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ACTION ALERT: Ballots Have Been Mailed! |
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The June 30, 2020 primary election is less than 20 days away, and your ballots have been mailed! Make sure to keep an eye out for them so you can vote in the non-presidential Democratic primary and choose who you want to be your Dem nominees to be in November! |
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In Colorado, we have some of the safest and most accessible voting laws in the country! In fact -- you have THREE ways to make your voice heard and cast your vote!
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10 DAYS AWAY: The 2020 Obama Political Palooza |
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NEW: Senator Amy Klobuchar and former HUD Secretary Julián Castro will be joining the honorable Hakeem Jeffries, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, Stacey Abrams, and more! The 3rd Annual Obama Event: Virtual Edition |
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Have you gotten your pass or purchased a sponsorship yet? The Colorado Democratic Party's Obama Political Palooza is getting bigger and bigger with the additions of former HUD Secretary Julián Castro and Senator Amy Klobuchar to our current lineup of Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, and the honorables Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, and Stacey Abrams!
MAJOR DEADLINE ALERT: You have until Wednesday, June 17, 2020 to purchase a pass or sponsorship to ensure you get your link to participate in the 2020 Obama Political Palooza! Click here to secure your spot now!
If you have already purchased your sponsorship or pass, you must choose whether you want a Colorado Dems Pride Swag Pack or a Harry and David's Gift Basket. |
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REMEMBER: The Colorado Democratic Party's annual Obama Event is our single biggest fundraising event of the year. The event is a critical part in funding the 2020 Win Plan -- which, as we've all seen in recent weeks, is even more important than ever to defeating Donald Trump and Cory Gardner.
By purchasing a pass or a sponsorship, you can help ensure Colorado will be able to pay the staff needed on the ground, and that we'll be able to equip them with the technology and supplies they need to out-organize the Republicans! |
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The 2020 Obama Event Awardees |
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You nominated, and you voted! We're so proud that with this new virtual format for the 2020 Obama Event, we will have the honor of celebrating these incredible Democrats from all across the state! |
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This Week In Making a Difference |
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2020 Win Stops -- Virtual Edition! |
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Be on the lookout for your invite! |
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SAVE THE DATE
Saturday, June 27 at 11:00AM (Montrose, Fremont, Delta, Elbert) Flipping Red Seats in Rural Red Counties!
Tuesday, July 7 at 7:00PM (Jefferson, Arapahoe, Larimer, Adams, Pueblo) Winning in Large Swing Districts!
Saturday, July 11 at 5:00PM Winning in Medium Swing Districts! |
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Work for the 2020 Wave Webinars |
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SAVE THE DATE for our upcoming "Work for the Wave" webinars! |
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Monday, June 15, 2020 @ 6:00PM MST Voter Registration (Hosted by Tyler McDermott) Growing the electorate is key to Democrats winning in 2020 -- so join in on the fun! Learn how you can register voters even when we're keeping socially distant! |
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Monday, June 29, 2020 @ 6:00PM MST Volunteer Recruitment (Hosted by Karin Asensio) Volunteers are the lifeblood of any campaign. Learn from our volunteer coordinator how you can engage with volunteers to get the word out about getting Dems elected! (Keep an eye out for an invite!) |
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Trainings to be a Better Ally |
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Want to learn how to become a better ally to your neighbors of color and to combat white supremacy? Here's a few trainings coming up! |
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White Anti-Racist Allyship: Beyond the Basics
Are you someone looking to deepen your understanding of oppression, privilege, and your role in combating racism as a white ally beyond your initial introduction into this subject? Then this training is for you.
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A History of Race and White Supremacy in the U.S.
How did we get here? How did racism emerge as a such a pervasive social structure in the U.S.? What is the reality of "race"? It's a question many of us have asked at one time or another, and it has a clear answer.
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Dynamic Allyship Group Conversations
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HELP WANTED: New Positions to Apply For! |
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We're staffing up in preparation for the 2020 General Election! Colorado is a battleground state, and we're looking for scrappy, driven, politically savvy organizers to join our team! Specifically, we're looking for Field Organizers, Latino Community Organizers, African American Community Organizers, a Deputy Data Director, and an Administrative Assistant!
Job Descriptions:
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Join La Plata Dems for a CD3 Virtual Candidate Forum! |
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CD3 Democratic candidates James Iacino and Diane Mitsch Bush. |
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On Tuesday, June 16, 2020, the La Plata County Democrat will host a free online forum with Congressional District 3 Dem candidates Diane Mitsch Bush and James Iacino!
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Rural Initiative Forum: June 13, 2020 |
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Interested in running for office and winning in rural Colorado?
Want to see Democrats from rural Colorado elected up and down the ballot?
