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Danielle Jurinsky, GOP candidates dominate early fundraising in Aurora Council race
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Danielle Jurinsky, GOP candidates dominate early fundraising in Aurora Council race

By Kyla Pearce | Denver Gazette Republican incumbents are leading the fundraising race for the Aurora City Council election, which now has a pool of 17 candidates for five seats. City Council seats up for election are Wards I, II and II and two at-large. A majority of the candidates are running for Ward I and the two at-large seats.  Incumbent Danielle Jurinsky, who is running to keep her at-large seat, has raised over four times the amount of the next highest fundraising candidate.  Jurinsky's campaign has a total of almost $185,000 in contributions, according to Aurora's campaign finance system. Jurinsky's campaign has had a total of 486 contributions, 107 of which were the full possible amount of $1,150.  In 2023, the Aurora City Clerk's Office adjusted the...
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Colorado Springs City Council passes third resolution rejecting sanctuary city label
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Colorado Springs City Council passes third resolution rejecting sanctuary city label

By Brennen Kauffman | Denver Gazette Colorado Springs is still not a "sanctuary city." The City Council drove the point home on Tuesday morning by passing a resolution affirming the stance. The resolution introduced by Councilmember Roland Rainey was along similar lines as resolutions the council passed in both February and September 2024 saying the city was not a sanctuary city. The council statements do not change any city laws or ordinances. Four new council members have joined the dais since the last version of the proclamations, including Rainey and Gold, but the outcome of the vote was along similar lines. The resolution passed 7-2 with opposition from Nancy Henjum and Kimberly Gold, who said the city should use funding to support law enforcement instead of words. ...
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Polis signs sweeping election bill modeled on federal law—GOP calls it unnecessary
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Polis signs sweeping election bill modeled on federal law—GOP calls it unnecessary

By Marissa Ventrelli | Denver Gazette Gov. Jared Polis signed a trio of election-related bills into law on Monday, including a measure sponsors say will "safeguard voting rights in Colorado amid federal uncertainty." Senate Bill 001, sponsored by Sen. Julie Gonzales, D-Denver, and Reps. Jennifer Bacon, D-Denver, and Junie Joseph, D-Boulder, implements a state-level version of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which banned certain discriminatory voting practices.  Several states, including Colorado, are considering their own version of the Voting Rights Act: Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Maryland and New Jersey. Meanwhile, Washington and New York have already passed a state-version of the federal law. Gonzales said Senate Bill 001 mirrors the federal Voting Ri...
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Pikes Peak Library District board seat draws high interest ahead of May 19 decision
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Pikes Peak Library District board seat draws high interest ahead of May 19 decision

By Brennan Kaufmann | Denver Gazette Nearly five months after the term expired for the Pikes Peak Library District's former Board of Trustees director, city and county officials will meet to discuss who to appoint to the open seat. The library liaisons for the Colorado Springs City Council and the El Paso County Commissioners are in charge of narrowing down the list of applicants and recommending who to appoint to the entire body. Lynette Crow-Iverson and Nancy Henjum oversee the process on the city side, while Carrie Geitner and Holly Williams serve on the county side. The four officials of the Joint Appointment Committee will meet May 19 at Colorado Springs City Hall to review the final list of applicants for the library and recommend the next board member. The appointment ...
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Caldara: Time to see if Polis will choose his socialist friends or Colorado’s future
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Caldara: Time to see if Polis will choose his socialist friends or Colorado’s future

By Jon Caldara | Commentary, Denver Gazette There are only three jobs worth having in Colorado. The first is fortunately mine. Any person who can make a living by indulging his passion is beyond blessed. I somehow have provided for my family by fighting for personal and economic freedom in Colorado. Running Independence Institute, Colorado’s machine to promote liberty principles over party, politicians and special interests, is a dream come true. The next coolest job in Colorado is quarterback for the Denver Broncos, which, by the way, I would be totally awesome at. The only other job I’d want here would be governor, the most influential and powerful gig for changing policy and shaping the state’s future. And to be Jared Polis, a near billionaire to boot, would be a rip. I m...
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DPS Superintendent Marrero delayed closure list before bond vote—used September data anyway
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DPS Superintendent Marrero delayed closure list before bond vote—used September data anyway

