VOL. 01 NO. 156 | AUGUST 19, 2016 | COLORADOSTATESMAN.COM/THE-HOT-SHEET | © 2016By TCS Editor and Publisher Jared Wright

DENVER – Good morning and Happy Friday. Good luck on the campaign trail as you enter your weekend …

Top 3 headlines today:

(1) BENNET HOLDS 16 POINT LEAD OVER DARRYL GLENN, COLORADO’S CONTRIBUTION TO MAINTAINING U.S. SENATE CONTROL NOT LOOKING PROMISING RIGHT NOW – U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet is “swamping” his Republican challenger Darryl Glenn by 16 points Colorado, according to a Quinnipiac University Swing State Poll released on Thursday.

Bennet leads Glenn 54-38 percent in the poll of likely Colorado voters, which was conducted Aug. 9-16.

Full story here

Subheadline: CORY GARDNER TO HOST FUNDRAISER FOR DARRYL GLENN – While Darryl Glenn‘s “campaign is suffering from meager fundraising compared to Democratic rival Michael Bennet, U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner is putting his money behind Republican Glenn’s bid to join him in Washington.” Gardner is hosting a fundraiser via his leadership PAC for Glenn at the Brown Palace Hotel in Denver Aug. 24.

$$$ Current Finance Stats as of July 1:

Glenn: $119,000 cash on handBennet: $6,090,102 cash on hand

Full story here

(2) ANTI-FRACKING GROUP FILES COMPLAINT AGAINST SECRETARY OF STATE’S BARTELS  – “Ms. Bartels sent a ‘tweet’ from her personal account and conducted an interview on CBS that reflected bias against our initiative,” Tricia Olson wrote in a complaint letter this week to Williams. “The day after the petitions were submitted, no doubt knowing that there were more than 100,000 signatures per initiative, Ms. Bartels chose to talk about boxes, deliberately belittling a serious initiative effort.” Full story here

(3) MAYOR HANCOCK NAMES BRONSON DENVER’S NEW CITY ATTORNEY, REPLACING EMBATTLED MARTINEZ – Denver “Mayor Michael Hancock has named Kristin Bronson, a private attorney working in Denver for 20 years, as the new city attorney.

“Bronson, an attorney with the Denver office of Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie LLP, said she’s had a great career in private practice, but felt it was time to make a jump back into the public sector, specifically to work with Hancock.”Full story here

Subheadline: MARTINEZ FALLOUT: FORMER CITY ATTORNEY SHAPIRO TO RECEIVE $600,000 PAYOUT – “CBS4 has learned the city of Denver has reached a tentative agreement to pay Senior Assistant City Attorney Stuart Shapiro more than $600,000 to settle his claims of retaliation by the Denver City Attorney’s office.

“Multiple sources told CBS4 Investigator Brian Maass members of the Denver City Council were briefed on the proposed settlement earlier this week but that it will have to be officially approved in an open council session.”

Full story here

“Seriously? As if anyone believed the spox would be counting the ballots? Come on …”

– Lynn Bartels

Now, your substrata feed straight from Colorado’s politics pipeline:

STAPLETON BUILDS HIS OWN ‘HOUSE OF CARDS’: A FREE VIDEO AD APPEARANCE NEVER HURTS A FUTURE CANDIDATE FOR GUV, RIGHT? – In an advertisement that any politically attuned individual would have to describe as cute, Colorado state Treasurer Walker Stapleton appears in a spot sponsored by the Colorado Healthcare Choices Independent Expenditure Committee in which – in an Underwoodian image – he carefully builds a “house of cards” while seated at a desk. The ad is against Amendment 69, or ColoradoCare.

“Here’s the deal with Amendment 69,” Stapleton says in the ad. “It’s not an affordable health care system, it’s a $25 billion tax increase, and it puts bureaucrats in charge of your health care decisions, meaning you’ll have fewer options, zero guarantees, no accountability. And when it collapses, taxpayers have to pick up the mess.”

While Stapleton performs his rendition of Frank Underwood, there are no cameo appearances made by Kevin Spacey or Robin Wright in the ad spot. Click below to check out the ad if you haven’t seen it.

It’s unclear how much was spent to produce the ad and how much will be spent to roll it out. An IEC with the name Colorado Healthcare Choices is not registered with the Colorado Secretary of State’s office or FEC.

