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Government watchdog group Colorado Ethics Watch has been engaged in a legal back and forth with Secretary of State Scott Gessler over a campaign finance rule adopted by the Secretary of State last spring. In a brief filed with a Denver District court Wednesday, Ethics Watch argues Gessler is rewriting the law instead of merely setting forth rules directing citizens on how to abide it, and, in a counter claim, Gessler is asking the court to effectively throw out a constitutional provision he has sworn he would defend as an elected official.

Gessler has asked the court to declare the legal definition of an “issue committee” unenforceable, meaning he effectively would do away with issue committees and the financial and reporting laws that apply to them until if and when the legislature would remake them.

“It’s breathtaking,” Ethics Watch Director Luis Toro told the Colorado Independent. “As a representative of the state, [Gessler] would normally be the defendant in such a case… But he’s effectively asking two private organizations to defend the Colorado Constitution from his complaint. How can he sue two organizations that don’t represent the state?

“Gessler would normally be expected to defend the laws defining issue committees… It’s a legal obligation. He has no authority to file a suit against them.”

Gessler is a longtime campaign finance attorney who has battled disclosure rules and donation limits. He sees them as hurdles to public participation and threats to free speech.

In November of last year, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in Sampson v Buescher decided that the burden of the state’s reporting requirement was too high for a group organized around a municipal election. Gessler’s new reporting rule came in response to that decision. It shifts the registration and reporting threshold for issue committees from 0 to 00. The rule also eliminates the requirement to disclose any information about the first ,000 of issue committee contributions and expenditures.

Ethics Watch and Common Cause, also a state government watchdog organization, have asked the district judge to throw out Gessler’s “breathtaking” counter claim seeking to effectively explode issue committees as a category in the state and are fighting Gessler’s new issue committee finance rule as an attack on transparency.

The groups cite Amendment 27 passed by voters in 2002 which proscribes campaign finances in the state. It also established disclosure rules, including the 0 threshold for issue committees. The point of the law is to make it easier for citizens to know who is behind public proposals and to know from the beginning. Colorado voters want to know when a chemical company is pushing to roll back clean water regulations and when a labor union is fighting a free-market policy.

“With the passage of Amendment 27, Colorado voters overwhelmingly signaled that they wanted full disclosure in political campaigns,” Elena Nunez, program director of Colorado Common Cause, said in a release. “It is frustrating to see the Secretary of State actively working to undermine the Constitutional provisions he swore to uphold.”

The Gessler counter claim calls to mind complaints leveled at the Obama administration when its justice department announced it would no longer fight lawsuits targeting the Defense of Marriage Act because because it viewed the law as unconstitutional.

“That’s an interesting comparison, actually,” said Toro, meaning he thought it was revealing. “Gessler here is taking it a step further. The Justice Department merley said it would no longer defend the law. That’s different than effectively filing a suit to have it repealed.”

Toro pointed out that when pro-gay groups sued to repeal Amendment 2, a voter-passed initiative of the 1990s that prohibited anti-discrimination ordinances in the state, they sued Governor Roy Romer and representatives of the state defended the anti-gay Amendment even though they personally opposed it.

“That’s our tradition,” Toro said.

“As an elected official, Scott Gessler is expected to put aside his personal views and defend the Colorado Constitution,” Toro said in a release. “Instead, he has ignored our government’s separation of powers by attempting to use his office to not only enforce the law, but also to legislate as well as interpret the law.”

The briefs from Ethics Watch and Common Cause and Gessler’s response and counter claim are available for download here.

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The Colorado Independent

Last week I wrote about the bi-partisan Build Act legislation sponsored by Senators John Kerry (D-MA), Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), and Mark R. Warner (D-VA):

The legislation would serve to create an infrastructure bank that would help to close America’s widening infrastructure funding gap and create millions of American jobs in the next decade, making the United States more competitive in the 21st century.

On Sunday, the NY Times editorial board came out in favor of the legislation saying:

The bank would lend money to build big-ticket transportation, water and energy projects that have a clear public benefit. The loans, or loan guarantees, would be designed to attract private capital as well. In fact, at least half a project’s financing would have to come from the private sector. As much as 0 billion could be leveraged this way over the next decade, proponents say.

The bank would initially be funded with billion from the treasury, which would be given out as loans, not grants. To make that possible, the bank would invest largely in projects that generate money, like toll bridges and tunnels, water systems backed by ratepayers, and energy projects built by utilities, governments or corporations. An independent, bipartisan board appointed by the president and Congress would choose the investments and oversee construction, audited by an inspector general and the Government Accountability Office.

By providing low-cost capital to states, cities and authorities, the bank would help these strapped governments kick-start projects that are now unaffordable, while attracting investments from pension and private-equity funds that are looking for stable money-generating ventures in which to invest. “We can either build, and compete, and create jobs for our people,” said Mr. Kerry, “or we can fold up, and let everybody else win. I don’t think that’s America.” The bank was backed by unions and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

The legislation builds on a propasal from President Obama  for a billion bank limited to “transportation projects that would also make grants.”