This presentation is for YOU!
The Rural Initiative is pleased to present a panel of elected officials representing rural Colorado, who’ll share their successes in messaging, fundraising, and communicating with voters to win local and state offices.
Panelists:
Introduction by Terrance Hestand, Chair, Rural Initiative
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Local Candidates of the Week |
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Candidate: Iman Jodeh https://www.imanforcolorado.com/ Office Running for: House District 41 Why this matters: Iman is the daughter of Palestinian immigrants who came to the United States as refugees in search of the American Dream. Iman is a progressive leader and community advocate who, if elected, would become the first person of Muslim faith to serve in the Colorado General Assembly!
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Candidate: Heidi McCollum Office Running for: District Attorney, District 5 (Eagle, Summit, Lake, Clear Creek Counties) Why this matters: The District Attorney's office has great levels of power that can influence how the criminal justice system works in their area. Democrat Bruce Brown is termed out, and only won his final term by less than 1,000 votes! Let's keep this seat in Democratic hands!
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Dems Leading the Way |
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"It's about time." State Senate Passes Historic Bill Addressing Police Brutality, Moves onto House. |
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Sweeping police reform bill passes Colorado Senate 32-1
Colorado’s sweeping police accountability and reform bill passed the state Senate on Tuesday morning with only one Republican vote against the bill.
Senate Bill 217, sponsored by all of the state’s Democratic lawmakers, goes to the House next and is expected to head to the governor’s desk by the end of the week after the session concludes. The bill passed 32-1, with Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg, R-Sterling, casting the lone vote against it.
Sonnenberg said he voted against the bill because he’s representing his rural district. “I appreciate the changes and the effort by folks on both sides, but the unfunded mandate on small rural communities with no history of problems needs addressed,” Sonnenberg wrote in a statement. “For instance, the bill could apply immediately to forces over a certain size with a mechanism to make it apply to forces that are smaller and have a history of problems. How are small rural forces with a total of 3 or 4 officers like Hugo or Haxtun expected to comply?”
The bill was introduced in the wake of George Floyd’s killing by police in Minneapolis, and it calls for more transparency and new controls on police use of force. If it becomes law, it will require all officers to use body-worn cameras, ban the use of chokeholds and limit when they are allowed to shoot at a person who is running away, known as the “fleeing felon” statute. Cops also would have to have objective justification for stops, be required to intervene when seeing other officers using excessive force and could be sued as individuals for excessive force allegations. And it removes “qualified immunity,” allowing officers to be sued in their individual capacities over excessive force allegations.
“What we accomplished with Senate Bill 217 serves as a reminder that direct action matters. Protest matters. Black lives matter,” said Elisabeth Epps of the Colorado Freedom Fund and American Civil Liberties Union, in a statement. Epps seeks to abolish police, rather than reform.
Sen. Rhonda Fields, a prime sponsor on the bill and Aurora Democrat, said the bill is about addressing accountability and integrity in policing, and protecting communities of color. As protesters have taken to the streets demanding change across the country, including in Denver, she said they have been saying “enough is enough.”
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ACTION ALERT: Senate Bill 217 now moves onto the House, and will likely face hostile opposition by House Republicans. Call your state representative NOW and tell them to vote 'Yes' on Senate Bill 217!
And don't forget to call your state senator and thank them if they voted 'Yes'!
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Democratic State Legislators Working to Close Corporate Tax Loopholes |
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Colorado lawmakers eye tax code changes to raise millions for K-12 education
A group of Democratic lawmakers is pitching a Colorado tax code change that it says would bring in hundreds of millions and offset cuts to education.
Reps. Emily Sirota and Matt Gray said in a Monday interview they plan to introduce the Fair Tax Act bill that would eliminate certain tax deductions for big businesses and high earners.
The money would be used to protect K-12 education from cuts brought on by a projected $3.3 billion revenue shortfall next year. Colorado lawmakers are spending about 15% less on K-12 education in the 2020-21 budget than they had expected to, and average per pupil spending will decline about 5%. Lawmakers are also working on tax changes in future years that would prevent cuts down the line.
Democrats believe they can raise an estimated $278 million in general fund revenue through the Fair Tax Act bill, according to a summary of the bill. Gray said the tax code changes, sponsored in the Senate by Democratic Sens. Dominick Moreno and Chris Hansen, would begin to help the state generate more funds next fiscal year.
Gray said the money would go to K-12 education “to stave off some of the horrible cracks that we otherwise are going to have to approach.”
Sirota and Gray said they want to protect small businesses and taxpayers by targeting only certain codes that impact the most wealthy Coloradoans.
