For federal candidates, campaign finance reports are already public knowledge. For our campaign the report is due Monday, May 3. Yesterday our treasurer and I downloaded the spreadsheet from the Secretary of State’s website, and input the data to complete our report. We would have officially filed yesterday, but there was a glitch in uploading the spreadsheet once we had completed the data entry. We are working with the Secretary of State’s office to resolve the problem.I can tell you that we are nowhere near as well financed as Hickenlooper in his race for Governor. He raised $1.1-million. We aren’t anywhere near as well financed as McInnis in his race for Governor, even though people are making snide remarks about him only raising $550,000.Over the course of two races, we raised about $6,100. We were able to transfer $4,960 from our House District 54 race into our Senate District 7 race. We contacted almost every donor by phone to ask permission to make that transfer. One $20 donor in New Jersey asked for his money back, and we returned it. (New Jersey? Get the rope!)Our expenses were minimal in the House District race. Most of our effort was spent getting the candidate up to speed on campaigning and campaign finance laws, and meeting voters in Grand Junction and Delta. We could have asked the campaign to reimburse the candidate for mileage at the IRS rate of $0.50 per mile--I donated it as an in-kind donation to the campaign instead. Total in-kind donations in the House race were a little over $500, most of which was mileage, but also included food at fundraisers. We have one major campaign expense so far in the Senate District race--$400 paid to the Colorado Democratic Party. This gives us access to the party’s voter data base. Our total cash expenditures were slightly less than $500 in the House race and slightly less than $600 in the Senate race. The other $200 in the Senate went for printing donation envelopes and other office supplies. Bottom line, we raised about $6,100, spent about $1,100 and have about $5,000 and some campaign supplies on hand. Because of the demographics in the Senate district, we will need to spend a lot of time and money on reaching voters in order to convince them that we are offering a candidate that will truly represent them in Denver. We are doing everything we can to be frugal, and not spend money unnecessarily. We are trying to build a cash-balance that will allow us to air multiple TV ads in September—before early voting begins in Mid-October.We are thankful for the support we have received so far. People have given both money and time. We are building that army of volunteers that I said I needed when first interviewed by the local media, and we are grateful for the support of each and every one of them. We’ve even had a few surprises. I have two ex-husbands, and they both sent cash!Homework:http://www.junctiondailyblog.com/index.phphttp://blogs.denverpost.com/thespot/2010/04/29/hickenlooper-raises-1-1-in-first-fundraising-quarter/
Today the House in Denver is debating House bill 1417. The purpose of this bill is to create a permanent commission to examine the pay gap that exists for women and minorities.I can’t imagine why we are still fighting this important battle. It should have been won years ago. Yet the most recent census figures disclosed that women still earn only $0.77 for every $1.00 that men earn. When you break it down to women of color the pay gap is even worse. African-American women earn $0.71. Latinas earn $0.56.The commission created by this bill would consist of 11 individuals to be appointed by the Governor. Lots of interests must be represented on the commission: small businesses, large businesses, education, unions, the Colorado Department of Labor, and the Civil Rights Division just to name a few.Commission members serve two-year terms and are term-limited out after two consecutive terms. If 2/3 of the commissioners agree that a new policy should be implemented, they will recommend the change to the legislature.It seems this is a pretty small step to take, but other than a note I received from Colorado Women’s Lobby, there is little about this bill in the press. It is way past time for women to be paid equal pay for equal work. Our families depend on it.Homework:http://cohousedems.typepad.com/my_weblog/2010/04/tuesday-equal-pay-day-at-the-capitol-lawmakers-dress-in-red-resolution-and-new-bill-address-wage-dis.htmlhttp://www.coloradowomenslobby.org/
Just when I thought I was getting a handle on education issues in Colorado, along comes a bill about hiking tuition in Colorado’s community colleges and universities. While the K-12 bill (SB 10-191) is about teacher performance in order to attract Race to the Top federal money, the college tuition bill is about filling the gap in funding caused by the ratchet effect of TABOR during a recession.As Colorado’s income decreased because high unemployment rates meant fewer people were paying income taxes, the gap in funding for higher education was filled by federal money coming out of TARP. That money expires on July 1, 2011. When the federal money is no longer available, Colorado is looking at a $300-million cut in funding to colleges. That’s 50% of the total funding. That’s like a family