Saturday, January 7, 2012

11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

At a new venue

The Outback Steakhouse

497 East 120^th Avenue, Thornton, Colorado 80241

(2 blocks east of I-25)

 $10 per person payable at the door

 Reservations Are Required by January 2, 2012

Email Laura Nokes Lang at LNL@Q.com to confirm your attendance

Failure to attend without 24-hour prior cancellation will result in your being billed for lunch.

Our January Speaker is Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler

December 8, 2011

CO GOP Statement Regarding Reapportionment Briefs
Greenwood Village, CO – Colorado Republican Party Chairman Ryan Call issued the following statement today after briefs in opposition to the plan adopted by the Reapportionment Commission were filed:
“The objections to the maps submitted by the Democrat majority are simply stated: these maps are ill-intentioned, hyper-partisan and constitutionally flawed.”
“The majority plan unnecessarily splits counties and cities, ignores important communities of interest, and violates the clear standards set forth by the State Constitution and the Colorado Supreme Court. And the majority’s effort to draw ten Republican incumbents together is nothing more than an example of partisan politics and political gerrymandering at its worst.”
“I am confident that the Supreme Court will see the obvious flaws in the majority’s maps, which were pushed through the back door without public comment or the opportunity for amendments, and will order the Reapportionment Commission to adopt a fair and legal plan that protects the interests of the people of Colorado.”

###

Tired of being overlooked every decade when a new congressional map was redrawn, Aurora hired one of Colorado’s most influential law firms to make its case.

Now, Aurora may have the same status as Denver, Colorado Springs and others.

The Denver judge hearing a case over new congressional boundaries wrote that he chose a map that Democrats submitted because it “unifies the City of Aurora, which was of the greatest concern to the Court.”

The map puts all of Aurora into the 6th Congressional District.

“It has been a long-held position of the City Council that Aurora, as one community of interest, be located in a single congressional district,” said Aurora’s new mayor, former Councilman Steve Hogan.

“We are pleased the latest version of the map reflects that.”

Two political interests, Doug las County and the Republican plaintiffs, have appealed to the Colorado Supreme Court. The court will hear oral arguments Thursday.

Aurora and its legal team are optimistic that no matter what happens, the city will wind up in one district.

“Aurora has been sliced and diced pretty well,” said attorney Mike Feeley with Brownstein, Hyatt, Farber & Schreck. “The court’s map ensures that the citizens of Aurora will have a single, unified voice speaking on their behalf.”

Aurora is spread over three counties: Everything north of Colfax Avenue is in Adams, a smidge of the southern part is in Douglas, and the bulk of the city is in Arapahoe.

The city is represented by Republican Mike Coffman of Aurora in the 6th District and Democrat Ed Perlmutter of Golden in the 7th. At one time, a portion of Aurora also was included in Denver’s1st Districtand the Eastern Plains’ 4th District.

Coffman argued during the trial over redistricting that Aurora benefited from having two representatives, a sentiment that former Congressman Tom Tancredo shares.

“I don’t see for the life of me why splitting it between two congressional districts is anything but a benefit,” Tancredo said. “I never heard a thing from the city about it.”

The new 6th District is evenly divided among Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated voters, making it a seat either party could win, depending on the candidate and political climate. The current 6th District is so GOP-friendly that Republicans breezed to victory even during the Democratic tsunamis of 2006 and 2008.

A decade ago, when the 7th District was created, the Denver judge who drew the boundaries lamented he had been unable to keep Aurora whole.

During this trial, Denver District Judge Robert Hyatt dropped hints that he was concerned about splitting the city.

During closing arguments on Oct. 31, the judge interrupted GOP attorney Richard Westfall when the attorney ripped the Democrats’ proposal, which split Douglas County and other communities.

“All of the separation that Mr. Westfall is talking about . . . pale in comparison to the notion that Aurora is split into different congressional districts,” Hyatt said.

Westfall’s response was to announce that his legal team had drawn a new map that kept Aurora whole, but Hyatt went with the Democrats’ map.

He wrote in his decision that Aurora is “home to more than 325,000 Coloradans; it generates a good deal of the metro area’s economic development activity; it has major regional facilities, including a military base and a medical research facility; . . . it is a leader in bridging metropolitan water solutions.”

“Given that,” the judge stated, “and because there is no advantage to Aurora to have its congressional representation divided, it must be made whole within a single 6th District.”

Democratic political consultant Steve Welchert said that when then-U.S. Sen. Barack Obama came to Colorado in 2006 to campaign for Perlmutter and gubernatorial candidateBill Ritter, they chose to hold the event in Aurora.

“Aurora is everything when it comes to demographics. It’s rich and poor. It’s black and white and Hispanic. It’s rural. It’s urban,” Welchert said.

“So is it time for Aurora to take its rightful place as a prominent player in Colorado politics? The answer is ‘yes.’ ”

Lynn Bartels: 303-954-5327 orlbartels@denverpost.com

Read more:Aurora on verge of being in single congressional district – The Denver Posthttp://www.denverpost.com/legislature/ci_19419098#ixzz1evmStgak
Read The Denver Post’s Terms of Use of its content: http://www.denverpost.com/termsofuse

Why should you join Toastmasters? If you answer yes to any of these
questions we can help you reach your goals.

Are planning to run for a public office or a community board?  Then, you
will need to communicate your ideas clearly and concisely.

Are you active in a political, social or issues group?  Then, you will
have to advocate for your cause with persuasion.

