guest Commentary: Gambling with our taxes - The Denver Posthttp://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_18625363#ixzz1UTTeN8sp Read The Denver Post's Terms of Use of its content: http://www.denverpost.com/termsofuse


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Reapportionment commission accepting public commentby Linda Detro y Alexander

August 04, 2011 | 03:04 PM Colorado residents have a b out a month to comment on proposed changes to legislative House andSenate districts.

The state's Reapportionment Committee approved maps last month for the state's 65 House and 35Senate districts, making adjustments in response to population changes reported through the 2010census. The committee must su bmit a final proposal to the Colorado Supreme Court by Oct. 7.

For Adams Count y residents, the closest meetings are scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesda y , Aug. 24, inthe Wa ymire Center Rendezvous Meeting Room at Adams Count y Regional Park, 9755 HendersonRoad; and 6 p.m. Wednesda y , Aug. 31, in the Old Supreme Court Cham b ers on the second floor of the state Capitol, 200 E. Colfax Ave.

The proposed Senate map for Adams Count y makes significant changes, including adding a newDistrict 35 in a strongl y Democratic area stretching from east of Brighton, down to east Thornton and

across an unincorporated area. The proposed map also pushes Senate District 31 entirel y intoDenver. That would mean Sen. Pat Steadman would no longer represent a portion of Adams Count y .

The proposed House map adds a new district, 22, that would include the residence of incum b entRepu b lican Kevin Priola. It also would extend a significant portion of House District 30, which hashigh populations of Hispanics and African-Americans and leans Democratic, into Arapahoe Count y .

If the map of the new Senate District 35 sta ys as is, count y Democrats will need to recruit acandidate, since ever yone who has applied doesn't live in the area, part y chairman Mart y Wisniewskisaid.

In general, Wisniewski said, Democrats could face a pla y ing field where "things got morecompetitive. That's not a b ad thing." He also noted that the commission "made b asicall y someHispanic districts.""It's a real different map from what it was b efore," said count y GOP chairwomanPatt y McCo y . For one thing, she noted, all of Westminster in Adams Count y would b e in HouseDistrict 35 instead of split three wa ys.

McCo y said she would b e sending some people who are good at working with data to the Aug. 24gathering. "When it comes to data, I delegate, delegate, delegate," she said.The commission'sproposed maps can b e reviewed online at http://www.colorado.gov/reapportionment

Staff writer Scott Gil b ert contri b uted to this report.

http://www.great8newspapers.com/Articles-c-2011-08-04-221152.114125-sub-Reapportionment-commission-accepting-public-comment.html


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The above map shows the proposed Colorado House districts.

The map on the next page shows the proposed Colorado Senate districts.

You can see more detailed images and the data associated with them by going to:http://www.colorado.gov/reapportionment

A big shout out to Art & Ellen Foss for letting the NSRF partner with the Adams County Republicans at their booth during the Adams County Fair. You can see a picture of it on page 19. Additional pictures are locatedon the North Suburban Republican Forum Facebook group page.

Our good friend, Tony Caputo, recently underwent heart bypass surgery. If you want to email Tony while herecuperates, his email address is: [email protected]


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More than 100 new Colorado laws going into effect D ENVERA provision to give judges discretion in sentencing criminals and a requirement that the Colorado D epartment of T ransportation come up with a plan to improve traffic on Interstate 70 are among more than 100 new laws going intoeffect.According to the Grand Junction D aily Sentinel ( http://bit.ly/n4QLOM), another new law on the books Wednesday requires state coroners to include in reports whether a deceased woman was pregnant at the time of her death, ameasure introduced by Rep. Laura B radford, R-Collbran.

B radford said it's an attempt to see if there is a trend in domestic violence attacks against pregnant women and it hasnothing to do with abortion."What it will accomplish is allow Colorado to be among the other 28 states that use the deathcertificate to collect information, like things pointing to domestic violence," she said.

B radford said the information can be used to train counselors in identifying and preventing future domestic violencedeaths of pregnant women.Another new law extends a deadline to raise private funds to repair the golden dome at theCapitol building. T he cast-iron enclosure of the dome has deteriorated so badly that a 10-pound chunk of cast iron fell off in 2007. Public tours of the dome have been limited since then.