DENVER DA CANDIDATE MORGAN RELEASES FIRST MEDIA SPOT – Independent candidate for Denver District Attorney Helen Morgan released her first made-for-television advertisement yesterday in her race against Democratic candidate state Rep. Beth McCann. The new ad is the first to surface for the general election contest for the Denver District Attorney’s office to replace term-limited DA Mitch Morrissey. In the ad, Morgan focuses on her credentials as a current chief deputy district attorney for Denver and underlines her continuing campaign theme that she is a “prosecutor, not a politician.”

Morgan states: “It’s not about right and left. It’s about right and wrong.” Details about when the ad will air were not released by the campaign, and so far it only appears on the candidate’s website.

Click link here to view the ad

FORMER STATE REP. WILMA WEBB UNDERGOES SURGERY – Former Denver state Rep. Wilma Webb underwent shoulder replacement surgery Wednesday. Webb is the wife of former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb. The 72-year-old former lawmaker served in the Colorado General Assembly from 1980 to 1993 where she famously sponsored a measure establishing Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday as a state holiday among a number of other bills she passed. Webb was also the first African-American to serve on the Joint Budget Committee. We are told Webb’s surgery went well, and she begins rehabilitation therapy this week, which will take three to four months.

LIBERTARIANS DON’T LIKE REGULATIONS, APPARENTLY THAT INCLUDES SECURITIES REGULATIONS: FORMER LIBERTARIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE ORDERED TO PAY UP, VOWS TO KEEP POLITICAL CAREER ALIVE – From The Denver Post, “‘Most people would go in the corner and die. I ran for president. I am a fighter,’ said Steven E. Kerbel, who dropped his Libertarian Party presidential bid in March to endorse Gary Johnson, the former New Mexico governor who is polling surprisingly strong numbers in Colorado against Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump. Kerbel was ordered by a Denver district court on Aug. 11 ordered Kerbel and his business, Rio National Insurance Services, to repay investors $790,719.45 still due them after Kerbel failed to comply with an agreement he signed with the Colorado Division of Securities in November 2014.”

Full story here

DEMOCRATS NOW A LARGER VOTING GROUP IN COLORADO, BUT REPUBLICANS MORE ACTIVE – From pollster Floyd Ciruli: “Considering both active and inactive voters, Democrats are now a larger voting group than Republicans in Colorado. But, in terms of active voters; i.e., those who will receive ballots due to previous participation or being newly registered, Republicans form the largest group by 11,000 voters. Unaffiliated voters beat them both by more than 55,000 voters.” Full post here

CASPER STOCKHAM: TRUMP ‘WILL WIN BIG LEAGUE!’ – In a post on his Facebook page, Republican candidate for the 1st Congressional District Casper Stockham responded to a Breitbart story about a Los Angeles Times/USC Dornsife national tracking poll that shows Donald Trump‘s campaign “picking up a sharp uptick in African-American support” following his speech in West Bend, Wisconsin, Tuesday. The most recent poll shows Trump’s support from the black community at 14.6 percent, up from 4.6 percent July 10.

“If Mr. Trump continues to speak up and stay on this message he will win Big League!” exclaimed Stockham in his share of the Breitbart story.

A regular talking point in Stockham’s speeches is his mention that his mother, a former supporter of President Barack Obama, is now a supporter of Trump.

In related news, Trump announced he is releasing his first ad blitz in battleground states across the U.S. this week, but Colorado is not included in the buy so far, instigating renewed claims from the punditry that the Centennial State is no longer in the battleground running.

STOCKHAM STILL DEMANDING A DEBATE WITH DEGETTE, WHO STILL IS SILENT ON THE MATTER – “She has avoided any direct discussions because that is how the political game is played,” Casper Stockham said of Rep. Diana DeGette on a small speaker system near the corner of 6thAvenue and Grant Street. “… We are here today because my opponent has refused-refused-to set a date for a political debate.”

DeGette has not yet responded to the press on the record on her plans for debate this year, but in the past, her office has typically accepted debate requests with Republican challengers in the fall.