The Kerry, Hutchison, Warner Build Act, instead is “designed to be more palatable to lawmakers who are politically averse to spending, but already conservatives are railing against what some have called a “boondoggle,” a phrase used to demonize virtually any public investment.”

The NY Times editorial board brings up this key point to opponents of the legislation:

What will these opponents tell voters when the dams break and the bridges fall? Before more lives are lost, lawmakers should ask themselves whether they used their public office only to slash spending (and taxes for the wealthy), or to spend money wisely.

We must fix our failing infrastructure. The Build Act will create jobs at a time when they are desperately needed. This legislation should be embraced by both parties in the Senate and the House and moved on swiftly.

The Democratic Daily

The prodigal son may be returning to the big tent, but no word yet on how welcome he will be.

The Associated Press reported yesterday that Tancredo will rejoin the Republican Party this week.

From the Grand Junction Sentinel:

Former Republican congressman Tom Tancredo, who quit the party last year to run as a third-party candidate for Colorado governor, is headed back to the GOP.

Tancredo said he is coming back to the Republican Party “because they’re the only game in town.” He told The Associated Press he plans to rejoin the party this week.

Tancredo said his decision to join the American Constitution Party was “opportunistic,” but he and the party had an understanding that he would not stay with the party.

GOP state chairman Dick Wadhams, who clashed publicly with Tancredo over criticism of the Republican Party, said everyone is welcome to join the Colorado GOP. He refused to say whether he thought Tancredo would be welcomed.

You may think Tancredo had disappeared, but no, he’s been gabbing on the radio, writing opinion pieces–most recently on the Arizona shootings–and has just come out with a book.

The book, “In Mortal Danger: The Battle for America’s Border and Security”, seems to be available primarily from the man himself.

Colorado Independent

Muhammad Ali Hasan, a Beaver Creek filmmaker and former Republican candidate for state treasurer and state House District 56, says he has no plans to run again in that district in 2012 after the resignation of Democrat Christine Scanlan.

Scanlan, a Dillon resident, last month won the HD56 seat she was first appointed to in 2007, but resigned to serve as Governor-elect John Hickenlooper’s director of legislative affairs and strategic initiatives. On Sunday a 15-member vacancy committee appointed Summit School District superintendent Millie Hamner to fill the seat.

Hasan, who beat Scanlan in his home Eagle County in 2008 but lost to her in Summit and Lake County and ultimately overall, recently told The Colorado Independent (TCI) he is leaving the Republican Party because of the bigotry he believes has shaped GOP politics over the last year.

Asked if he’ll try again in HD56, this time as a Democrat, Hasan said he has other plans.

“I will definitely not be running for House District 56,” Hasan said in an email. “My film career is going well, and I plan to register to vote, in the coming months, either in California or New Mexico. I really don’t know what my political future holds. All I know is that I’ll be helping the Democrats in New Mexico and California, as well as promoting my new group, Constitutionalists For Gays & Immigrants.”

Hasan said Republicans don’t have much of a shot in the formerly conservative Eagle County area, where he said he would have a much better chance as a Democrat.

“I was proud to carry the Republican flag in 2008 and I would never change a thing about the past,” Hasan wrote. “That said, HD56 is a very blue district. Yes, it is fiscal conservative, but Republicans, like with many districts, have alienated the voters of HD56 with their social issues. Personally, I don’t know of many Republicans who could win HD56.”

Scanlan was a potential speaker of the House candidate until the Republicans took back the state House last month. She was picked to replace former state Rep. Dan Gibbs in 2007 when he was named to the state Senate District 16 seat vacated by former state Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald, who quit to unsuccessfully run against U.S. Rep. Jared Polis. Democrat Jeanne Nicholson narrowly beat back arch-conservative Tea Party favorite Tim Leonard in SD16 last month.

“I learned everything from Dan and we’ll pass it on to Millie,” Scanlan told the Summit Daily News. Hasan clearly holds no lingering ill will after his hard-fought 2008 battle with Scanlan. He says there’s no chance she knew she’d be offered a cabinet post with Hickenlooper and ran for re-election anyway.

“First off, Hickenlooper’s victory was not a guarantee, as many polls showed [American Constitution Party candidate Tom] Tancredo rising. Second, I am convinced that Scanlan was offered the job after Hickenlooper starting putting his transition team together,” Hasan said.

“Christine Scanlan is an honorable person and I would never imagine her accepting a job while knowingly running for office. That’s not like her, and any characterization of that would be unfair, in my opinion.”

In other State Legislature news, the Denver Post today reported primary care Dr. Irene Aguilar was appointed by a vacancy committee Monday night to fill the seat of outgoing state Sen. Chris Romer, a Denver Democrat and the son of former Gov. Roy Romer. Chris Romer, who is running for the Denver mayoral seat being vacated by Hickenlooper, recently did a sit-down interview with TCI.

Aguilar, according to the Post, beat out state Rep. Beth McCann by a 2-to-1 margin in the final vote.