going from earning $50,000 a year to earning $25,000 a year with health care costs staying constant at $12,000 a year. This is a real crisis for the college system.At least this legislature is looking at a way to fix the problem. Under the GOP, when Bill Owens was Governor, the state considered selling off its entire university system to the highest bidder, which would have made Colorado the only state in the nation that didn’t offer affordable public higher education to its kids.Unfortunately the fix is going to increase tuition. Colorado is already one of the most expensive places for a kid to go to college. Colorado is number five in the nation when it comes to high tuition, behind Arizona, Washington, Oregon, and South Dakota. This law would increase tuition by 9%. Schools could increase tuition even more, with legislative approval. Increases beyond 9% would also require a plan to cushion the impact on students from low and middle-income families. It is unclear to me where funding would come from to help students needing tuition aid if we can’t fund the schools at historic levels in the first place.Maybe it is time for a serious look at the unintended consequences of TABOR. Homework:http://www.statebillnews.com/2010/04/sb10-003-shift-in-approvals-of-college-tuition-hikes-on-table/http://www.denverpost.com/politics/ci_14972170?source=skipframe-www.statebillnews.com
Yesterday I met with Jim Smyth of the Mesa Valley Education Association and Rosemary Burdett of West Central Colorado UniServ. Both speak from the point of view of teachers.The first thing that I learned is that tenure is a word that is used by journalists, but is not a word used in the actual world of Colorado education. Instead a teacher is on probation for the first three years of their teaching assignment in any school district, regardless of the prior experience of the teacher in other school districts. (Most businesses have a 90 day probation period, not a three year probation period.) Once they have successfully navigated three years of probation, a teacher can only be fired “for cause” after “due process.” Apparently the “due process” phase can last almost as long as the probationary period. If a teacher receives a bad evaluation from his/her supervisor, they are given a chance to improve over the next semester of school, which is ½ of the school year. I’m not clear about what happens if the teacher fails to improve at the end of that semester.The school system needs “just cause” to terminate a contract with a teacher, but other than really egregious abuse of a position of power, I’m not clear what constitutes “just cause.” Teachers are entitled to respond to charges of “just cause.” (Most businesses simply fire the person who did not improve after the 90 day probationary period.)Teachers seem most worried about how SB 10-191 would change teacher evaluations. Currently they are evaluated based on over-all improvement in C-SAP test scores. But C-SAP tests don’t cover all the educational standards set by the state. Nor do C-SAP test scores fairly evaluate the growth in individual students, especially in students who do not do well taking tests, but can exhibit knowledge in subjects in other ways.The bottom line is that teachers are concerned that the proposed bill does not value learning for life. Instead it forces teachers to teach to a test. They are also concerned about another mandate without funding. What they would like are administrators who know how to fairly evaluate the effectiveness of teachers by visiting class rooms to see what is happening there. They want mentors to help teachers succeed in the profession they have chosen. They want parents who are involved in their kids’ educational lives. They want help for both slower kids and brilliant kids who each face unique challenges in the classroom.I’m sure my education will continue, as this bill will reach the Senate floor tomorrow.Homeworkhttp://www.statebillnews.com/2010/04/sb10-191-teacher-evaluations-discussed/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/teachers/vp-jill-biden-pay-respects-to.htmlhttp://www.squarestate.net/diary/283/will-colorado-move-to-the-head-of-the-class
How’s this for sausage: The banking reform bill is partially being written in the U.S. Senate’s committee on agriculture because that is the committee responsible for derivatives. WHAT? One of the most complicated financial vehicles in modern American history, the one that almost single handedly brought down the American AND world economies is regulated by the agriculture committee, not the banking and finance committee?So, there are two bills designed to create new regulations for the finance industry: The Dodd Bill and the Lincoln Bill. The Dodd Bill is in the committee on banking and finance. The Lincoln Bill is in the committee on agriculture. From what I’ve read about the two bills, together they do a pretty good job of regulating the kinds of things that went wrong.The Lincoln Bill establishes a clearing house for derivatives that would require that both sides of the “bet” put up enough collateral and have the where-with-all to pay if they lose the “bet.”The parts of the Dodd Bill that everyone is talking about are the creation of a “Financial Stability Oversight