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Repair costs are estimated to be $17 million. Officials have had trouble raising $12 million to bridge the costs and areasking people to make donations through text messages. T he new laws are going into effect 90 days after the end of thesession because of a state law that allows voters to challenge any measure not vital to the health, safety and welfare of the state.

Read more: More than 100 new Colorado laws going into effect - T he D enver Post http://www.denverpost.com/politics/ci_18638012#ixzz1U T URgWCS

Read T he D enver Post's T erms of Use of its content: http://www.denverpost.com/termsofuse

T o check your voter status or register to vote, go to: http://www.GoVoteColorado.com . Y ou have until Monday,October 3 rd to register to vote in the November 1 st local school board and city council election. It will beconducted via mail-in ballots.


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Politically, is there really a difference? Here are the facts:

Democrat platform Republican platform

y Bigger government y Smaller government

y

More onerous rules and regulationsy

Less onerous rules and regulationsy More government control over your life y Less governmentt control over your life

y More govt spending & higher tax rates y Less govt spending & lower tax rates

y Anti-business policies y Pro-business policies

y Gun control& weak national defense y Gun rights& strong national defense

y Obamacare

y Eq uality of outcome

y Social justice

y Liberal/Progressive

y Community and social responsibility-based

y Private health care choices

y Eq uality of opportunity

y Personal responsibility

y Conservative

y I ndividual rights and justice-based

y The U.S. debt is due to a revenue problem y The U.S. debt is due to a spending problem


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Ad CO C ommissioner Nichol says donations on up-and-up

Contri b utions followed decision to b u y land

by Scott Gil b ert August 05, 2011 | 11:23 AM

Adams Count y Commissioner Alice Nichol received two $1,000 campaign donations fromMichael Cowle y of Arizona on one da y in 2008. Both donations were made after the count y reached a deal to pa y nearl y $4 million for land owned by Cowle y companies, and just da ysb efore the sale was recorded.The two donations were the onl y ones listed in Colorado forMichael Cowle y .

Nichol and her fellow commissioners, W.R. "Skip" Fischer and Larr y Pace, voted unanimousl yto approve the land purchase on Oct. 22, 2007. The sale was recorded on Ma y 5, 2008, fiveda ys after the political donations.The count y paid $10,000 per acre for the 399-acre parcelat 128th Avenue and Gun Clu b Road. Plans called for the land to b ecome a multi-purposepolice training center, b ut the nation headed into economic free-fall and the facilit y has notb een b uilt.

"I didn't go soliciting from this compan y ," Nichol said Monda y . "You've got to campaign,"and that means accepting contri b utions, she added."I don't recall an y personal contact oran y thing like that," Nichol said. "I don't know who Michael Cowle y is from the man in themoon.""B y the time it's official on an y of these transactions, by the time the commissionersget it, usuall y ever y thing's worked out," she said of the land purchase. "We're putting thestamp of approval on it."

The official land transaction took place nine da ys after the Octo ber 2007 approval, saidNichol, adding that she didn't know wh y it took so long to b e recorded.

The Cowle y donations were not the onl y ones made to Nichol's re-election campaign on April30, 2008. In a campaign-finance reporting period covering eight and a half months, with$9,200 contri b uted during the entire stretch, more than half the mone y was donated on thatda y .Other donors that da y included Colorado b usinessmen Harve y and Steven Deutsch andthree Colorado companies listing Paul Nation Jr. as a partner. The three Nation companiesdonated a total of $2,500, and Harve y and Steven Deutsch each contri b uted $250.