By Nicole C. Brambila | Denver Gazette Last year, when the Denver Public Schools (DPS) Board of Education established guardrails for campus closures, Superintendent Alex Marrero requested a one-time extension before releasing his closure list, citing the need for the October Count enrollment data for his team to complete the analysis. “I don’t believe that we’re going to have an accurate count no earlier than October,” Marrero told the board during the Aug. 15 meeting, in which he requested additional time. District documents suggested otherwise — specifically, that the district obtained enrollment numbers in September. In public documents, the September data was cited as justification for the closure list. Some have suggested the reason for the delayed release was to avoid ant...
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Former El Paso County public defender pleads not guilty to sexual assault of a 14-year-old
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Former El Paso County public defender pleads not guilty to sexual assault of a 14-year-old

By Mackenzie Bodell | Denver Gazette A former El Paso County public defender accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old pleaded not guilty in the 4th Judicial District on Thursday. Thomas Cushing, 26, was arrested Nov. 22, 2024, and faces one count of sexual assault against a child, according to court records. An affidavit for Cushing’s arrest indicates he met with the victim on two different occasions for sexual intercourse. The document also states the victim told Cushing that she was 18 years old, but made it clear she was a high school student still living with her legal guardians. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE DENVER GAZETTE
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Colorado Republicans: Effort to save taxpayers money ‘shredded’ by Democrats this session
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Colorado Republicans: Effort to save taxpayers money ‘shredded’ by Democrats this session

By Marianne Goodland | Denver Gazette Republican lawmakers, who are in the minority at the state Capitol, said they saw little success in their campaign to save residents money this year, as Democrats "shredded" that goal. At the beginning of the session, Republicans unveiled a series of measures that, they insisted, would save the average Colorado family $4,500 each year. "We had hopes to make life more affordable," said Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen of Monument. The agenda included measures to repeal the state's grocery bag ban and undo a retail delivery fee, ride share fees, and regulations around cage-free eggs. They also sought reductions in energy and utility costs, and pushed to reduce and — eventually repeal — the state income tax and the state tax on Social ...
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Gazette editorial board: Veto HB 25-1147 to stop the soft-on-crime overreach
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Gazette editorial board: Veto HB 25-1147 to stop the soft-on-crime overreach

The Gazette editorial board | Denver Gazette Our state was slammed by a crime wave a few years ago — aided and abetted by a notoriously offender- friendly, victims-be-damned Legislature — leaving it to hard-hit local governments to figure out how to respond. With state lawmakers abandoning the crime fight on every front — hard drugs, auto theft, illegal immigration, you name it — a number of Colorado cities, commendably, took the reins. Some municipalities imposed stiffer sentences than the state’s for shoplifting and motor vehicle theft. Some made clear they’d continue to cooperate with federal authorities seeking to catch lawbreakers who had entered the country illegally. Some cities also stepped up policing to bridge the gap in justice created by a Capitol that had gone...
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Brauchler: SB25-276 is lawmakers’ latest mockery of immigration enforcement
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Brauchler: SB25-276 is lawmakers’ latest mockery of immigration enforcement

By George Brauchler | Commentary, Denver Gazette SB 25-276 is a Democrat-only sponsored bill that attacks the rule of law and will make Colorado less safe and less just. It contains a predictably steep, yet unquantified, unfunded mandate to counties, who fund the 23 district attorneys’ offices across Colorado. SB 276 expands the opportunity for “noncitizen defendants” to challenge every guilty plea they have entered to every class of misdemeanor, petty offense, and even municipal charges,” at any time following the entry of a guilty plea.” There is no time limitation for this challenge. Why? To protect noncitizens from the immigration consequences associated with convictions for their criminal conduct, of course. Previously, our left-leaning legislature changed the maximum sentenc...
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