UPDATE: 2019 Colorado Elections
|
Aurora was not the only place Colorado had its eyes on for electoral flips. Through the work of volunteers and grassroots organizers, the Colorado Democratic Party was able to turn 38 municipal seats blue!
Here are some other pieces of good news from the November 2019 Elections:
- The 2017 elections saw voter turnout at a mere 29% of registered voters. This went up to approximately 41% -- a marked improvement.
- This election, Democrats won municipal seats in places like Gunnison on the Western Slope, Walsenburg in Huerfano County, Canon City in Fremont County, Georgetown in Clear Creek County, and Loveland in Larimer County.
- These wins -- combined with the historical wins in Kentucky and Virginia -- show that Democrats all across the country are still fired up and have huge momentum going into 2020!
|
Impeachment: First Public Hearings Begin
|
Wednesday saw the beginning of public hearings as part of the impeachment inquiry into President Trump's misconduct. On Wednesday, diplomat Bill Taylor and deputy assistant secretary George Kent of the State Department testified before the House Intelligence Committee, and on Friday, former Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch testified.
|
REMINDER: Who are Bill Taylor, George Kent and Marie Yovanovitch:
- Bill Taylor is the acting Ambassador to the Ukraine. In his closed-door deposition with congressional investigators last month, Taylor said his “clear understanding” of the White House’s position was that US military aid and other assistance wouldn’t go to Ukraine unless Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky agreed to investigate Joe Biden and his son, Hunter.
- George Kent is the current deputy assistant secretary in the State Department's European and Eurasian affairs bureau. During his closed-door deposition, Kent explained to investigators why the White House’s “corruption” defense is bogus. “Politically related prosecutions are not the way of promoting the rule of law. They undermine the rule of law,” he said.
- Marie “Masha” Yovanovitch was the US ambassador to Ukraine between August 2016 and May of this year. A widely respected career diplomat and the highest-ranked female ambassador at the State Department, Yovanovitch was the target of Giuliani-led attacks falsely accusing her of, among other things, working to thwart President Trump’s Ukraine policy and being close to the previous Ukrainian president, Petro Poroshenko. That smear campaign ultimately led to her unceremonious dismissal months before her time was up.
|
What were the takeaways from Wednesday's and Friday's hearings:
- Ambassador Taylor's opening statement. From CNN: Taylor also laid out an excruciatingly specific timeline of his interactions with, among others, National Security Adviser John Bolton, US Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland and top Ukrainian officials. In that timeline, he repeatedly made clear that there was a not-very-quiet understanding that military aid from the US to Ukraine was being withheld unless and until the country announced an investigation into Burisma Holdings, a Ukrainian natural gas company where Hunter Biden, the former vice president's son, sat on the board.
- Former Ambassador Yovanovitch's opening statement. From NPR: Marie Yovanovitch, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, who was recalled in the spring amid what she previously described as a "concerted campaign" against her, told lawmakers Friday she did not understand Rudy Giuliani's "motives for attacking me." Yovanovitch's remarks were part of an opening statement to the House Intelligence Committee in the impeachment inquiry into President Trump. Giuliani, the president's personal lawyer, has been named by other witnesses in the inquiry as pressing for Yovanovitch's removal.
- Republicans lay out their defense. During the hearings on Wednesday and Friday, House Republicans went to a number different routes to try and discredit Taylor, Kent, and Yovanovitch. Their arguments boiled down to:
|
Join the High Fivers Club!
|
Don't be like "Eric Trump" and leave us hanging -- HIGH FIVE!
|
"What's 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!
If you haven't given to the CDP yet, here's a few simple reasons why we're asking you today:
- The CDP is the central base that supports volunteer recruitment, training candidates, and helping county parties win elections. While the DNC provides some limited funds, the reality is it is up to us to raise our own money so we can support Democratic candidates running for office in Colorado.
- The CDP is neutral in primaries -- but once the Democratic nominee has emerged, we connect our vast network of volunteers to them so they can knock on more doors than the Republicans.
- Elections and candidates come and go, but the CDP remains. We provide continuity so candidates don't have to reinvent the wheel every cycle.
Will you join the High Fivers Club? Click the logo below to join!
|
The Next DNC Presidential Debate
|
Next Wednesday, November 20, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) will host the 5th round of Presidential debates. In order to qualify, candidates had to:
1) Secure at least 165,000 individual donors, including 600 individual donors from 20 states.
2) Reach 3% in the polls in four DNC approved surveys, or 5% in two DNC approved polls from the four earliest primary and caucus states — Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada.
