U.S. Senator Michael Bennet will be coming to Boulder to speak to the Democratic Women and has promised ample time for Q&A.  This is a great and rare opportunity to hear from our new Senator and to get your questions answered.  Word will spread quickly and reservations are on a first come first serve basis, so please, don’t delay and make them now!

RSVP (yes only) to Sharon Conley at rsvp.dwbc@gmail.com, or call her at 303 554 0960 no later than Monday, April 13, at 8:00 PM.  We acknowledge every reservation, so give Sharon a call if you have not received a confirmation.

Meeting details:

When:  Wednesday, April 15, 2009 – Evening Program
Where: The Spice of Life Event Center, located at the Flatirons Golf Course, 5706 Arapahoe Road, Boulder, CO.
Time:  Doors open at 5:30 PM for Cocktails and Hors D’Oeuvres. Program begins promptly at 6:15 PM and wraps up at 7:30 PM.
Cost:  $18 for Hors D’Oeuvres Buffet.  A cash bar will be open for cocktails. $10 for program only.

Please Join…
Stan Garnett, Alice and Pete Madden, Jim Martin, Bev Noun, Tom Plant,
Todd Saliman, Michelle Segal, and David Skaggs (Host Committee in Formation) for a reception to benefit Governor Bill Ritter in support of his 2010 re-election.

When: Thursday, April 16, 2009 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm

Where: Alice and Pete Madden’s home, 1158 Pintail Circle, Boulder, CO 80303

Host: Write or Raise $1,000

Sponsor: Write or Raise $500

Guest: $100

RSVP to Tegan Alexander at (303) 825-0518, talexander@ritterforgovernor.com

For more detail and to RSVP click here.

Newly appointed Senator Michael Bennet is coming to Boulder this Saturday, March 14th, to meet you, share ideas and solicit your feedback. You are cordially invited to join us from 3:00 to 4:30 at our house, 2945 Lafayette Drive, Boulder CO 80305. Note, this is NOT a fundraiser.

To RSVP go to http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gptqsk.

Hope to see you Saturday.

Dan and Diane
303-499-2028
dianerosenthal@mac.com

Rita Weiss, DWBC Board Member and Jill Hanauer, President, Project New West

Our guest speaker, Jill Hanauer, President of Project New West, spoke to the group about the results of their recent polling and demographic trend research which they produce for political organizations, non-profits, and candidates. It was an excellent power-point presentation and discussion with emphasis on the mistaken tendency to interpret recent democratic election victories in the Rocky West as a trend toward liberalism. PNW research shows that the western electorate is uniquely non-partisan and independent, preferring split tickets that create a balance of representation. She cited Betsy Markey’s defeat of Marilyn Musgrave as a good example of a district that is still generally conservative (they voted against Obama and Udall in double digits), but will replace an incumbent with a more moderate candidate regardless of party affiliation. In most areas of the intermountain west, when Democrats are elected, they tend to be moderate as opposed to ideologues; western values coming before partisan priorities. Looking ahead to 2010, some of the most competitive congressional races will occur in the intermountain west and 6 of 8 governorships will be contested. The rise in population of the Hispanic voter indicates that elementary education and basic health care issues will not be sidelined. A slide show of Jill’s presentation will be posted on the DWBC website as soon as it becomes available.

Bunnie Strassner and Heather Boyle-Noland, Fascinating Learning Factory

Bunnie Strassner of the Fascinating Learning Factory opened our February meeting with a presentation on the educational programming her company produces for middle school students which focuses on the political process.  They recently produced a highly acclaimed series of animated shorts on “Facts of Congress” for the Center on Congress at Indiana University.  For more information:  http://fascinatinglearningfactry.org/

Vicky Patton

Vickie manages EDF’s national clean air programs and has led the way in trying to force the Bush administration to integrate greenhouse gas reduction measures with clean air regulations. Vickie in particular is widely credited for her work on the April 2007 case in which the US Supreme Court rejected EPA’S claim that it lacked legal authority to regulate global warming pollution. Recently, she has been opposing the Bush administration’s last-minute efforts to gut these clean air protections. Vicki said there is “room for hope” and praised President-elect Obama’s choices for top energy and environmental jobs. Vicki discussed the scientific foundation that has been laid for energy conservation and the very bipartisan commitment to clean renewable energy. She also spoke specifically about Colorado and the progress that has been made to develop clean homegrown energy.

Will Shaffroth

Will Shafroth introduces Vickie as “a national treaure.”

Local legislators on priorities for the upcoming session, and District Attorney-elect Stan Garnett.

Finally, the eleventh hour, and not a moment too soon!  If the polls are correct and the energy and volunteer turnout witnessed in the last few months is any indication, Colorado will be a solidly BLUE STATE by the time we meet again on November 12th.

We are fortunate to have Barack Obama’s personal pollster, Paul Harstad, join us for a breakdown on what happened nationwide, where the trends are, and what they’re indicating.  Paul has been polling for Barack since 2002 and will have a lot of insight to share with us about how the “paradigm shift” occured in the American psyche.  Paul’s our go-to guy for your questions and concerns, and we’ve set aside plenty of time for Q&A, so please come prepared to engage him.

We will also welcome Congressman-elect Jared Polis who will share his legislative priorities and review the election results as they unfolded around Colorado.

Several other notables have been extended an invitation, but their itineraries are fluid at the moment so we hope to give your more details in our reminder notice.

Ballot issues

Congressional Candidates Betsy Markey, Ft. Collins, Had Bidlack, Colorado Springs, and Hank Eng, Littleton

Acceptance Speech party at Spice of Life co-hosted with the Boulder County Democratic Party.