Adams Count y records show several transactions b etween Nation's Elkhart LLC and Gatewa yAmerican Properties, in which b oth Steven and Harve y Deutsch have b een involved.Gatewa y American Properties and another Nation compan y shared a street address, andHarve y Deutsch was the registered agent for a third Nation compan y .Meeting records of theSouth Adams Count y Water and Sanitation District from 2006 list one person in attendancewho signed in to represent b oth Gatewa y American Properties and a Cowle y compan y .

http://www.great8newspapers.com/Articles-c-2011-08-05-221164.114125-su b -Nichol-sa ys-donations-on-upandup.html

C ongressmen vote 'yes' on debt bill


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Debt crisis averted

by Joe Vaccarelli

August 06, 2011 | 09:20 AM The House of Representatives and Senate b oth voted to approve a b ill that will raise the countr y 'sde b t ceiling, preventing the United States from defaulting on its loans.The b ill was passed after ab itter b attle b etween Repu b licans and Democrats, who fought for months over wa ys to cut spending

and increase government revenue.

Local congressmen Rep. Ed Perlmutter, from District 7, and Rep. Jared Polis, from District 2, b othsupported the measure b ut had pro b lems with certain parts of it."It didn't have revenue, which was ake y piece for me," Perlmutter said. "If our goal is to get rid of the de b t then we need to increaserevenue and have less expenses."

The b ill is written to take effect immediatel y , raising the de b t ceiling through 2012, cutting spending,protecting Social Securit y and Medicare, and reducing the deficit by $2.4 trillion over the next 10years.Perlmutter said not defaulting on the countr y 's loans was his top priorit y .

"This countr y pa ys its b ills that was m y first concern. I did not want disruption to hit SocialSecurit y or militar y checks," he said.

Polis could not b e reached for comment prior to press deadline, b ut his office did release a statementwith his view on the b ill.Polis echoed Perlmutter's sentiment, stating he was disappointed the b illdidn't include increased revenues and that his b ill would have included regulating and taxing medicalmarijuana, passing comprehensive immigration reform, legalizing and taxing online gaming andoffering a one-time federal tax amnest y .

"All Americans agree that we need to get the nation's b udget under control. Although this is not theproposal I would have written, I supported it b ecause it protects Social Securit y and Medicare whileaverting the economic disaster that would accompan y default," he said in his statement.The b ill wassigned by President Barack O b ama on Tuesda y .

htt p://www. great 8news pa pers.com /Art icles -c-2011-08-06- 221176.114125-su b-Congressme n-vote -yes-on- bill.html

Ma rk B ai sley

The Folly of Pr inc ip le Before P a rty


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In 2005, I ran for my local partys nom inat ion for the State Senate. I was reso undingly defeated by a rel iable conservat ive w ith far better crede ntials. The vote tur ned out the way that I believe it was supposed to tur n out. Immed iately after the pr imary, I endorsed my fellow R e pu blican who has served honorably as my State Senator ever since. I have been a trad itional conservat ive since my tee n years. But as an unworldly candidate in my early f ifties, I found myself naive to the anti biot ic pract ices of the r uling establ ishme nt. Some of the act ivists inmy party did not merely vote against me at the GOP assembly in 2005. They also stro ng-armed my volunteers, tore dow n our cam paign k iosk, uprooted every cam paign sign and shattered a window on my sons car.

It is easy to become disillusioned whe n the peo ple w ith whom you have loyally assoc iated tur n th is ug ly. As my w ife and I stood in disbel ief over the vandal ized car in the park ing lot, my son made a stateme nt that I will never for get, T his is not our church. Indeed. I am rem inded of that low mome nt in my life every time that Ihear abo ut a conservat ive who leaves the GOP in protest or calls for the format ion of a th ird political party. Ia ppeal to conservat ives who are disa ppointed in R e pu blican leadersh ip to get even more involved with the GOPand to recr uit your like-minded fr iends to join you in the str ugg le.

R e pu blicans are at a natural disadva ntage because we are mot ivated by o pen philoso phical pr inciples, whereas Democrats are mot ivated to defeat those dam ned, judgmental R e pu blicans. As a result, Democrats tend to rel iably vote for the ir candidates no matter how they behave. And R e pu blicans will w ithdraw the ir support

from im pure GOP leaders, handing an unwarra nted number of elect ions to the Democrats.

My sons ast ute observat ion caused me to reassess my involveme nt in the R e pu blican Party. I arr ived at these two pers pect ives: 1. The church is a reflect ion of the Creator, with the miss ion of effect ing the character of its members. 2. The party is a reflect ion of the members, assert ing the ir pr inciples on the character of its leadersh ip.

