News
Colorado Lt. Gov. Donna Lynne to make ‘major announcement’ regarding 2018 governor’s race on Thurs.
DENVER – Colorado Lt. Gov. Donna Lynne is set to make a “major announcement” regarding her possible candidacy for governor in 2018 Thursday morning, she announced Wednesday.
She is expected to announce her run—or her less-likely decision not to run—after months of speculation over whether she’d try to succeed her current boss, John Hickenlooper, who is term-limited in 2018.
Lynne filed her “Lynne for Colorado” campaign committee on Aug. 1, and officially filed her candidacy for the governorship on Aug. 11 as was required after filing her committee.
Her press officer, Curtis Hubbard, sent out a press release Wednesday morning alerting to Lynne’s announcement, which will happen at 8:30 a.m. at the Spring Café near 14th Avenue and Grant Street in Denver.
She is expected to be joined by “friends, family and supporters,” according to the announcement.
After Lynne registered her candidacy, her registered agent, Ethan Susseles, said Lynne was still in an “exploratory phase to identify supporters and to hear from key Democrats across the state.”
She has hinted at a 2018 run for months after saying in 2016 she wouldn’t try to succeed Hickenlooper, but faces a crowded primary field should she decide she’s running.
Rep. Jared Polis, ex-state Sen. Mike Johnston, Colorado’s former Treasurer Cary Kennedy, and Noel Ginsburg, a Colorado businessman, have already declared their candidacy on the Democratic side.
Rep. Ed Perlmutter was also running as a hopeful to replace Hickenlooper, but dropped out of the race not long after he initially announced he was running.
The Republican field is already packed as well, with 18th Judicial District Attorney George Brauchler, former state lawmaker Victor Mitchell, and Doug Robinson, who is Mitt Romney’s nephew, among the candidates who have declared.
Lynne served 20 years in the New York City government before she moved to Colorado and became an executive at Kaiser Health.
Hickenlooper has said in the past he would stay neutral in the governor’s race in 2018, but dropped more hints recently that he supported her run.
However, he told the Denver Post he doesn’t want to tip the scales: “The last thing she needs is for everyone to say, ‘The governor is trying to get her elected’ or ‘pushing her out there to do this.’”
Colorado’s Gardner, Coffman change course from pre-2014 with support of DACA legislation
DENVER – U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner signed on Tuesday for the first time to cosponsor the Dream Act, which would effectively implement DACA through legislation, on the same day that his fellow Republican member of Congress, Mike Coffman, tried to force the House to vote on a DACA extension.
After President Donald Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Tuesday morning that DACA would be rescinded, Trump and many Republicans in Congress, including those from Colorado, called for the legislative body to craft new legislation for Dreamers in the next six months. Continue reading
Hundreds of Denver students rally at Auraria Campus to protest Trump’s DACA decision
DENVER – An estimated 1,100 students in Denver walked out of class Tuesday after the Trump administration announced it was rescinding the Obama-era immigration program that has protected more than 17,000 people in Colorado from being deported.
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the move Tuesday morning, and the Department of Homeland Security officially rescinded the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) minutes later. Continue reading
DACA rescinded: Colorado’s elected officials react to Trump’s immigration decision
DENVER – Reaction from Colorado’s members of Congress and other state government officials to the Trump administration’s decision to roll back the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program started pouring in shortly after Attorney General Jeff Sessions made the announcement Tuesday morning.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security formally rescinded the Obama-era policy, which has protected around 800,000 undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children, and Sessions put the ball in Congress’ court to make a formal legislative policy. President Obama resorted to using an executive action to implement the policy after Congress failed to pass a measure. Continue reading
Ex-U.S. Ambassador to South Korea says more work with China needed amid ‘serious crisis’ over nukes
DENVER – The former U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, who also led the American delegation to previous talks over North Korea’s nuclear program, says there is “a serious crisis” brewing following North Korea’s latest nuclear test, and that the U.S. and China need to start working together more to stave off anything worse.
Christopher Hill, who was the ambassador to South Korea from 2004-05 and served as the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs from 2005 to 2009, also led the American delegation to the “Six Party Talks” in the 4th, 5th, and 6th rounds of the talks between the U.S., North Korea, South Korea, China, Japan and Russia. Continue reading
Colorado immigrants, lawmakers anxiously await Trump’s decision on DACA
DENVER – Gov. John Hickenlooper joined state lawmakers, immigrants and activists at the state Capitol Friday to voice support for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program days ahead of President Trump’s decision on whether or not he’ll continue the program.
The morning rally by some of Colorado’s highest-profile Democrats came as the timeline for Trump’s decision was still up in the air, with Trump telling reporters a decision could come Friday or Monday. But White House press secretary Sarah Sanders confirmed later Friday that the president would make his decision by Tuesday. Continue reading
Federal judge declares Colorado sex offender registry unconstitutional for 3 men
DENVER – A federal judge in Denver on Thursday ruled that the state’s Sex Offender Registration Act violates the U.S. Constitution when applied to three men because it constitutes further punishment beyond their initial jail time and probation.
U.S. District Court of Colorado Senior District Judge Richard P. Matsch stopped short of declaring the full statute unconstitutional, but determined that when applied to the three Colorado men—David Millard, Eugene Knight and Arturo Vega—SORA violated provisions of the Eighth and 14th amendments. Continue reading
Hickenlooper-Kasich health care proposal calls for retaining individual mandate, funding CSRs
DENVER – Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper’s health care reform proposal put together with a bipartisan panel of governors implores Congress to keep the individual mandate under the Affordable Care Act in place while work is done to further stabilize insurance marketplaces and make the health care law feasible in the long run.
Hickenlooper, a Democrat, and Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich unveiled the proposal on Thursday after months of crafting that was done with governors from Nevada, Pennsylvania, Alaska, Virginia, Louisiana and Montana. Continue reading
Hickenlooper to unveil what he calls a bipartisan health care market stabilization fix on Thursday
DENVER – Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper will unveil the details of the bipartisan framework he says will stabilize insurance markets around the country on Thursday morning at the state Capitol in Denver.
Hickenlooper, a Democrat, hinted at the unveiling earlier this week after months of visible work and public appearances with Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican. The unveiling will happen at a news conference at 11 a.m. Thursday. Continue reading
Cherry Creek Mortgage chairman resigned, policy changes made after same-sex benefits lawsuit filed
DENVER – Not only did Cherry Creek Mortgage change its policy on benefits for same-sex couples a day after a lawsuit claimed the company had been denying a California couple coverage—the Greenwood Village-based company’s chairman resigned from the company and its board of directors.
Denver7 reported on the federal lawsuit filed by Judith Dominguez and Patricia Martinez, who sued the company and claimed they were denied health care benefits because they are a lesbian couple, last Thursday. Continue reading