Also Monday, Hickenlooper named Ken Lund as his Chief Legal Counsel. In a release from Hickenlooper’s office, Lund is described as “the firm-wide Managing Partner of Holme Roberts & Owen in Denver … responsible for the articulation, development and implementation of the law firm’s client service and engagement strategy.”

“While leaving a great organization like HRO is bittersweet, the opportunity to work with John Hickenlooper and the team he is building is very compelling,” Lund said in the release.

Colorado Independent

President Obama leaves the USA after Congress asked him for no more trips. This time it was shortly after the fire in Israel, completely ignoring Israel’s fire, another emergency in the world.

Obama cannot handle the pressure so he’s trying to regain his popularity with the Troops by visiting them after ignoring Veterans Day in the USA. However, there is another motive. . . The President, and I use that term loosely, is secretly going to the Holy City of Afganistan so he can re-invent himself on the Muslim New Year.

I just don’t get him. He is spineless. He can’t make decisions. He can’t handle the pressure of the Office.

Of Course he is going to take the credit for US Forrest Fighters who left for Israel while President Moron is praying in a Muslim country. Why should he help the people who he raised funds against during the 2000-2004 Muslims anti-Israel Dinner with the PLO. Obama was seen toasting this movement. Yet the Media is now waking up, realizing he is a Spineless Low class Muslim.

America needs someone who will not be spineless and offer a helping hand to their friends. Bring back the glory of this great country.

Written by: Leah Lax

Democratic Party News – The News of the Democratic Party.

Late in the 2009 legislative session the Texas legislature passed HB719, which amends Section 43.007 of the Texas Election Code to require the Texas Secretary of State (SOS) to implement a program that allows Commissioner’s Courts in selected counties to eliminate election precinct polling places and establish county-wide Vote Centers for certain elections.

These Election Day Vote Centers work almost exactly like Early Voting Vote Centers. During the early voting period for each election cycle, a number of polling places appear through out the county where any registered voter in the county can vote in any of those places throughout the early voting period.

Collin County gain approval from the Texas Secretary of State to use Vote Centers for the first time on election day in the November, 2009 constitutional amendment election.

The Collin County Commissioner’s Court today voted to authorize Sharon Rowe, the Collin County Elections Administrator, to notify the Director of Elections in the Texas Secretary of State office, that Collin County seeks approval to implement the County Wide Vote Center Program again for the November 2, 2010 election. The Texas Secretary of State is expected to approve the request.

If approved by the Texas SOS, any Collin County registered voter will be able to vote at any of the 70 proposed countywide Vote Centers located around Collin County on Election Day, November 2, 2010.

In 2009, less than 5% of the voters turned out for the constitutional amendment election at one of the 57 countywide Vote Centers. The 2010 General Elections, which headlines the Gubernatorial contest between former Houston Mayor Bill White and incumbent Rick Perry, will likely have a turnout in excess of 38 percent of registered voters.

The 70 proposed countywide Vote Centers, which allows any registered voter to vote at any voting location on election day, is about half the number of polling locations that would be expected under the old local precinct voting location election model.

Democratic Blog of Collin County – News

State Rep. Joe Carr of Lascassas continues his disregard for Tennessee taxpayers by driving the long way to his Capitol Hill legislative office, which makes him eligible for a tax break on money he collects from the state for official expenses.

Carr claims his route to work is 51.8 miles, which allows him to escape paying income tax on “per diem” he receives for official legislative work, according to a news report from Tennessee Report. Members of the General Assembly are paid a daily allowance of 5 in per diem for expenses, but the money is taxed by the Internal Revenue Service if they live within 50 miles of the state Capitol.

“If there’s a dispute about it, I don’t care,” Carr told the news reporter. “Routes are a dime a dozen.”

Tennessee Democratic Party Chairman Chip Forrester called Carr’s callous response typical for the same first-term lawmaker who abused the system last year and raked in the second most per diem of any House member, including House Republican Leader Jason Mumpower of Bristol.

“Despite living less than 50 miles from the Capitol, Mr. Carr gamed the system and drove a route to Nashville that allows him to circumvent the Internal Revenue Service threshold,” Forrester said. “Once again the Per Diem King shows his true colors.

“He wants everyone else to tighten their belts in a tough economy, but he loosens his with other people’s money. And his statements to the news reporter indicate he doesn’t care what taxpayers think, either.”

Last year soon after taking office, Carr, who had no leadership responsibilities, received scathing criticism for receiving an exorbitant amount of per diem. He claimed he was making frequent trips to his legislative office to learn more about the budgeting process and get up to speed on the upcoming legislative session. He also said at the time he didn’t realize he would be reimbursed for those expenses.

“Despite his claim of ignorance on the legislature’s reimbursement policy, Mr. Carr kept the money when he didn’t have to,” Forrester said. “He could have returned the payments, but he didn’t.

“I guess Mr. Carr is ignorant about how far he lives from the Capitol, too. I can give him directions on a shorter route to work if that’s the case. At a time when the rest of us are making tough sacrifices, Mr. Carr should not be bending the rules to make a profit,” the chairman added.

TN Democratic Party News