ANNOUNCEMENTS: The legislative roundup, which is normally the program for the May meeting, must be delayed because the legislature will still be in session.

Britta asked the members if they wanted a meeting in June and they agreed to meet.

PROGRAM: Adrian Miller of the Bell Policy Center spoke on the TABOR Reform

SUMMARY OF THE TALK AND THE QUESTIONS: The Bell Policy Center did a statewide study of issues of concern to the people of Colorado. The number one issue is TABOR, the amendment to the Colorado constitution.

The four major provisions of TABOR are: 1. Voter approval of tax increases, 2. Limits on the growth of revenue, 3. Limits on the growth of spending, 4. Limits on revenue options.

The flaws of TABOR have become obvious in the changing economy of Colorado since the amendment was adopted in 1992. Temporary budget cuts become permanent. Flexibility is restricted. Savings and planning are difficult. Because corrections, Medicaid and K-12 education take 3/4s of the the allowable TABOR budget, other programs, such as higher education, get crowded out. A gap of $1.5 billion exists between revenue and allowable spending.

The Colorado Economic Recovery Act is a bi-partisan measure which will allow a five year time out on TABOR refunds. After five years, $100 million will be added to the allowable base each year. The revenue that will be available due to this change will be dedicated to public education, health care and strategic transportation projects. If there is enough revenue in the sixth year, state income tax will be cut from 4.63% to 4.5%. Another measure will be for bonding for transportation, schools, police and fire protection. Voters will vote on two referenda in November. One will concern the bonding measure and the other will cover the other measures in the Economic Recovery Act.

In response to a question, Mr. Miller said that public opinion is still anti-reform, but many religious groups and business groups support the Recovery Act. The League of Women Voters and AARP both have initiatives to reform TABOR but will not introduce them if the legislative proposal goes to the voters. When a member asked what we could do, Mr Miller responded that we should talk up the reform to everyone we can. He believes that the outcome of the TABOR issue will determine the kind of Colorado we will live in. Colorado has one of the lowest tax burdens in the country and the most restrictive limits on revenue and spending in the country.

The meeting was one of the largest in DWBC history. A collection was held for tsunami victims and raised $1300 dollars. Susan Corbett spoke about a pro-choice rally on inauguration day. Britta suggested that members might want to join the Not One Dime boycott on the same day. She also informed members that they could contact Colorado DNC members to voice a preference for the election of the new party leader. She then presented retiring County Commissioners Paul Danish and Ron Stewart with a framed document thanking them for their service. Newspaper clippings about both of them were on display as well as the texts of Congressional Record tributes entered by Congressman Udall for Commissioner Stewart and for Commissioner Danish. DWBC donated $100 to tsunami relief to honor each commissioner, bringing the grand total for the day to $1500. Both Paul and Ron stressed the importance of involvement in politics. Ron stated that involvement in groups such as DWBC has changed Boulder County from red to blue over the last 35 years.

Dorothy Rupert came straight from the opening session of the state legislature to report on the event which was almost spoiled by the behavior of Republican Senator Norma Anderson who verbally attacked Joan Fitz-Gerald. Nothing could lessen, however, the pride everyone felt in the Democrats reclaiming the majority after 44 years. Joan is the first woman President of the CO Senate and the only one in the nation.

Dorothy stressed the importance for Democrats in reclaiming the language of politics. She mentioned the book Don’t Think of an Elephant by George Lakoff which has become the book to read for Democrats interested in reframing our message.

Mark Udall gave a short talk and answered questions. He pointed out that we are seeing the consequences of reapportionment in the Republican control of state and national legislatures. He also stated that he thinks that the process by which Democrats select a candidate for President is too short. He agreed with Dorothy on the importance of framing our message especially in regard to saving Social Security. His final point concerned the 3 southwest states which he said is where the action is and which are close to going blue.

In response to a question on selecting a chair for the DNC, he said that he is supporting Wellington Webb but noted that there are several other good candidates.

Question 2 concerned election reform. He noted that HAVA has never been fully funded and that the Republicans are not eager to do so.

