Shortly after state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer told Colorado Public Radio earlier this week that a deal had been struck to pass a new round of property tax cuts in order to keep a package of even deeper cuts off the November ballot, reality began to set in.
While top legislative Democrats say they’re open to minor tax cuts like Kirkmeyer is proposing,calling the special session needed to do it before the ballot is finalized next month could be another matter entirely.
“At this point, I am not aware of any Democrat advocating for a special session,” Kirkmeyer, a Brighton Republican, told The Colorado Sun on Tuesday.
Instead, a number of them are doing just the opposite, fuming in public and in private at the situation they find themselves in.
On the one hand, the benefits of keeping Initiatives 50 and 108 off the November ballot are obvious. A deal would mitigate a number of risks. The governor’s office fears that if both pass, the state government would face recession-like budget cuts. Meanwhile, investors have threatened to abandon the state’s municipal bond market, a top source of financing for both public infrastructure and private development.
“It’s a relatively minor change to Senate Bill 233,” state Sen. Chris Hansen, a Denver Democrat, said, referring to this year’s property tax cut measure. “The offer that we received is, ‘if you’ll make some minor changes then we would pull down ballot initiatives and not bring any back for 10 years.’ ”
But that might not be enough to overcome Democrats’ aversion to a special session.
Here are three reasons why:
Here are some of the provisions in the proposed deal, confirmed to The Sun by Kirkmeyer and Hansen:
STORY: Investors fear a property tax cap could stifle attainable housing development in Colorado
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POLITICAL RISKS OF A SPECIAL SESSION
Holding a special session doesn’t come without political risks beyond the property tax debate.
Some analysis:
There’s also simply not much time for a special session to happen.
To meet the demands of conservatives, it would have to be completed before Sept. 9, when the November ballot is required to be certified by the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office. It takes at least three days to pass a bill at the Capitol. Labor Day is coming up. Lawmakers, many of whom have kids and other jobs, haven’t been warned to clear their calendars to return to Denver in the coming weeks.
SENATE DEMOCRATS MEET, COLORADO SUN KEPT OUT
The Senate Democratic caucus met Thursday afternoon on Zoom to discuss “what would even be possible with schedules/logistics” around property taxes and the state budget, a spokesperson said.
The Sun tried to attend the meeting, but was barred because legislation wasn’t going to be discussed and nothing is currently pending before the legislature, the spokesperson said.
The new open meetings law for the General Assembly that was passed by the legislature this year says the public does not have a right to attend meetings about subjects that “are by nature interpersonal, administrative or logistical.” Previously, an open meeting was broadly defined as “any kind of gathering, convened to discuss public business, in person, by telephone, electronically, or by other means of communication.”
WHAT TO WATCH
THE ASPEN TIMES: Donald Trump’s upcoming Aspen visit to be hosted by energy tycoons, investment execs and more
8TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo, D-Thornton, is among a list of Democrats running for reelection in toss-up districts who won’t be attending the Democratic National Convention in Chicago later this month, as first reported by Punchbowl News. Caraveo is running against Evans in the 8th District.
“She’s focusing on her race,” Javier Luna, Caraveo’s spokesperson, told The Unaffiliated.
Caraveo has used her social media accounts to express support for Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota.
Meanwhile, Caraveo’s communications director, Luke Bishop, has left Caraveo’s congressional office heading into the election’s home stretch and is now working for another Democratic congresswoman.
Bishop is the second major departure from Caraveo’s communications staff in recent months. He took over from Kaylin Dines, who left the role at the beginning of the year.
THE NARRATIVE
A bylaw amendment that could make it impossible to dislodge Dave Williams before the end of his term
If opponents of Colorado GOP Chairman Dave Williams fail to remove him from the party’s top post later this month, they may be unable to dislodge him for the rest of his term, which ends in March.
A major bylaw amendment being proposed by Williams’ allies would make it harder to call a special meeting to remove the Colorado GOP chairman or other party officers.