Full story here

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE BANANA PUDDING: JEFF BRIDGES IN RITTER-HOSTED FUNDRAISER INVITE UNVEILS WIFE’S RECIPE – Democratic candidate for Colorado House District 3 Jeff Bridges included a bit of intel in an invitation to his fundraiser hosted at the home of former Gov. Bill Ritter. The information was somewhat unique, not of the sort normally gracing the page of a candidate’s fundraiser invitation – the recipe for one of his wife’s ever-popular dessert recipes. ” … and for all of you who asked about Annie’s banana pudding recipe, scroll down past the invite!” Bridges says in the email …

“Best Banana Pudding Ingredients1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk1 (5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix3 cups cold milk1 teaspoon vanilla extract1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed4 bananas, sliced1/2 (12 ounce) package vanilla wafers

DirectionsIn a large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in condensed milk, pudding mix, cold milk and vanilla until smooth. Fold in 1/2 of the whipped topping.

Line the bottom of a 9×13 inch dish with vanilla wafers. Arrange sliced bananas evenly over wafers. Spread with pudding mixture. Top with remaining whipped topping. Chill.(link)”

BROOKS TO CHAIR CURE SARCOMA BENEFIT RACE – August 19, 2016- Sarcoma survivor and Denver City Council President Albus Brooks will serve as the Chairperson for the inaugural Race to Cure Sarcoma Denver. The charity 5K run/walk will benefit the Sarcoma Foundation of America (SFA) and the University of Colorado Cancer Center. From a press release:

“Brooks was diagnosed in July with Chondrosarcoma, a subtype of sarcoma. Sarcoma is a rare cancer of bone and soft tissue. It is rather rare in adults, comprising only 1 percent of all adult cancers, but accounts for 15 percent of childhood cancers. At any one time, 50,000 patients and their families are struggling with sarcoma. Every year, nearly 15,000 new cases are diagnosed and about 6,000 people die from the disease.

“A 15-pound tumor was removed from Brooks during an eight-hour surgery performed at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. Brooks has praised the remarkable care that he received from his team of doctors, including Victor Villalobos, MD, PhD, a sarcoma specialist. Thanks to his treatment and the expertise of his physicians, Brooks is now cancer-free.

“Even as Brooks continues to heal, he has returned to work and has taken on the additional challenge of raising awareness and research funds for sarcoma. In his role as the Chairperson for the Race to Cure Sarcoma Denver, set to take place on September 17, 2016, Brooks will bring attention to this little known cancer and will work to raise funds for innovative sarcoma research. He will serve as the kick off speaker for the event before heading out on the race course.

“‘I’m thankful that my amazing Denver community surrounded me during my time of need this summer dealing with my diagnosis of Chondrosarcoma. Now that I’m cancer-free, I’m passionate about bringing awareness to this rare disease and finding a cure,’ said Albus. ‘I am also grateful to the Sarcoma Foundation of American for bringing the Race to Cure Sarcoma to the Mile High City.’

“I am going to write in Ryan Lochte for president this year. He would be the most trustworthy of the bunch.”

– Tyler Kennedy

Events: Boulder County Trump Campaign ‘Trump Day of Activism’ – Saturday, August 20, 2016. Join us on Saturday at either 9:00 a.m. or 1:00 p.m., for an exciting day of activism in Boulder County! All new and returning volunteer’s will get Trump Materials (Signs, Bumperstickers, and Other cool things!) We will have refreshments (you are free to bring more!), a volunteer rally, a way to meet other Trump supporters, and help out in ensuring Trump takes CO in a landslide. Policy Conversation with Hon. Kathleen Sebelius in support of Hillary Victory Fund – Saturday, August 20, 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m., Home of Drs. Alisa and Steve Sherick, Denver, Host, $5,000, Co-Host $1,000, Supporter $250. RSVP hereRNC Delegates Town Hall Meeting – Saturday, August 20, 2:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Mile High Calvary Chapel, 181 W County Line Rd, Littleton. “Why did Chairman House violate rules and fail to elevate alternates in a timely manner? WHy did he cast incorrect votes? Proof incorrect votes were corrected as the chairman promised.

Denver Republican Breakfast in the Park – Saturday, August 20, 8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m., Mamie Eisenhower Park, 4300 E. Dartmouth, Denver. Support Denver Republican Women at their annual fundraiser and our kick-off to our Be Ballot Be Wise Educational Campaign. Seven confirmed candidates to meet.

American Majority’s Digital Campaign and Activism Training with special guest trainer Lee Hopper – Monday, August 22, 6:00 p.m., Crossroads Community Church, Northglenn Campus, 10451 Huron St., Northglenn, CO.

