( - promoted by Rocky Mountain Right - )

Cary Kennedy for Treasurer

Yesterday J.J. Ament released an impressive list of endorsements from many current and former statewide and local officials across Colorado.  The names include two former U.S. Senators, one former Governor, two former Deputy Treasurers, a majority of the Republican General Assembly members and several county elected officials. 

This leaves nearly all of Mike May’s caucus at odds with him on their support in the State Treasurer’s race.  May was Ali Hasan’s first endorsement in the race, later followed by Newt Gingrich.  This begs the question of whether or not Walker Stapleton has any support within the elected officials at the Capitol or in any other communities.  Stapleton released an early endorsement list of business and community leaders in the Front Range, but the list hasn’t grown since.

It will be interesting to see what influence this has at the State Assembly in May.  Statewide and local elected officials can play a powerful role in influencing votes at an assembly.

J.J. Ament's camapign is locking up more support.  His campaign released an impressive list of supporters in Arapahoe County.  The names inlcude:

- Former First Lady Frances Owens
- State Senator Nancy Spence
- Former State Senate President John Andrews
- Arapahoe County Commissioner Jim Dyer
- Arapahoe County Commissioner Rod Bockenfeld
- Centennial Treasurer Susan Bockenfeld
- Former Arapahoe County Commissioner Polly Page
- Former Arapahoe County Republican Chairman Nathan Chambers
- South Suburban Parks & Recreation District Chairman Jerry Call
- CU Regent Emeritus Paul Schauer
- CU Regent Emeritus Norwood Robb
- Wil & Kristy Armstrong
- Keith & Kathie Finger
- Buz & Sherri Koelbel
- Pat & Carla Grant
- Ret. Major General Andy & Virginia Love
- Walter Imhoff
- Jeff Leeper

Names and a large support base will come in handy in the caucuses and the state assembly. 

Ken Buck, Ali Hasan, and Tom Lucero are an unlikely trio of underdog candidates that have the distinction of being among the first candidates for office to feature in campaign commercials.

"Campaign for Liberty" Spending $350,000 On Buck

An ad run on behalf of Senate candidate Ken Buck is the most important of the three developments. A group calling itself the "Campaign for Liberty" (this is not necessarily Ron Paul's group, C4L is a 501c4 and is barred from running candidate ads) has purchased $350,000 of ad time focusing on Ken Buck's candidacy. These ads reportedly began running during local news programs earlier this evening and we are seeking a copy of the commercial to upload as soon as we can.

While Buck's fundraising has faltered in the last quarter and Jane Norton (who was not without fundraising issues of her own) has a modest lead after Q4 2009, Buck is poised to have a great deal of cash spent on his behalf by outside groups. In addition to national groups such as the Senate Conservatives Fund eyeing the race, certain interests based in Northern Colorado are preparing their own outside efforts on Buck's behalf.

Hasan Goes On Radio

Treasurer candidate Ali Hasan began running radio ads today. Denver-metro area listeners can hear them on 850 KOA.

Lucero's Gambit

CD-4 candidate Tom Lucero has invested what is left of his campaign funds on a TV ad buy in which he looks very surprised by the camera.

( - Promoted by Hestons Ghost - )

If it wasn’t exciting enough watching Ken Buck, Jane Norton and Tom Weins duke it out for the U.S. Senate nomination, or watching Dan Maes and Scott McInnis work for our support, we now have a three way race for the State Treasurers office.  Which I assume is an important office considering I was mailed a three quarters of inch thick packet from the Hasan for Treasurer campaign.

Looking past the grammatical errors and, while correct, bizarre statements reminding us that taxpayers do pay for loans made by the government, I must say I am impressed.  Not by any groundbreaking statement made in this textbook size document, but instead by Hasan going from one quixotic campaign to another.

While I admit I don’t know a lot about Walker Stapleton or J.J. Ament, I know neither of them has ever had a multi-page story in the Westword filled with expletives, squabbling or mid-afternoon bathroom encounters with their staff.  This might be why Hasan goes to such lengths attacking them in this booklet.