He answered question 3 concerning choice stating that the action on this issue will be in the Senate and we will need to keep pressure on Senator Salazar and others. He added that George Lakoff makes a very good case for why the Democrats should not move to the center.

In response to a question of the Democratic Leadership Council, he said that while the DLC is a good organization, but the members need to realize we won’t win as Republican lites.

December 8, 2004 - State legislative update, Boulder County legislatorsNovember 10, 2004 - Election recap by distinguished panelists (Summary of Meeting)

October 13, 2004 - Annual Candidates Luncheon and fundraiser

September 8, 2004 - Panel on Ballot Issues
August 11, 2004 - Rick Ridder of Ridder/Braden, political consultant and pollster

June 9, 2004 - Primary Candidates and Volunteer Opportunities

May 12, 2004 - Annual Membership Meeting

April 14, 2004 - Chris Gates, State Democrat Party Chairman

March 10, 2004 - United States Senate Candidates

February 11, 2004 - Chris Brauchli, Attorney and Syndicated Columnist

January 14, 2004 - Human/Social Services in Boulder County Josie Health. DeAnne Butterfield, Terry Benjamin

Prepared by Beverly Springer

Preliminary Comments:

The program for the December luncheon will be the annual meeting with state legislators from Boulder County. The program for the December 1 noon meeting for members interested in new applications for technology will be presented by Jared Polis who will discuss online education.

Program Summary:

Caroline Powell, the first speaker, is the organizer of the Voter Protection Effort which involved 134 lawyers who volunteered on Election Day to assist at polling places and also to assist at the Clerk and Recorder’s Office. The 2002 national HAVA Act as well as the more stringent Colorado voting legislation created two main problems. The first is the requirement for voters to present an acceptable identification. The group encouraged CU to issue student identification which was very helpful. Also the group provided a poll watcher and an additional lawyer outside the polling place at all the student polling places. The second problem concerned the provisional ballots. Ms. Powell believes that the most serious potential problem with provisional ballots was alleviated when the Secretary of State ruled that poll watchers had to be from the county. This ruling removed the concern that outsiders would tie up the poll by challenging student voters. Overall no serious problems arose on Election Day possibly because the presence of lawyers warned persons who were seeking to discourage voters that such actions would not be tolerated.

Rick Ridder, a political consultant, was the second speaker. He provided a number of observations and facts on both the national and the Colorado election. Thirty percent of the people who voted for Bush nationally like him but do not think that he is doing a good job. The gay issue drove the increase in rural voting. In Colorado people between the ages of 18 and 29 voted 51% to 47% for Kerry. In his analysis of the Kerry and Bush campaigns between March and November, he found that the Kerry campaign had four or five main issues compared to only 1 in the Bush campaign. Iraq dominated the Kerry campaign in the final weeks despite the fact that he was badly hurt by the Swift Boat issue. He made two very interesting points at the end of his talk. He believed that the stem cell initiative in California was an important factor in bringing out voters who also supported Democratic candidates. He wondered if a similar positive initiative in Colorado would not be a good thing for Democrats to consider. Finally he noted that two-thirds of independents voted for Salazar and Democratic candidates for the state legislature although they voted for Bush. Furthermore, a significant number of women voted for Bush but then voted for Salazar.

Alice Madden, the new House Majority Leader, spoke about the factors contributing to the Democrats’ success in taking control in the state house. The success started with the redrawing of the legislative map and with early effort by house Democrats to raise campaign funds. The house Democratic committee supported candidates for open seats and helped draft messages which focused on the daily concerns of their constituents.

Question Period

In response to a question regarding the proposal on changing the way electoral votes are apportioned in Colorado, Mr. Ridder said that in the last ten years twenty-one states have considered a similar proposal. He believes that it will take a long time to get public acceptance.

He also stated that exit polls were valid in this state but he was more guarded regarding exit polls nationally. In Colorado twenty percent of the vote is rural. Salazar ran well in rural areas getting as much as fifty percent more votes in areas than Kerry. Rural voters in the state vote more on the individual and are more moderate than suburban voters.

In response to a question on Tabor, Alice Madden said that Owens is now willing to accept change in Tabor due to the Democratic majority but she does not like his proposal for selling tobacco bonds.