A few years after that distress ing ex per ience as a candidate, I found myself in the unlikely pos ition of Cha irma nfor the local R e pu blican party. Along w ith my fellow off icers, I inst ituted the follow ing three standards that seem to have clea ned up the tow n considerably:

1. Operate a sound nom inat ion process w ith fair ness and integr ity. Confront bullies and kee p them out of leadersh ip. Treat candidates with honor and res pect. 2. Be willing to debate inter nally, using the GOP Party Platform as the touchsto ne. Understa nd that GOP membersh ip somet imes serves to mask a patr iot ic heret ic like abstract art can be a cover for an untale nted

painter. We need to challe nge bad actors, hold elected off icials to acco unt, and not be afra id of los ing the ir membersh ip. 3. Once the partys nom inee is selected, close ranks and stand together against the enem ies of freedom. Dont let the perfect be the enemy of the good whe n it comes to the party nom inee. R ema in in volved. We cannot afford to lose a single conservat ive member in th is unending str ugg le for our her itage.

The rally ing cry of p r inciple before party is a surrender ing folly. Buck up and integrateyo urself.

Pr inciple wi

thin party. And the standard is the R e pu blican Party Platform (www. go p.com /2008Platform ). Conservat ives sho uld read it and hold elected off icials to it. Tea Party act ivists, the R e pu blican Party needs

your direct involveme nt. Mainta in your inde pendent vo ice, but register and part icipate as R e pu blicans. Electedoff icials wo nt hear an outside vo ice nearly as clearly as they will hear an inside vo ice.

There is no home for you in the Democrat Party, exce pt perha ps as a part of work -release . Just before signing the Declarat ion of Inde pendence that began our shared jour ney of freedom, Ben jam inFranklin sa id pro phet ically, W e must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang se parately.


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Believe it.

htt p://f inance.tow nhall.com /columnists /markba isley /2011/0 7/24 /the _ folly _ of _pr inciple _ before _party

DU AL-LANG U AGE BALLOTS

S ixteen C olorado counties await word on having to provide election materials

in S panishBy Nancy Lofholm

An increase in Spanish-speaking "votadores" in Colorado is expected to trigger some complicated election changes that have counties nervously waiting for federally mandated orders as deadlines loom.Sixteen Colorado county clerks areanticipating that the U.S. D epartment of Justice will notify them in the next month that they must provide election materialsin Spanish as well as English, under provisions of the Voting Rights Act.

T here is also a slight chance that the entire state could be ordered to provide dual-language ballots, according to theColorado secretary of state's office. T he counties that expect to be affected have been in regular phone conferences withthe secretary of state about how to make the transition. T hey have also been seeking advice from the 10 Coloradocounties that already must provide dual-language ballots or interpreters.

B ut with less than a month left before ballots must be certified for the Nov. 1 off- year elections, they are still on hold,unsure whether they will have to add poll workers and interpreters or deal with additional printing costs."We are trying tobe proactive, but we are at the mercy of the D epartment of Justice," said Garfield County Clerk Jean Alberico.

T he 1973 Voting Rights Act requires areas with large Latino, Asian, American Indian and Alaskan populations to providevoting materials in the languages spoken by those populations. All election materials, including notices, instruction,ballots, sample ballots and voter-information pamphlets must be printed in the language of the affected population.Multilingual poll workers are also required.

In Colorado, the eight counties that already must provide Spanish materials have mostly had longtime large populations of Spanish-speaking residents. T wo counties Montezuma and LaPlata provide Ute and Navajo interpreters becausethose languages are spoken rather than written.Across the country, there are counties and boroughs required to provideelection materials or interpreters for Chinese, Choctaw, Filipino, Korean, Apache, Athabascan and Eskimo speakers.

T he trigger for these election requirements isn't simply based on the newest census population figures. T he JusticeD epartment uses a formula that includes figuring out from long-form census responses whether more than 5 percent of all voting-age residents of an area have limited English proficiency. More than 10,000 residents with limited proficiency alsotriggers the requirement. T he requirement is also linked to the location of American Indian reservations within a

jurisdiction. If the rate of reservation residents who haven't completed the fifth grade is higher than the national rate, the

dual-language requirement is triggered.