Hasan’s attacks even brought out a former, long time Deputy Treasurer to chime in on the incorrect nature of what he was alleging.  Looking at his support list all I can ask myself is “What is Mike May doing?” 

Much like how I feel about the laundry list of tier two U.S. Senate candidates, I am wondering what made Hasan wake up one morning and decide he should be the Treasurer of this state.  I look forward to the candidate round up at the end of the month to hear this explanation.

The Republican primary for state treasurer is gaining a new entrant today as Ali Hasan, previously a candidate for state house, enters the race joining J.J. Ament and Walker Stapleton. From Hasan2010.com:

Hasan grew up in the steel mill town of Pueblo, Colorado, where he spent most of his days attached to his mother’s hip, sitting in on all of her social work activities. It was here where Hasan learned the importance of bettering our communities through volunteering. The Hasan family eventually bought a home in Eagle County when Hasan was 10-years-old and his love for the Western Slope grew with each passing year.

Hasan will enter with a fundraising disadvantage compared to Ament and Stapleton but will have the option of self-funding as he did in his state house campaign in 2008.

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It amazes me every time state Treasurer Cary Kennedy speaks about Colorado’s “fiscal straight-jacket” and our “conflicting constitutional provisions.” Especially, since she is responsible for writing and promoting Amendment 23 and steadfastly supporting the constitutional change today. 

( - Promoted by Hestons Ghost - )

In a campaign press release the Ament camapign touts the support of several Jefferson County leaders.

- State Senator Mike Kopp
- State Representative Jim Kerr
- State Representative Ken Summers
- County Commissioner Kevin McCaskey
- Former U.S. Attorney Troy Eid
- Former State Representative Vicki Agler
- Former State Representative Rob Fairbank
- Former State Representative John & Jeannie Witwer
- Former State Representative Rob Witwer
- Former State Senator Sally Hopper
- Former State Senator Bill Schroeder
- Former State Representative and Ament County Co-Chair Matt Knoedler
- Ament County Co-Chair Libby Szabo
- Former Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry and Ament County Co-Chair Theron Bell

“I am grateful for the support and faith these leaders in Jefferson County have placed in my campaign,” said Ament.  “Now, more than ever, we need to work together to get Colorado back on track fiscally.”

The campaign went on to remind this list follows a previously released list of El Paso County endorsements including John Suthers and several others.

This is a pretty impressive list of Jefferson County folks. The Ament campaign seems to be working hard for the support of the party rank and file. This will play well for the assembly goers.

In a campaign press release the Ament camapign touts the support of several Jefferson County leaders.

- State Senator Mike Kopp
- State Representative Jim Kerr
- State Representative Ken Summers
- County Commissioner Kevin McCaskey
- Former U.S. Attorney Troy Eid
- Former State Representative Vicki Agler
- Former State Representative Rob Fairbank
- Former State Representative John & Jeannie Witwer
- Former State Representative Rob Witwer
- Former State Senator Sally Hopper
- Former State Senator Bill Schroeder
- Former State Representative and Ament County Co-Chair Matt Knoedler
- Ament County Co-Chair Libby Szabo
- Former Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry and Ament County Co-Chair Theron Bell

“I am grateful for the support and faith these leaders in Jefferson County have placed in my campaign,” said Ament.  “Now, more than ever, we need to work together to get Colorado back on track fiscally.”

The campaign went on to mention this list follows a previously released list of El Paso County endorsements including John Suthers and several others.

This is a pretty impressive list of Jefferson County folks. The Ament campaign seems to be working hard for the support of the party rank and file. This will play well for the assembly goers.

The Republican candidates for state treasurer have released their fundraising numbers:

Walker Stapleton: $106,164
J.J. Ament: $86,000

Cary Kennedy's numbers have not been published yet, but will likely fall close to the Republicans' if she has a repeat of her last quarter. Cary Kennedy raised $103,000 placing her behind Stapleton again.

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For Immediate Release:

Littleton  - The J. J. Ament for State Treasurer campaign announced the support of several key leaders and elected officials in El Paso County today as it continues to build support for the Republican nomination in 2010.