5th Annual Senate Majority Fund All-Star Party! – Tuesday, August 23, 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., 1600 Glenarm Place, 3rd Floor, Demonstration Kitchen, Denver. Your Colorado Republican State Senators cordially invite you to join them for cocktails, appetizers and to reminisce about the recently played MLB All-Star Game!

Denver Reception for Rep. Kit Roupe – Thursday, August 25, 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., DCO 110 16th St. Ste. 501, Denver. Please join Kyle Forti and Caleb Bonham in re-electing Kit Roupe for Colorado House District 17. $400 maximum individual contribution. No contributions from corporations allowed.

Steamboat Institute 8th Annual Freedom Conference and Festival – Friday, August 26 – Saturday, August 27. Full conference registration includes scenic gondola ride to Thunderhead Summit of Steamboat Ski Area for keynote dinner, featuring Carly Fiorina. Other speakers include Sen. Ben Sasse, Steve Moore, Amity Shlaes, Mary Kissel and James Taranto (Wall Street Journal editorial board), Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, Michael Ledeen, Charlie Kirk, Jillian Melchior, Yaron Brook, Kelly Maher and more! Freedom Festival registration starts at just $50!  Lodging from $99 per night. Register Online:  www.steamboatinstitute.org

Adams County 50th Anniversary JFK Dinner – Saturday, August 27, 6:00 p.m., Double Tree by Hilton, Castle Event Center, I-25 and 120th Ave. Master of Ceremonies state Sen. Morgan Carroll. Special guest speaker to be announced after the Democratic National Convention.

Town Hall Meeting in Boulder With Rep. KC Becker, Sen. Rollie Heath – Monday, August 29, 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m., Boulder Chamber of Commerce, 2440 Pearl St, Boulder. Rep. KC Becker and Sen. Rollie Heath will host a town hall meeting focusing on the Colorado Department of Transportation’s activities in Boulder County and the US 36 corridor. The meeting will feature guest speaker CDOT Executive Director Shailen Bhatt

Last day for U.S. Senate and U.S. House candidates to submit a voluntary term limits declaration form – Monday, August 29

Clean Energy Fair and Celebration hosted by Sierra Club and Google Project Sunroof – Wednesday, August 31, 11:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m., Denver Skyline Park (off 16th St Mall). RSVP here

House Republican Joint Republican Candidate Reception and Fundraiser – Wednesday, August 31, 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m., 1410 Grant St., Denver, CO 80203. Join the House Republican Caucus to support these candidates: Richard Bowman * Rep. J Paul Brown * Katy Brown  Chris Hadsall * Kimmi Lewis * Jessica Sandgren Host Committee: Assistant Minority Leader Polly Lawrence * Caucus Chair Lois Landgraf * Minority Whip Perry Buck * Representatives Jon Becker * Paul Lundeen * Dan Nordberg * Lang Sias * Kit Roupe * Cole Wist. $200 suggested contribution. Please RSVP to Boyd.SaraA@gmail.com. 

Young and Active Conservatives of Denver – Wednesday, August 31, 7:00 pm. Highland Tavern, 3400 Navajo Street, Denver, CO. HAPPY HOUR! We are conservative young adults in our 20s – 40s who enjoy talking politics and doing social activities. More information here.

Denver GOP First Friday Breakfast featuring special guest, former Sen. John Andrews – Friday, September 2, 7:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m., Pete’s Greek Town Cafe, 2910 E. Colfax Ave. Andrews will be speaking on what to look forward to in the upcoming election. The title of his talk is “What Would Churchill Do?” Breakfast sponsor is Viano Construction.

Colorado Remembers 9/11, 15th Anniversary 9/11 Ceremony – Sunday, September 11, 1:00 p.m., Civic Center Park. Hosted by Gov. John Hickenlooper and Mayor Michael Hancock. Free Tribute Concert. www.COremembers911.org.

Evening Conversation to Re-elect state Rep. Diane Mitsch Bush – Saturday, September 17th, 4:00 pm – 6:00pm. 171 Chaparral Road, Singletree in Edwards. Families are welcome!

General Election mail ballots drop – Monday, October 17

General Election polling locations open – Monday, October 24

General Election – Tuesday, November 8

Want your event listed? Just let us know.

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