Council” (FSOC) and “Funeral Plans.” The FSOC would have the authority to require an investment bank to sell off some of its assets if they pose too great a risk to the economy. That risk would be monitored by a new group under the supervision of the Treasury Department. “Funeral Plans” would require regulators of a bank that is “too big to fail” to shut down a failing institution. The shut-down would be facilitated by a new fund similar to the FDIC in that it is funded with annual premiums paid by the banks themselves.The Dodd Bill also beefs up the SEC, which has needed increased staffing and funding for as long as I can remember. And it creates a single agency to oversee consumer protections.These are all changes that need to be made. It will be interesting to see if the ultimate sausage looks anything like the existing proposed sausage. Homeworkhttp://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=37A4A210-18FE-70B2-A826FA241BD3BB83http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Briefing/108429969194714?v=app_2347471856&ref=ts#!/note.php?note_id=113604848672253
I’m meeting with an educator tomorrow. I’ve figured out that I know nothing about tenure. And SB10-191 is all about changing how a teacher gets tenure, and what it means. The bill is in the senate because Colorado scored badly in its original application for federal “Race to the Top” funds. It scored badly because teacher evaluations were not more closely tied to student performance.Teachers say blaming them for the poor performance of students who aren’t engaged, while requiring them to “teach to the middle” in classes of unwieldy size is missing the point. Reformers say that once tenure is achieved it is almost impossible to get bad teachers out of the system. I’ve read that two years of a bad teacher leaves a child permanently behind.Reformers claim that teachers with tenure are rewarded for getting older, not for getting better. I don’t know if that is true, but I do know that when I worked for banks, people who didn’t perform didn’t work for that bank very long. Of course the definition of performance changed substantially over the course of my career. When I was a young woman, we were rewarded when our customers were satisfied, and we served them well. When I left banking it was because customer service was at the bottom of the priority list, and sale of new product was at the top.Since I don’t have children, I haven’t been involved in the education system for a very long time. I believe that public education needs to be quality education, and should be our highest priority. Without educated kids, we have no future as a nation. I’m now on a mission to get educated about education, so that I can make a difference when I’m representing you in Denver.Homeworkhttp://www.statebillnews.com/2010/04/sb10-191-colo-teacher-bill-ignites-storm-of-support-opposition/
Colorado produced slightly less than 3% of the coal produced in the US in 2008, the most recent year for which statistics are available. Of the coal produced, almost 94% was used to generate electricity.Energy related carbon dioxide emissions into the air represent slightly more than 81% of all green house gas emissions. Of the carbon dioxide emissions, 41.9% comes from petroleum, 36.5% comes from coal, and 21.4% comes from natural gas. Measuring the same information based on who is using the energy, electric power generation contributes 40.6%, transportation contributes 33.1%, and residential, commercial and industrial use contributes 26.3%. Some coal contains more energy per unit of weight. Some coal burns cleaner. Colorado coal is low in mercury, arsenic, sulfur and ash content, making it one of the cleaner burning coals.Colorado has about 2,450 coal miners. Most of Colorado’s coal is shipped to Tennessee, Kentucky, Texas, Utah, Mississippi and Wisconsin. Some is used in Colorado to generate electricity.This is only part of the story on coal which is in the news because of Colorado House Bill 1365, which requires Xcel Energy to convert three coal burning plants to natural gas.Homeworkhttp://www.gjsentinel.com/opinion/articles/the_conservative_case_for__suphttp://science.howstuffworks.com/clean-coal.htmhttp://www.eia.doe.gov/fuelcoal.htmlhttp://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/coal/quarterly/html/t32p01p1.htmlhttp://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/coal/page/acr/tables2.pdfhttp://www.gjfreepress.com/article/20100416/COMMUNITY_NEWS/100419986/1021&parentprofile=1062http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/1605/ggrpt/index.htmlhttp://www.ket.org/Trips/Coal/agsmm/agsmmtypes.htmlhttp://www.coloradomining.org/mc_mineralproduction.phphttp://geosurvey.state.co.us/Default.aspx?tabid=178http://colorado.hometownlocator.com/features/cultural,class,mine,scfips,08077.cfmhttp://www.denverpost.com/ci_14208902