The list of El Paso County endorsements include:

- Attorney General John Suthers

- State Representative Bob Gardner

- State Representative Larry Liston

- State Representative Marsha Looper

- State Representative Amy Stephens

- State Representative Mark Waller

- State Senator Keith King

- County Commissioner Amy Lathen

- County Commissioner Dennis Hisey

- County Commissioner Wayne Williams

- County Clerk & Recorder Bob Balink

- County Treasurer Sandra Damron

- Former State Senate Minority Leader Andy McElhany

- Former State Representative Stella Garza-Hicks

- Businessman Bill Schuck

- Businessman Steve Schuck

"I am honored to have the support of so many leaders in El Paso County," said Ament.  "I look forward to working with them over the next several months to bring experience and transparency to the State Treasurer's office of Colorado."

The Ament campaign noted it will be releasing other key supporters in the coming weeks.

 ###

( - promoted by Rocky Mountain Right - )

Douglas County has three streams running from South to North. The Cherry Creek, East Plum Creek and West Plum Creek all eventually flow into the Platte River and the water then makes its way down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico. Many of Colorado's first settlers made their homesteads on these three rivers. The West Plum Creek ends at Sedalia, Colorado, founded in 1865. This land along the West Plum Creek is Horse Country as it has been for over 140 years.

On Saturday September 19 th, the Douglas County Republicans held their annual picnic. They chose the Wiens Ranch as this year's site. We are still over a year away from the next statewide election but politics was heavy in the air. The Wiens Ranch is owned by former state Senator Tom Wiens and his family. The spacious ranch has over 1,200 acres along the West Plum Creek and it was a wonderful location for the GOP picnic.

GOP hopefuls for Governor, U.S. Senator, Congress, State and Local races were present to meet and greet the GOP faithful. The weather was perfect, the conversation was joyful, and all had a good time.

Gubernatorial hopeful Dan Maes addressed the crowd. Having been an employee and business owner over the years, he said "I know what its like to sign the two sides of a paycheck."

J.J. Ament, running for State Treasurer, brought cheers when he talked about how concerned he was how much the noise coming from the Colorado State Capital is sounding more and more like the noise coming from Washington D.C.

Scott Gessler, running for Secretary of State, talked about how that office is the first line of defense against voter fraud by organizations like the disgraced Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN).

Tom Wiens was the host of the Picnic and he spoke to the throng. Although not yet a formal candidate for U.S. Senate, he was graciously received with the other candidates. He talked about how the 2010 election is the chance to send people to Washington that will work for us instead of taking from us.

Candidates for Governor who were at the picnic included Mr. Maes and former congressman Scott McInnis.

Candidates for U.S. Senate included Ken Buck, Ryan Frazier and Jane Norton. Congressman Mike Coffman attended as well, along with candidates for the District RE-1 School Board and county offices.

Many of the attendees at the picnic are the men and women who built Douglas County from a thinly populated rural ranching county into the true modern metropolitan world that it is today. It is quite fitting that the picnic was held in one of the more historic areas of our state.

Mike Robinson is Senior Partner at Robinson & Henry P.C., a Castle Rock law firm.

Preliminary results are out for the extensive survey of over 600 Republican primary voters conducted by Ben DeGrow of Mount Virtus and Michael Sandoval of Slapstick Politics. The top-line results are below and detailed crosstabs and analysis will be released next week, so stay tuned.

July 2009 Colorado's Political Temperature Results

Rumored candidate J.J. Ament today made his bid for treasurer official, joining Walker Stapleton in the Republican primary contest for the office. From Ament's campaign:

Today J. J. Ament announced his candidacy for the State Treasurer’s office in Colorado.  Ament, a businessman and banker who has worked on financial matters with companies and governments throughout the U.S, stressed the importance of bringing an independent, experienced voice to the State Treasurer’s office.

Ament enters the race in a chaotic environment as incumbent Democrat Cary Kennedy flounders in fundraising - missing her own goals - fellow Republican Walker Stapleton raises record amounts for a non-incumbent, and Ali Hasan continues to float his name for the office in the strangest manner imaginable.

We recently posted excerpts from Cary Kenendy's end-of-the-quarter fundraising email which consisted mostly of odd rambling. One line from her email takes on even more significance in light of the paltry $66,000 in fundraising she is reporting for the quarter.