Here's the 10 candidates who qualified by the Wednesday, November 13 deadline:
|
2020 Democratic Candidates for President
|
(read from left, listed by alphabetical order) Senator Michael Bennet (CO), former Vice President Joe Biden, Senator Cory Booker (NJ), former Governor Steve Bullock (MT), Mayor Pete Buttigieg (South Bend, IN), former HUD Secretary Julián Castro, former Congressman John Delaney (MD), Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (HI), Senator Kamala Harris (CA), Senator Amy Klobuchar (MN), Mayor Wayne Messam (Miramar, FL), former Governor Deval Patrick (MA), Senator Bernie Sanders (VT), former Congressman Joe Sestak (PA), Tom Steyer, Senator Elizabeth Warren (MA), Marianne Williamson, Andrew Yang.
|
Rural Spotlight from Shelia: Montrose County
|
Montrose County is located in the Southwest/Central part of Colorado covering 2,243 square miles. To the north of Montrose County is Mesa and Delta County, to the east is Gunnison County, to the south is Ouray County and San Miguel County and to the west is the State of Utah. Montrose is the county seat.
By about 1500 the Montrose County area was home to Paiute and Ute people. The Paiute ranged into the area from southern Utah, while three distinct bands of Utes, including the Parianuche, Tabeguache, and Weeminuche, occupied the area on a seasonal basis. Chief Ouray was chief of the Uncompahgre band of the Ute tribe. He and his wife, Chipeta, worked to achieve peace between the Ute Indians and white settlers. Today Chipeta is buried in Montrose on the grounds of the Ute Indian Museum, along with other famous Utes. Francisco Dominguez and Silvestre Escalante came to the area in 1776 and bestowed Spanish names on the mountains, rivers and creeks. The town of Montrose began as a railroad town on the main line of the Denver & Rio Grande (D&RG). Joseph Selig and Oliver D. Loutsenhizer were the founders, laying out the town site in 1882. Today Montrose County is a hub for agriculture including the famous Olathe Sweet Corn. The need for water brought the Gunnison Tunnel which was constructed between 1905 and 1909 to divert water from the Gunnison River in the Black Canyon to the surrounding communities. It is a 5.8 mile irrigation tunnel constructed by the Bureau of Reclamation.
|
Today Montrose offers beautiful views and roadways with the intersecting transportation routes between U.S. 50 and U.S. 550. The great gorge of the Black Canyon northeast of Montrose is a scenic attraction and became a National Park in 1999. If you like hiking, rock climbing and just taking a beautiful drive Montrose County offers it all.
It might be a Red strong hold but Kevin Kuns, Montrose County Democratic Chair, works hard to gather support from all the surrounding counties. He is building a strong coalition to work together for the 2020 elections and beyond. There are approximately 4,710 registered Democrats, 12,811 Republicans and 10,446 Unaffiliated voters in Montrose County. In 2018 election 67.65% of the ballots were counted and the unofficial results for 2019 is 49.38%.
|
For more information about the Montrose Democratic Party please check out their website at http://montrosedemocrats.org or their Facebook page Montrose County Democratic Party.
|
Volunteer of the Week: Laura R.
|
Meet Laura -- one of our party's most active and outspoken volunteers! Learn from her why she volunteers for Democratic causes, and how the 2016 election moved her to get more involved.
Prior to 2016, I consistently voted and kept up with current events. I believed this made me an active and informed voter. I had no idea how wrong I was…
As November 2016’s election loomed near, I felt both dismayed and helpless about the societal truths I was finally seeing. I became angry with myself that I had allowed my privilege to keep me blind to these issues. To say I was rattled awake is an understatement. I knew I had to be vocal & public about them.
A friend from from Austin noticed this and sent me a link to volunteer with Hillary Clinton’s campaign. I signed up and worked at the Douglas County Democratic Office for the first time. My job was to call voters and discuss their voting plans. It was nerve-wracking to cold-call people but my sense of empowerment won over. I realized that my actions (although small) had the potential to make a difference in the outcome of that election.
Since having that realization, I never turned back. I now volunteer and support several progressive, grassroots organizations. I also became involved with the Democratic party. The next election cycle, I attended caucus & served as a state assembly delegate for the first time. I became a PCP and am working with the incredible Dems in my area to turn our Douglas County blue. Together we canvass, phone bank, educate voters, support candidates/elected officials at all levels, lobby at the capitol, advocate for equity/progressive values, and increase the local awareness/visibility of our party. It feels powerful to be using our collective voices in this way. I am grateful to all of the incredible Democratic volunteers that do this work. I honestly feel hopeful and optimistic about the strides we are making and those to come.
|
|
Sign up for "Work for the Wave" Webinars!
|
Our party wouldn't be as organized and successful as it is without the talented and dedicated volunteers we have at the local levels. Want to brush up on your skills so you can help make sure Colorado goes blue in 2020? Sign up for an upcoming webinar:
|
The CDP team, officers, and volunteers took part in a "Sip and Paint" team building exercise at the Sipping n' Painting in Hampden. The assignment? To paint a donkey! CDP Chair Morgan Carroll attended a meeting of the Aurora chapter of the NAACP. Outreach Coordinator Raul Guevara attended Monday's House District 40 meeting. Comms Advisor Alyssa Roberts
|
If you know someone interested in receiving our weekly newsletter, they can sign up here!
|
Contributions or gifts to the Democratic Party of Colorado are not tax deductible
|
|
.png "Click Here to get your 2020 Obama Dinner tickets!")
.gif "Give Jimmy a High Five!")