The tax code amendments would include removing deductions for large businesses allowed under the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and not allowing certain coronavirus relief bill deductions for big businesses and the state’s highest earners.
“We are just saying for Colorado, we’re not going to do that within our state tax code,” Sirota said.
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ACTION ALERT: Let your State Senators and State Representatives know that you support closing corporate tax loopholes so the wealthy pay their fair share!
Click here to find who your state legislators are, and ask them to vote "Yes" on House Bill 1420!
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You Shouldn't Have to Choose Between Your Health or Your Constitutional Right to Vote! |
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Colorado Politicians Want To Help Spread All-Mail Voting Nationwide In Response To Coronavirus
Long lines and crowded polling places aren’t fun in the best of times. During a pandemic, they can be downright dangerous.
Colorado is one of only five states that mail a ballot to every registered voter, whether they request it or not. But in the age of coronavirus, many would like to see that list of states grow.
“If we do not act as a nation very quickly, Americans who are Republicans, Democrats, and Independents will all be faced with the question: 'Do I go into a crowded polling location and risk my health, or do I sit home and not vote?'” said Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, who has been talking up the Colorado model of all-mail voting in recent months.
Moving to all-mail voting takes money, for everything from new machinery to postage. Congress did earmark $400 million in the CARES Act to help with the 2020 elections, money states could use for these efforts. But the Election Assistance Commission, which distributes the funds, said states only get the money they put up a match 20 percent out of their own budgets. It’s a tough ask when many states are looking to slash spending this year amid the coronavirus-related recession.
Democratic Rep. Joe Neguse of Boulder has introduced legislation to get rid of the match requirement. He said it’s a vestige from an earlier election funding bill and not something Congress ever intended to include in the CARES Act.
“It’s a very important, common-sense measure that we think could help our states,” Neguse said of his bill. “Particularly as they deal with the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.”
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Neguse Launches Re-Election Effort! |
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Colorado's first African American Congressman -- Joe Neguse -- has officially launched his re-election campaign with a new video! Click here to watch on Twitter or click here to watch on Facebook, and be sure to share! |
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Crow Leads in Congress on Police Reform and Civil Rights Legislation |
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Rep. Jason Crow Behind Civil Rights And Police Reform Bill On Capitol Hill
A civil rights and police reform bill by Congressman Jason Crow, a Democrat representing Colorado’s 6th Congressional District, will take center stage at a hearing on racial profiling and police brutality at the nation’s Capitol next week.
The bill is named after George Floyd but Crow began working on it months ago with the mother of Elijah McClain, an unarmed black man killed by police in Aurora.
The legislation aims to diversify police forces and raise standards and training that minimize the use of force. It also creates a federal task force to investigate police misconduct and sets up a nationwide database to track stops by police and how race plays a role in them.
It also provides the department of justice with $25 million to enforce federal civil rights laws.
Crow said the goal is to rebuild trust between police and the communities they serve. “We have to change the mentality around policing in America. For a very long time, the mentality has been, ‘What is lawful? What is legal? What is that line up to which you can go?’ But we have to change that so what it becomes instead is, what is the line that I can’t cross, to what is actually appropriate for this situation? What is going to help build trust, what’s going to help resolve the situation?” said Crow.
Crow’s bill would also provide a distinctive medallion for the survivors of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. He has more than 80 co-sponsors but none of them are Republican.
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Polis, Weiser Slam Trump's Threat to Send Military to States |
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“This is not China”: Colorado Gov. Jared Polis rebukes Trump on protest response, calls for reform
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said Tuesday that violence during recent nightly protests in Denver overshadowed demonstrators’ “righteous” message, but he rebuked calls by President Donald Trump and others to activate the military to put down civil unrest in cities across the country.
“This is not China. This is not Tiananmen Square. And that’s not leadership,” Polis said early in an afternoon briefing on the coronavirus pandemic. “That’s just creating more of the very division that we need to prevent and heal from and bridge. To create real systemic change, we all need to come together.”
Polis said he would support reform efforts to address racial inequity in police treatment and other racial-justice issues highlighted by protesters. He mentioned a handful of ideas that have been discussed but didn’t specify any he’d get behind. Some state lawmakers Tuesday afternoon unveiled a proposed bill to address police brutality and accountability.
“We need to keep the focus on the task at hand,” Polis said, “and it’s unfortunate that the destruction of property that has been committed by those who have turned to violence has distracted from the righteous message — the pure message of justice and equality and reform.”
“If necessary, as we have before, the state of Colorado is prepared to take the federal government to court to defend our sovereignty and the rule of law,” Weiser said.