Cary's trying to hit the $100,000 fundraising mark by midnight June 30, but she can't do it without your help.

Not only did she fall far short of her own goal, she ended up being outraised 2-1 by the lone GOP candidate Walker Stapleton. Anyone with an ounce of common sense would realize that you shouldn't raise expectations about your campaign in this manner. This suggests that she and her campaign were doing an awful job keeping track of their finances and had no idea where they were at or they were vastly over-estimating their ability to take in cash. Neither is a quality that is especially desirable in a treasurer.

We'll leave with you this thought: your state treasurer honestly believed she was going to be able raise around $40,000 in 48 hours by sending out an email that started with "We are not going to let Dick Wadhams bully us around."

And he didn't even have to send out rambling emails about Dick Wadhams to pull it off, from the Stapleton campaign:

Setting a record fundraising quarter for a non-incumbent candidate for State Treasurer, Republican businessman Walker Stapleton raised $138,211 – with two-thirds of donors being Colorado residents.  The three-month effort leaves the Stapleton campaign with more than $126,000 cash on hand as Stapleton prepares to take on the incumbent Democrat. 

The Stapleton campaign set the new fundraising record despite the challenges of a difficult economic climate and limitations on donations due to Amendment 54. Stapleton credits the results to his strong, pro-taxpayer message and growing dissatisfaction with one-party rule at the State Capitol. 

“Coloradans want a Treasurer who has experience in the business world and who will be a watchdog for the taxpayers,” Stapleton said.  “One-party rule has brought us backdoor tax hikes, huge fee increases and constant attacks on taxpayer rights.  Coloradans know that’s not a recipe for economic recovery.” 

The Stapleton for Colorado finance team is co-chaired by business leaders Greg Maffei, CEO of Liberty Media Group, and J. Landis (Lanny) Martin, founder of Platte River Ventures. The campaign’s treasurer is Joe Smith, Partner, Bartlit Beck Herman Palenchar & Scott LLP.  Smith called the campaign’s record-breaking first quarter “an extremely good start by any measure.”

Democrats are clearly struggling with the loss of George W. Bush as an all-purpose boogeyman. They're discovering that it's tough to scare their activists into donating without being able to invoke some looming horror that President Bush is about to unleash.

State treasurer Cary Kennedy is at least making a noble, if somewhat ineffective, attempt to elevate Colorado Republican chairman Dick Wadhams to the same level as Bush previously held. Her latest email soliciting donations started out slightly fixated on Dick Wadhams (chair of a political party) and his (shocking) desire to remove her (an elected official of the opposing party) from office:

We are not going to let Dick Wadhams bully us around. Cary Kennedy is not someone he can just "take out." The strongest way for us to send that message, at this stage of the race, is to make a contribution today.

We have thirty-four hours left to send Dick Wadhams a strong message, help Cary Kennedy build a strong campaign by making a contribution of $50, $75 or $100 today!

Dick Wadhams doesn't care about the state's finances, he only cares about winning elections. This is about more than just winning elections, this is about the future of Colorado's economy. Cary Kennedy is someone Coloradans can trust with public funds--that's what really matters.

Kennedy's infatuation with chairman Wadhams wasn't quite over, the email closed out by inviting supporters to "sound off" about Wadhams:

P.S.  If you want to sound off about Dick Wadhams, be sure to check out Cary's Facebook page and Twitter site. 

In case you're wondering what it looks like when a Democratic activist "sounds off" about Dick Wadhams, here's a sample from her Facebook page:

I just cannot get behind Ritter, especially after the appointment of Michael Bennet for US senate. Still recovering from the shock of that. Go Cary! ps. How's your tennis game?

A clear lack of focus. Wadhams just doesn't seem to focus them like George Bush did. What a shame.

Of course, this isn't exactly the first time Kennedy has gotten carried away. During the last election she pledged to help "drive a stake though the heart of TABOR."