Are you a concerned citizen, wanting to better understand the founding
principles and be better equipped to discuss these issues with friends
and family?

Then, Toastmasters is for you. 

 Liberty Toastmasters in Greenwood Village has been so successful many
wished there would be another themed club on the north side of the metro
area with the same energy and passion for individual rights, personal
responsibility, limited government, free markets and national defense,
all based around the our founding documents and the ideals of our
Founding Fathers.  That club is forming and you can become a charter
member.  Please feel free to invite your like minded friends to join us.

 *       Mark your calendar: Demonstration Meeting on January 28, 2012
10:00am 

*       Regular meetings will follow on the second and fourth Saturday's
of the month from 10:00am -11:45am

 How does Toastmasters work? Check out this website for more information;

http://www.toastmasters.org/MainMenuCategories/TheWhatWhyandHowofToastma

sters.aspx

Please RSVP to Bradley Beck bradleycraigbeck@gmail.com
or 303-775-7473

We meet at our new location, the Anythink Huron Street Library community room, 9417 Huron St, Thornton, 80260.

Remember to invite somebody new to The Forum  as we discuss politics in the north Denver metro area.

One of the many headaches the redistricting process has created for us and for readers is how to make sense of the various maps.

Problem solved — at least in terms of the proposed congressional districts picked by Denver District Judge Robert Hyatt.

Our politics desk and graphics desk have put together a searchable map. Just enter an address and the program will pull up your location and tell you whether your district has changed.

Meanwhile, here are the at-a-glance stats on total voter registration in the proposed districts.

The 1st. Diana DeGette. Democrats would make up 45 percent, Republicans 20 percent and unaffiliateds 37 percent.

The 2nd. Jared Polis. Democrats would make up 33 percent, Republicans 29 percent and unaffiliateds 37 percent.

The 3rd. Scott Tipton. Democrats would make up 31 percent, Republicans 35 percent and unaffiliateds 33 percent.

The 4th. Cory Gardner. Democrats would make up 25 percent, Republicans 42 percent and unaffiliateds 33 percent.

The 5th. Doug Lamborn. Democrats would make up 22 percent, Republicans 43 percent and unaffiliateds 34 percent.

The 6th. Mike Coffman. Democrats would make up 33 percent, Republicans 34 percent and unaffiliateds 32 percent.

The 7th. Ed Perlmutter. Democrats would make up 35 percent, Republicans 30 percent and unaffiliateds 35 percent.

http://blogs.denverpost.com/thespot/2011/11/11/find-your-proposed-congressional-district/46936/

In his ruling issued late today, Denver District Judge Robert Hyatt said the “Moreno/South” Democratic map submitted at trial “most accurately reflected and preserved current communities of interest in 2011.

“It appears clear to this court that the Moreno approach to redistricting Colorado will also produce the maximum amount of competition of any of the realistically proffered maps in at least three districts — the 3rd, the 6th and the 7th,” Hyatt wrote in his ruling. “Each of those districts contains significant Latino populations, giving that group a major role in the decision about who will represent them in Congress.

“Thus, not only does the Moreno mapping approach reflect Colorado’s current communities of interest, it holds the real possibility that voters will be as engaged in the electoral process as possible. This is beneficial.”

Republicans can appeal the ruling directly to the Colorado Supreme Court, and a final ruling would be expected before Dec. 15 to allow county clerks enough time to redraw precincts.

“There are significant problems with the map adopted by the court, and the way it divides Douglas County, puts Larimer County with Boulder, stretches the Denver district to the southwest, and dilutes Hispanic voting strength, should give every Coloradan cause for concern,” said Colorado GOP chair Ryan Call.

“Time and time again, the courts continue to rule in favor of Democrats in the context of redistricting. While Republicans in the state legislature attempted to forge a reasonable compromise to allow the legislature to fulfill it’s duty, Democrats blocked all attempts and bet that the courts would give them yet another win. And the Democrats’ bet paid off.”

Attorney Mark Grueskin, who argued for Democrats, said Republican maps did not resemble the Colorado of 2011.

“The other plans reflected districts that were drawn 10 years ago,” Grueskin said. “So you had these amalgamations of voters that didn’t have a lot in common with one another. Now they do.”

Under the new congressional map, Larimer County goes from the 4th Congressional District to the 2nd, and Douglas County would go from the 6th to the 4th.

Meanwhile, rural areas of Adams and Arapahoe counties would move from the 7th and 6th Congressional districts to the 4th.

State Senate President Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont, is running for the 4th Congressional District seat now occupied by U.S. Rep. Cory Gardner, a Republican from Yuma. Shaffer would get to stay in the 4th Congressional District under the new map, though one Democratic map at one point had placed him in the 2nd.

Congressional candidates, however, do not have to live in the districts they represent.

In the 6th Congressional District, U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman, a Republican, had enjoyed a safe GOP district that now would be competitive. U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton, a Republican from Cortez who represents the 3rd Congressional District, also would be in a potentially competitive district.

The legislature must redraw congressional boundaries every 10 years to reflect population shifts over the past decade. The 2011 legislature was unable to come to agreement, leading to lawsuits filed in Denver District Court by Republicans and Democrats.

Tim Hoover: 303-954-1626 or thoover@denverpost.com

Read more: District judge sides with Democrats in setting congressional districts for next 10 years – The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/ci_19310668#ixzz1dNAFzTUk

Read The Denver Post’s Terms of Use of its content: http://www.denverpost.com/termsofuse