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Trump, Gardner, & GOP Watch |
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#ThanksTrump! U.S. Official in Recession under Trump's Watch. |
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Trump’s 2020 Path Gets Trickier With U.S. Formally in Recession
President Donald Trump faces a new obstacle to his case for re-election -- the U.S. is now officially in recession.
The “recession” label, made official on Monday, cements the pain that many voters are already feeling from the economy -- and will feed into their choice in November for who will be able to steer the economy back.
For Democrat Joe Biden, the proclamation from the National Bureau of Economic Research is further evidence that the economy was on shaky ground even before the worst of the coronavirus hit. Trump, he said, has “squandered” the booming economy he inherited from President Barack Obama and himself.
For Trump, the recession declaration came on the first weekday after the May jobs report showed 2.5 million jobs were created and the unemployment rate declined when it was expected to jump. On Friday he touted the numbers as a sign of “the greatest comeback in American history.”
For now, the recession comes as polls show the president’s standing slipping across the board with the country reeling from the pandemic, its economic impact and racial justice protests. Trump is hoping to regain his footing by relaunching his signature rallies in the coming weeks where he will tout his economic record.
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Cory Dodges Again! "Declines" to look at Trump's Disturbing Tweet. |
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‘Ugh’: Republicans cringe after Trump's attack on 75-year-old protester
If there was ever a tweet from President Donald Trump that Senate Republicans didn’t want to touch, it’s this one.
For four years, Senate Republicans have endured a regular gantlet of reporters’ questions about Trump tweets, ranging from attacks on their own colleagues to telling a handful of congresswomen of color to “go back” to the countries they came from.
Trump’s tweet Tuesday morning attacking a 75-year old protester in Buffalo — who was shoved by the police and bled from his head after falling — stunned some in a caucus that’s grown used to the president’s active Twitter feed. After examining a print-out of the tweet, Sen. Lisa Murkowski gasped: “oh lord, Ugh.”
“Why would you fan the flames?” she said of the president’s tweet. “That’s all I’m going to say.”
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Republican senators have a well-worn playbook by now if they don’t want to wade into the latest tweet-fueled controversy by saying they hadn’t seen Trump’s latest comments. Still, even when provided paper copies of the president’s tweet on Tuesday, many declined to view them.
Sens. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) declined to comment on the tweet, saying they hadn’t read it. When asked whether they wanted to see the tweet, both showed little interest. Sen Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said he had “no information about that man or who he is.”
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Volunteers of the Week |
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Meet Sarida Morejon -- one of our new interns here at Team CDP! We checked in with Sarida between her projects so she could introduce herself, and explain why she's passionate about the work she does!
Hi everyone! My name is Sarida Morejon, and I am a rising sophomore at Harvard University. (Go Crimson!) I'm from Austin, TX, but I’ve also lived in Illinois and California. I’m very undecided on my concentration (major) right now, but I’m considering Human Evolutionary Biology with a secondary in History or Social Anthropology, and a citation in Spanish. Last summer, I worked with an organization called Jolt Texas, reaching out to the Latinx community in Austin and trying to increase voter registration and engagement. It really got me motivated and interested in community work, and how to use politics to make change. Then, during my first semester at Harvard, I worked with the Harvard Admissions Office Undergraduate Minority Recruitment Program and got to visit schools with majority-minority populations. It helped me further realize how much I enjoy interacting with people, and influence opportunity at the individual level.
I don’t know a lot about or have much experience with politics, but now more than ever I think it’s so important to be political and involved in activism. I am so excited to get the chance to work with the Colorado Democratic Party this summer and increase Latinx outreach, learn more about participation in local politics, and ultimately make a difference! |
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Do you want to intern or volunteer with the Colorado Dems? Reach out to our volunteer coordinator Karin Asensio at [email protected], and see how YOU CAN GET INVOLVED! |
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Join the Elbow Bumpers Club! |
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What's the Elbow Bumpers Club (formerly known as the High Fivers Club), you ask? It started with a simple idea: There are nearly 1.2 million registered Democrats in Colorado -- what if every single one of them gave just $5 a month to the Colorado Democratic Party (CDP)?
Answer: The CDP would be the best-funded state party in the country -- with zero dollars from corporate PACs and plenty for flipping red seats to blue!
Here's the reality -- the Colorado Dems are working in overdrive to keep the wheels of democracy moving forward, and now is a time when we could really use your help! If you haven't joined the High Fivers Club (temporarily known as the Elbow Bumpers Club now) -- please consider a few reasons to give!
Click the gif below to join the Elbow Bumpers Club! |
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The Funnies! |
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Share the Dispatch |
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If you know someone interested in receiving our weekly newsletter, they can sign up here! |
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Contributions or gifts to the Democratic Party of Colorado are not tax deductible |
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