Gov. Jared Polis took a buzzsaw to hundreds of outdated and obsolete executive orders on Thursday — literally. Polis sawed through more than 200 executive orders, which stretched back decades and through multiple administrations, before issuing a new formal executive order to rescind them. He joked that it was the first time in state history … Read more
Gov. Jared Polis struck down a half-dozen bills to close this year’s legislative session. But a revived proposal to fight wage theft — potentially with his backing — shows that the defeats aren’t necessarily permanent. House Majority Leader Monica Duran, a Wheat Ridge Democrat, was one of the prime sponsors of House Bill 1008. The … Read more
State Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis was stripped of legislative aides this week by chamber leaders following new allegations about her treatment and management of staff. Jaquez Lewis, a Longmont Democrat, had faced previous allegations of staff mistreatment. She was removed from a bill concerning wage theft protections during the regular legislative session earlier this year … Read more
Denver Sen. Chris Hansen’s decision to leave the state Capitol for a job in southwestern Colorado while endorsing two Democrats to ascend the political ladder behind him has frustrated party officials and sparked fresh criticism of the process that’s served as a gateway for a third of the state legislature. “The optics are (expletive),” summarized … Read more
State Sen. Janet Buckner, an Aurora Democrat, announced Thursday that she plans to resign at the start of the legislative session in January. Buckner is the second senator to announce their resignation in the weeks following their reelection. She was unopposed in her Nov. 5 reelection. Buckner has served in the legislature since 2015, when … Read more
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis is proposing a year of “belt-tightening” to make up for softening inflation and higher Medicaid costs. He presented his budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year on Friday afternoon. It doesn’t account for Tuesday’s elections, which include some potentially costly measures on the state ballot. The next legislature, which is also … Read more
Cynthia Hawkins and Bill Christopher both depict themselves as moderates whose vote preferences this year are being steered, at least in part, by worries over immigration. But it’s not driving their votes the same way. Instead, their shared concerns about the sheer number of new arrivals to the country in recent years, along with the … Read more
In a typical election year, Colorado’s 4th Congressional District would be all but written off. The Eastern Plains district, on paper, is the most Republican-leaning in the state. In 2022, U.S. Rep. Ken Buck won reelection by nearly 24 percentage points, about in line with the advantage Republicans should expect given the 4th’s partisan makeup. … Read more
Outside committees have spent more than $1.2 million on a handful of Colorado legislative races already this election cycle, highlighting the electoral fights that could determine how much power the majority Democrats will have in the Capitol for the next two years. The spending, most of it by party-aligned independent expenditure committees, largely targets nine … Read more
Denverites can now find out which city benefits, discounts and programs they qualify for through a new web portal, Mayor Mike Johnston said Wednesday. The new service, called MyFriendBen, uses residents’ basic biographical information to scan more than 50 public benefits and tell users which ones they may qualify for in only a few minutes. … Read more