Secretary of State Scott Gessler is looking into the possibility that those Colorado counties that will be newly covered under the Voting Rights Act requirement will be able to ask voters for their preference of language on ballots."We're still inthe discussion phase on that," said Gessler spokesman Rich Coolidge.

T he clerk and recorder's office for the city and county of D enver, which has been under the dual-language mandate for nearly a decade, publishes all election-related materials in both Spanish and English. D enver also has gone beyond the


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mandate to provide website information in both languages and has a Spanish-language advisory board."We were proactive," said T ina Romero, who does outreach with the Spanish-speaking community for the clerk's office.

Gessler's office has established a new Spanish round table in his office to talk about dual-language elections as well asother issues pertaining to the Spanish-speaking community. Gessler has made much of the secretary of state's websiteavailable in Spanish.Coolidge said, while the clerks nervously wait, the secretary's office has not yet been able to figureout a "drop-dead date" for getting election materials printed in dual languages on time for certification or to decide if clerkswill be able to offer voters a choice."It's a learning experience for all of us," Alberico acknowledged. "We've been talking about this for a year."

Nancy Lofholm: 970-256-1957 or [email protected]

Read more: Sixteen Colorado counties await word on having to provide election materials in Spanish - T he D enver Posthttp://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_18632153#ixzz1UUE D Rh8i Read T he D enver Post's T erms of Use of its content: http://www.denverpost.com/termsofuse

Here are the biographies of our August 13 th North Suburban Republican Forum speakers:

Laura Leary Boggs

Laura Boggs was elected to the Jefferson County Board of Education to serve a four year term in November of 2009.Laura is a wife, mother and business owner. She and her husband Chris are raising two children who have been in Jeffcoschools since kindergarten, and are currently attending Creighton Middle School and Wheat Ridge High School. Laurareceived her Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Michigan in 1981. She has worked for largebusinesses and has been fortunate to run her own business for the last ten years. She is passionate about student achievement, preparing children for their futures and being fiscally responsible.

H eidi Williams

Heidi Williams is a native of Colorado, attended Brighton schools and has lived in the North Metro area since 1989. Heidi

owns A Scrub Stop & More (a Uniform company) since 2004 in Thornton and currently serves as a Director on the Adams12 School Board. Heidi is also serving on the Thornton Revitalization Advisory Board. Heidi is running for Mayor of Thornton and would like to see new businesses come into Thornton. Heidi will also ensure that the City of Thorntonpartners with the 3 local School Districts which reside in Thornton to ensure a better environment for our children. Heidihas been instrumental in creating new 21st Century policies in the Adams 12 School District, participated in hiring thenew Superintendent, was a part of the solution during budget cuts and has worked hard to reduce the Board's budget bycutting spending and encouraging the Board to go paperless.

M ark Clark I am currently the Vice President of the Board of Education for Adams 12 Five Star Schools. I believe that we need to put the Public back into the Public Schools. I t is about the K I DS!!!!

M ike Sheely Retired from a lifetime in Engineering and small business owner and I am passionate about the future of my country. I currently serve on the Board of Education for the Bennett School District.


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T he 2011 Adams County Fair Republican boothNSRF Board of Directors Email Address TelephoneJ ohn Lefebvre President [email protected] 303-451-5558Leonard Coppes Vice President [email protected] 303-287-9145 J an Hurtt Treasurer [email protected] 303-451-0934Phil Mocon Secretary [email protected] 303-427-5453Brian Vande Krol Issues [email protected] 303-466-4615Gary Mikes Issues [email protected] 303-252-1645Mike Arnall Planning [email protected] 303-655-1258Dick Poole Planning 303-373-1521Dana West Communications [email protected] 303-280-0243

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T o subscribe or unsubscribe from our monthly newsletter, send an email to [email protected] withyour name and subscription instructions in the body.


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The North Suburban Republican ForumNSRF Membership Application

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prov ided with coffee, tea, ora nge juice and bottled water.

Htt p://www. NorthSu burba nR e pu blicanFor um.com

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nsrf august 2011 newsletter

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