Currently, it only takes a written request of 25% of the members of the central committee to force such a meeting and a vote. The amendment would require that request be made through a form developed and authorized by the party’s secretary, and that each member of the central committee who signs it disclose “sufficient identifying information so that the secretary can verify the requesters are voting members and that they do, in fact, desire that the requested meeting be held.”
Additionally, the amendment would create a seven-day challenge period after a request for a special meeting to remove a party officer is made. During that time, the Colorado GOP executive committee could indefinitely postpone the gathering while the challenge is pending.
The bylaw amendment is scheduled to be considered at the central committee’s Aug. 31 meeting, which is about a week after Williams’ opponents on the committee are planning to take a vote on whether to oust the chairman.
Getting the votes to remove Williams may not be easy. The Colorado GOP’s bylaws say a party officer can only be removed “by a vote of three-fifths of the entire membership of the CRC eligible to vote at a meeting called for that purpose.” There are two interpretations of the rule: it could mean 60% of those present at the meeting, or 60% of the entire central committee —which is made up of about 400 people.
Passing a bylaw amendment, by comparison, is arguably easier. It requires the support of two-thirds “of those members present and voting” at a central committee meeting.
There’s a scenario in which members of the central committee who oppose Williams show up to the Aug. 24 meeting to try to remove him, are unsuccessful and then skip the Aug. 31 meeting where the bylaw amendment is then adopted.
The Colorado GOP is not exactly broadcasting that the amendment will be considered Aug. 31. In a notice about the gathering, the party said the principal purposes of the meeting will be to consider a bylaw change on fractional voting that wouldn’t be implemented until after the 2024 election, an update on the party’s open primary lawsuit and consideration of party officer removal requests “that were properly submitted and verified.”
The Colorado GOP executive committee has already ruled that the request for a meeting to remove Williams was improperly made. The only way people would know about the bylaw amendment around removing party officers is if they read the entire report of the party’s bylaws committee, which could not be considered a document someone would read for fun.
SHORING UP THE EFFORT TO REMOVE WILLIAMS
Current Colorado GOP leadership maintains that the Aug. 24 meeting will be “invalid and illegal” because the party couldn’t verify the legitimacy of the list of people who asked for it.
Williams opponents —led by El Paso County GOP Vice Chairman Todd Watkins and Jefferson County GOP Chairwoman Nancy Pallozzi —appear to be taking steps to stamp out that argument.
Chris Murray, the former Colorado GOP lawyer now representing Watkins and Pallozzi, said in court Tuesday that within a day of being hired he had collected nearly 50 declarations from people confirming they had requested the meeting to oust Williams.
“We are in the process of gathering declarations from everybody who signed that petition,” Murray said.
But, he added, even if he can’t get declarations from everyone who signed the petition, if at least 25% of the central committee shows up to the Aug. 24 meeting, that will prove there is enough support for a gathering to oust Williams.
Murray said Williams has been trying to prevent a quorum as a way to protect his position. “Tell people it’s a bogus meeting. Tell them not to show up. And if they don’t have a quorum, they can’t do anything,” he said.
It takes a third of the committee to constitute a quorum to even hold a valid meeting — more than is required to request the gathering in the first place.
IF WILLIAMS IS REMOVED, HOW WOULD HE BE REPLACED?
If Williams is removed, any candidates vying to replace him would only have to win a majority of those present at a central committee meeting called to fill the vacancy.
Watkins has added filling any officer vacancies to the agenda of the Aug. 24 meeting, but it’s unclear if that’s in line with the party’s bylaws.
The Republicans who are seeking to replace Williams so far include Eli Bremer, who ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate in 2020 and formerly served as chair of the El Paso County GOP; state Rep. Richard Holtorf, who ran unsuccessfully for Congress this year; former Routt County Treasurer Brita Horn, who ran unsuccessfully to be state treasurer in 2018; and Douglas County GOP Chair Steve Peck.