In what may be the first (if anyone knows otherwise, please drop a line) straw poll to cover the treasurer race, Walker Stapleton pulled out a victory in El Paso County. Via his campaign site:

I had the great pleasure of attending the El Paso County Republican Party Beach Party on Saturday at the El Paso Fairgrounds and was honored to have won the straw poll for the State Treasurer’s race! In the other race of the day, the chili cook-off, I have to give the title to Rep. Mark Waller’s recipe…pretty spicy with great flavor. It was great to see so many of our Republican legislators who worked so hard this year to stand up for Colorado taxpayers. On hand were Sens. Bill Cadman and Mark Scheffel, and state Reps. Marsha Looper, Amy Stephens and Frank McNulty. It was also good to see State Board of Education member Peggy Littleton. Congratulations to county chair Kay Rendleman for such a great event and for again demonstrating why El Paso County is such a great hotbed of Republican leadership.

No numbers are available yet, and the other races were polled as well but we don't have any info on them yet. It would seem to be a good sign that Stapleton is performing this well among Republican activists in the stronghold of El Paso County.

One of the Republican candidates for state treasurer, Walker Stapleton, got some national attention last night when he appeared on a segment on the Fox Business News channel.

Ed Sealover of the Denver Business Journal reports:

Denver businessman Walker Stapleton, president of real estate company SonomaWest Holdings, Tuesday became the first Republican to announce that he will run for Colorado state treasurer.

Democrat Cary Kennedy now holds the office and has filed to run for re-election in 2010. Three GOP businessmen, including Stapleton, have said they are eyeing the race.

Stapleton, 34, unveiled a list of 30 business backers with his announcement, including El Pomar Foundation CEO Bill Hybl, Gallagher Enterprises CEO Charles Gallagher and former U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson.

He said in a statement that he will use his business background to push policies to improve Colorado’s economy.

Stapleton is expected to face J.J. Ament and Ali Hasan in the primary. Should he win, he would face Cary "drive a stake through TABOR" Kennedy in the fall.

UPDATE: Stapleton's full announcement press release is below. He also has a website live at StapletonForColorado.com. Click below the fold to read the ful list of endorsers.

DENVER—Emphasizing that he will restore the State Treasurer’s office to being the taxpayers’ watchdog, Republican businessman Walker Stapleton today announced his candidacy for Treasurer, and unveiled a long list of prominent Coloradans who have already joined his team. 

Stapleton said that with the Treasury, the Governor’s Office and the Legislature all controlled by Democrats, “they have focused on nothing but higher spending, bigger government, more state workers – and assault after assault on taxpayers’ rights.”  

In contrast, Stapleton said he would use his business background and success running a business and creating jobs to fight for policies that will jump-start Colorado’s economy. 

“My Number One goal as State Treasurer will be putting Colorado’s taxpayers first,” Stapleton said. “Colorado’s Treasurer can again be the taxpayers’ foremost advocate in state government. Under its current occupant, the Treasury has gone from being the taxpayers’ watchdog to the tax-spenders’ headquarters.” 

Stapleton cited a wide range of policies pursued by the current Treasurer and Gov. Bill Ritter, including the recent property tax increase, and attacks on the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) and the 6 percent spending cap, as hallmarks of the anti-taxpayer movement currently underway at the State Capitol.  Stapleton said he would also put a new focus on preserving the state’s critically underfunded public-employee pension system to prevent the need for an infusion of taxpayer funds. 

Stapleton is CEO of SonomaWest Holdings Inc, a publicly traded real estate company with offices in Colorado and California. In addition to SonomaWest, Stapleton has several land, retail and residential investments throughout Colorado. Stapleton, his wife Jenna and their one-year-old son, Craig, live in Greenwood Village. Jenna is working toward a master’s degree in social work at the University of Denver. Stapleton has a bachelor’s degree from Williams College, a graduate degree from the London School of Economics and an MBA from Harvard University. 

The Stapleton for Colorado finance team is co-chaired by business leaders Greg Maffei, CEO of Liberty Media Group, who was Chairman of Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign in Colorado, and J. Landis (Lanny) Martin, founder of Platte River Ventures. The campaign’s treasurer is Joe Smith, Partner, Bartlit Beck Herman Palenchar & Scott LLP.

Stapleton’s candidacy is also supported by several prominent Colorado business leaders and advocates, including: