Hillman: An End Run on Taxpayers

Former acting treasurer Mark Hillman writes about the end run around the taxpayers being run by Bill Ritter:

Republicans wouldn’t have dreamed of this storyline, but for the second time in less than a year, Democrat Gov. Bill Ritter is proposing a major tax increase.

And just like last time, he doesn’t want to let you vote on it.

Taxpayers who have just received their property tax bill could be forgiven for mistaking last year’s tax "freeze" for a tax hike. After all, when the legislature and the governor pass a new law that causes you to pay more than you would have otherwise, most people understandably think their taxes have been raised.

But since your taxes were "frozen," you don’t get to vote – even though the Taxpayers Bill of Rights in the state constitution says you should. (If only you had a law degree or a union membership, it would all make perfect sense.)

Now the governor [ Bill Ritter ] wants to pull a similar legal slight of hand on the cost of renewing license plates on your vehicle.

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Cory Voorhis Going to Trial

There is an exceedingly interesting but very long set of comments at the bottom of a Denver Post article on the outcome of the Voorhis pre-trial hearing. The quotes are more informative than the article. We bring part of them here in the hope that others will read all of them:

I'm not classifying Bill Ritter as the "victim". The CBI did that on their own. He is officially listed in their investigative reports as the victim.

I'm not Cory's father, brother, son, or any other relative. I realize that these defenses will be used at trial. And the reality is that it is my opinion, and my opinion only, that it will be difficult, if not impossible for the US Attorney to obtain a conviction.

FACT: There have been in excess of 5,000 pages of discovery turned over to the defense. Do you have any idea of how much investigative effort has been put forth to generate that much paper? And at what cost to the taxpayer? This is a MISDEMEANOR charge and not a felony. It could have easily been handled by ICE administratively as a disciplinary action or adverse action. But instead, it's been made into a, pardon the pun. "Federal Case".

FACT: Judge Kane stated from the bench that he believed Voorhis did not access NCIC or CCIC for an authorized purpose. I didn't make this up. The judge said it in open court. That is tantamount to the judge saying that Cory Voorhis is guilty before he's had a trial and before the jury of his peers has gotten to make that determination on their own. The Constitution guarantees a presumption of innocence. For a District Court Judge to pronounce prior to the commencement of a trial that he believes that the defendant who stands before him is guilty runs contrary to that presumption

Bill Ritter: Doing The Right Thing, Maybe

We're often critical of Bill Ritter because there is much to be critical of. When he does something right, we need to recognize and applaud his action.

The Coloradoan reports that he is seeking to see if Tim Masters can be compensated if he is fully exonerated. It is the right thing to do.

If he forced Masters to sue for compensation, a large verdict would discourage prosecutors from ensuring justice was done when new evidence was uncovered. They would attempt to keep the innocent in jail to save their jurisdictions from paying damages.

The Fort Collins police department is very likely liable for its actions in the Masters case, which means the taxpayers are liable. That is very likely one of the reasons that the prosecutor has refused to clear him, probably unjustly.

For a lawyer, Bill Ritter is pretty messed up. Not this one time.

Bill Ritter - For Gun Control or Against?

We like to tell the story of two Republicans who live about ten miles apart. We met them while we were knocking on doors and making phone calls for Bob Beauprez.

One voted for Bill Ritter because he thought Ritter would protect hunter's rights better than Bob Beauprez. The other voted for Bill Ritter because he was certain that Ritter would work for gun control.

This last guy was a gun control nut. When informed that this author had purchased a shotgun after finding a burglar in the house one night, he said "he didn't kill you, did he?" That's the gold standard among gun control nuts. Of course, they have no compassion for those who do die or are raped when their gun is beyond their reach, or they have no gun.

Today, the GJ Sentinel reports that our two Republicans will find out which was the greater fool:

A panel of state lawmakers gave initial approval Monday afternoon to a bill that could criminalize the careless storage of firearms.

Sen. Sue Windels, D-Arvada, said the ready availability of firearms in some households has fueled teen suicides and school violence, and lawmakers should discourage the negligent storage of weapons.

Senate Bill 49 would make it a misdemeanor offense for an adult to fail to safely and securely store a firearm, which a 16-year-old or 17-year-old child could then use to harm someone or take the gun to school.

Harassing Union Tactics Unleashed by Ritter's Executive Order

From the University of Colorado newspaper comes a story about union organizers accused of harassing state employees:

Last week, human resource directors from many state agencies met with leaders from several unions to voice their concerns about union organizers' tactics, which some called over-aggressive. One union organizer, employed by Colorado WINS, was arrested in downtown Denver in November for allegedly trespassing on Regional Transportation District property after attempting to distribute leaflets in an adjacent private building where a state agency is located. In a more recent incident, a union organizer who visited a Department of Corrections (DOC) employee at home, found himself on the business end of a gun. (The DOC could not confirm the incident, but S&GR learned about the incident from two union leaders, both of whom volunteered the information.)

The response from union leaders at the Jan. 25 meeting was that if unions are denied access to state employees in the workplace, home visits and home phone calls may be their chief way to get petitions signed for employee partnerships....

Heather Perdue, DOC human resources manager, told S&GR that her employees view the home visits as an invasion of privacy. Other HR directors said some employees have complained about multiple phone calls at home in the evenings. Hudson replied that there are at least three organizations trying to recruit and it's possible that employees are getting calls from three organizations in one night.

Remember, it was Gov. Bill Ritter's November 2 executive order that set these events rapidly in motion. In the past three months, we've been told these are harmless and constructive "partnerships" designed to make state government more "efficient."

And now what do we read about: Trespassing? Visits and repeated phone calls (maybe they should organize a telemarketers' union) to employee homes? The unions seem really eager to get employees on board to take part in these "partnerships." Except what they're telling their targeted future members is something different than what the governor has said to try to reassure citizens of the state:

[Colorado Association of Public Employees spokesman Miller] Hudson also addressed the issue of what messages are being communicated to state employees. He said his organization is talking about negotiating for better wages and benefits in recruiting messages, in spite of the Ritter administration's statements that those issues are non-negotiable due to existing statutory and budget limitations.

The question remains: Is Ritter being manipulated by the unions, or is he a willing collaborator? Whichever is the case, he shares some accountability for opening his employees' doors to coercive union tactics and the government's doors to inevitable rising costs.

At least one official is trying to do something about the problem on both fronts:

Sen. Shawn Mitchell (R-Broomfield) said he also had heard stories, including ones from friends who are state employees and say they are being harassed. He said he suspects that a master list of state employees' home phone numbers and addresses may have been illegally provided to the unions, and that he is looking into the matter. The union tactics are "outrageous," Mitchell said, "but not surprising." He said the Ritter executive order is more about "throwing open the door to coercive recruiting tactics, not about creating a collegial partnership with state employees." Mitchell is a sponsor of SB 86, which would overturn the Ritter order. It is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee on Feb. 6.

Hudson and [Communications Workers of America organizer Al] Kogler told the human resource managers that those lists were purchased from information brokers who are "tracking down" state employees.

Purchasing lists for the privilege of "tracking down" state employees in their homes? That's a lot of time, effort, and brain damage to spend just to make government more "efficient." Either Gov. Ritter has been insulting our intelligence, or letting his own intelligence be insulted. Neither is a flattering compliment for this great state of Colorado.

Cross posted at Mount Virtus

Where is Bill Ritter on Nuclear Power?

One of the more interesting aspects of this election cycle has been the willingness of major Colorado politicians to undercut each other.

They may all be reading from the same environmentalist extremist playbook, but some seem to have started from the back of the book, some in the middle, and some at the beginning.

Take Roan drilling, for example. Neither Ken Salazar nor Mark Udall could seem to anticipate that the lure of billions of tax dollars would cause Bill Ritter to cave on the issue. Once Ritter caved, the position folded up like a house of cards. Now, Salazar and Udall favor drilling on the top of the Roan plateau.

It never was a defensable position because the Roan is not pristine back country. Any one who questioned that need only call up Google Earth to discover that is is scrub land.

Now comes the issue of nuclear power. Mark Udall pulled his finger out of the anti nuclear dam when he told the Denver Post after the State of the Union address:

"I believe we've got to take another look at nuclear power because of the carbon footprint it doesn't have," said [ Mark ] Udall. "But we do it taking into account the challenges that nuclear power presents, cost-wise and environmentally."

So, now it is time to find out which part of the environmentalist extremist playbook Bill Ritter is playing on nuclear power. Where do you stand Governor? Your campaign contributors want to know.

Picking My Pocket

Some years ago, I voted for TABOR. I was a late convert. I wasn't eleigible to vote in Colorado until 1990, and that year, I voted against it along with a majority of Colorado citizens.

The legislature responded by immediately raising taxes, as they had done immediately after the first TABOR loss in 1988. They couldn't seem to realize that they were rubbing the voter's faces in the TABOR losses and that eventually, voters would get angry.

In 1992, I was ready to vote for TABOR, and did so, again with a majority of Colorado citizens.

Now comes Bill Ritter who wants to get rid of TABOR. If he can't get rid of TABOR, he wants to emasculate it. Meanwhile, he can't seem to follow the constitution. He wants to raise taxes, so he calls them fees.

He has put out the word that he will be putting a bill before the legislature to raise $500,000,000. That is a lot of zeroes. He doesn't seem to have learned anything. If this legislature and governor were turned loose from TABOR the level of taxation imposed on Colorado citizens would make Californians and Taxachuttes citizens blush.

Fool me once...

The Denver Post article we linked to now has 227 comments. Usually, they are lucky to get five. Bill Ritter will be a one term governor, but he can do a lot of damage in that one term.