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THE POLITICAL TICKER
CAPITOL SCONCE
The “original” bronze wall sconce from the Colorado Capitol that was for sale on eBay for $9,000 is no longer being offered on the site. The listing was up for more than a year, but as of July 13 at 7:08 p.m. it’s “no longer available.” Members of Colorado’s Capitol Building Advisory Committee were intent on getting the sconce back, but were unsure whether they could seize it or if they would have to purchase it.
The Colorado Sun tried to get in touch with the seller but never heard back. Legislative staffers this week told The Sun that they didn’t purchase the sconce and expressed dismay that it was no longer for sale.
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
Colorado Board of Education Member Rhonda Solis, a Democrat who is running for reelection to her 8th Congressional District seat, recently sent out a campaign mailer with a logo claiming she’s the first Latina elected to the board. That’s not true. She’s preceded at least by Val Flores, who was elected to the board in 2014 and served through early 2021.
Flores said the logo was a draft and that it has been corrected. She pointed out that she’s the first Latina member of the board from the 8th District. That’s true, but she’s also the first and only person on the board to be elected from the 8th District, which didn’t exist until 2022. Solis is running against Republican Yazmin Navarro, who is also Latina. The board’s pro-charter school majority hinges on the 8th District race.
PERA
Colorado’s Pension Review Subcommittee approved a handful of recommendations last week regarding the state pension. They include:
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THIS WEEK’S PODCAST: Investors fear Colorado a property tax cap could stifle housing development
ELECTION 2024
Colorado Voters First begins airing ads as part of campaign to pass election overhaul measure
Colorado Voters First, the Kent Thiry-funded group supporting a measure on the November ballot that would overhaul the state’s elections system, has begun running TV ads across the state.
That’s according to Federal Communications Commission filings and one of the ads themselves, which Fish (the former Sun correspondent who will never really retire) spotted this week.
The 30-second ad starts with a narrator saying “elections belong to voters, not political insiders” as images of Colorado GOP Chairman Dave Williams and the state Capitol flash across the screen. Also featured in the ad is state Rep. Emily Sirota, a Denver Democrat, with the words “DIRTY, BACKROOM POLITICS” superimposed over her.
Sirota was behind an amendment passed at the end of this year’s legislative session neutering the election overhaul measure, should it pass.
The ad doesn’t encourage voters to support a certain measure, in large part because Initiative 310, the question backed by Colorado Voters First, hasn’t qualified for the ballot yet. That’s expected to happen in the coming days, after which it will get a formal ballot designation (like Proposition 199).
Initiative 310 would change Colorado’s primaries so candidates from all parties run against each other, followed by a ranked choice general election. Colorado Voters First is in large part funded by Thiry, the former CEO of the Denver-based dialysis giant DaVita.
The committee’s latest campaign finance report shows it spent about $700,000 to gather petition signatures in July, as well as about $90,000 on “media placement,” which is likely TV ads.
The group has also brought on Democratic strategist Ted Trimpa as an adviser, the report shows.
Voter Rights Colorado, a group opposing Initiative 310 backed by a list of progressive organizations, has started raising money, too, albeit to a much lesser extent. The committee received $20,000 from Coloradans For Accessible and Secure Elections, a nonprofit created in December that doesn’t disclose its donors.
Group fighting property tax measures raises $150k
Coloradans for Local Communities, the issue committee battling two property tax cut measures headed for the November ballot has started raising money.
The group raised $150,000 in July, including $75,000 from Gary Advocacy LLC, $60,000 from the Colorado Education Fund for Children and Public Education, $15,000 from Colorado Civic Education and $10,000 from the Colorado Professional Fire Fighters.
The Alliance for Citizens’ Tax Cut, the group supporting the measures, raised just $24,000 and had about $30,000 in campaign cash to begin August.
THE BIGGER PICTURE
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