Established in 1970, Earth Day officially turns 40 today. Happy Earth Day!We have the Environmental Protection Agency, the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act as the result of a few people who organized a few more people to think about this beautiful planet that we occupy. We now have recycling centers, and successful solar companies, and a local energy utility proud of its leadership in alternative fuels. We have people with worm farms and compost pits growing things organically. Just like the old adage that a woman’s work is never done, our work to maintain the eco-systems that sustain life will never be done, but we’ve come a long way in 40 years.If it weren’t for all the rain last night, I’d run out and plant something today in honor of progress that has been made. My garden is suffering from lack of attention from me and too much attention from Jackson, my dog. It may have suffered a bit from the harsh winter we just endured, also. It seems that quite a few of my roses are weather casualties. Homework:http://www.beyondchron.org/news/index.php?itemid=8041
Even though this truly is my area of expertise, I’ve not written much about regulatory reform in the financial sector. In part it is because the issue is complicated, and doesn’t fit well into a 300 word blog. Also, it has not been prominent in the news. Payday lending is only one aspect of financial reform that needs to be implemented, but I’ll limit comments to that today.Yesterday Chris Dodd spoke passionately on the Senate floor about the need to rein in Wall Street and protect consumers. And yesterday Colorado’s House passed a law limiting the fees and interest rates charged by pay day lenders. It will now go to the Senate. The vote in the House was 33 to 31, and it is expected that the vote in the Senate will be difficult. Representative Steve King voted against the bill. He says it will cause Colorado to lose 1,600 jobs. I doubt that. Other states have passed similar laws, and the industry adapted.It is good that payday lending is being considered early in the process of reforming financial regulations because pay day loans are made to the most vulnerable families. People with access to credit cards and bank lines of credit don’t visit the local loan shark.A peek behind the legislation is telling. There is an organization that represents most pay day lenders—the Community Financial Services Association. Sounds like a friendly group, doesn’t it? But they aren’t friendly to the people who get pay day loans. They spent $2,600,000 lobbying last year, up 75% from the previous year. Why are they spending so much money? They don’t want to be regulated by the proposed consumer protection agency.If I were representing you in the Senate today, I would be supporting a law that makes it more difficult for loan sharks to fleece desperate families.Homeworkhttp://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_14917281
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/
2010-04-19-payday-lenders-lobby-regulation_N.htm
http://www.cfsa.net/
http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/regulation/2010-03-15-financial-reform-cover_N.htm?obref=obnetworkhttp://maps.google.com/maps?rlz=1T4ADBR_enUS274US274&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=payday+loans&fb=1&gl=us&hq=payday+loans&hnear=Grand+Junction,
+CO&view=text&ei=jO7OS7r3NJOy9gTW8vWyDw&sa=X&oi=local
_group&ct=more-results&resnum=4&ved=0CDkQtQMwAw
There is a conflict in Colorado’s state constitution when it comes to spending and education. TABOR restricts the amount of money the state can spend on general operations. A citizen initiated amendment requires that spending on schools increase. Legislators every year are faced with the dilemma of how to keep spending in line, while increasing spending on schools.The result of this dilemma has been that public universities are seeing their tuitions rise to the point where even the most complacent students are joining protests. Another result is increasing size in class rooms where subject matter is directed toward the average kid. Really smart kids or really challenged kids are either bored or unable to keep up.Adding to this dilemma is President Obama’s “Race to the Top” program. Colorado was one of 16 finalists in the first round of funding for the program. Only two states were chosen to receive funding, and Colorado was near the bottom in the points scored by the U.S. Department of Education.Colorado scored poorly because the federal government did not think that the state graded its teachers appropriately. Governor Ritter appointed a commission, prior to the first submission of a funding application for the state, to look at how teachers and administrators are graded. That commission has just begun its work.Round two of “Race to the Top” is coming this summer. Colorado legislators, in a bipartisan bill (sb10-101), are seeking to change the way that teachers are graded. No doubt they want a new bill in place so that Colorado receives some of the federal funding in the second attempt. Colorado’s state education board has approved the bill. Colorado’s teacher’s union likes some parts of the bill and dislikes other parts.The bill is being debated in the Education Committee of the Senate.Homework:http://www.statebillnews.com/tag/sb10-191/http://www.scribd.com/doc/29884216/SB10-191-01http://www.ednewscolorado.org/2010/04/14/state-board-endorses-teacher-evaluation-bill/http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/index.htmlhttp://www.cbpp.org/search/?q=TABOR&cx=016330936052859641237%3Aidfqsyyhid4&cof=FORID%3A10&ie=UTF-8&fa=searchResults#883
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