Colorado Democrats gear up for election at virtual fundraising dinner (PHOTOS)

By Ernest Luning and Colorado Politics 06/22/2020 | updated 6 years ago

Colorado Democrats heard from state and national party leaders Saturday night during the party’s annual fundraising event, which was held virtually instead of in a downtown Denver hotel, due to the coronavirus.

U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the Brooklyn Democrat who chairs the House Democrats’ caucus and was one of seven impeachment managers during President Donald Trump’s Senate trial earlier this year, delivered the third annual Obama Dinner’s keynote address via video link. He had plenty of company in the spotlight, with a dozen of the party’s biggest names also addressing the hundreds of donors gathered online in brief videos, some pre-recorded.

The party postponed the dinner in April after restrictions on in-person gatherings went into effect as the COVID-19 pandemic swept into the state.

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At just over two hours, this year’s brisk fundraiser wrapped up at about the same time last year’s attendees were being served their entrees.

“No rubber chicken this time,” said Laura Packard. “[H]omemade pesto with fresh raspberries for dessert.” The health care activist, who attended last year’s Obama Dinner, told Colorado Politics she enjoyed this year’s version from the comfort of her kitchen.

“This was the responsible way of doing it, and also interesting in its own right,” she said, adding that she missed the chance to visit with people but applauded the party for doing the right thing.

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“If it were in person I probably would have bought a ticket to show support, but a ballroom full of people is a ballroom full of COVID,” she said.

With more than 800 tickets sold, attendance was down from the roughly 1,200 the fundraiser drew last year, but moving it online could mean the party nets as much cash without having to cover the cost of a hotel ballroom and catered dinners. Tickets for the fundraiser ranged from $150 for individuals to $10,000 for the highest-level sponsorship, for a table of 10.

In addition to party chairwoman Morgan Carroll, Colorado officials who beamed in to the fundraiser included Gov. Jared Polis, U.S. Reps. Diana DeGette, Ed Perlmutter, Jason Crow and Joe Neguse, Attorney General Phil Weiser, Secretary of State Jena Griswold, State Treasurer Dave Young, Senate President Leroy Garcia and House Speaker KC Becker.

Colorado Democratic Party’s 3rd annual Obama Dinner

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Former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive 2020 Democratic presidential nominee, addresses the Colorado Democratic Party’s third annual Obama Dinner, held online due to the coronavirus pandemic, on Saturday, June 20, 2020.

(via GoToWebinar)

Others who addressed the crowd — nearly 700 donors were logged in at the event’s peak, a party spokesman said — included former Vice President Joe Biden, the party’s presumptive presidential nominee, along with most of the other prominent candidates in this cycle’s presidential primary: U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Kamala Harris of California, Cory Booker of New Jersey and Michael Bennet of Colorado, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro; former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg; and U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell of California. Former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams also spoke.

Several speakers contrasted the virtual fundraiser with President Donald Trump’s Saturday night rally at an arena in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which took place at the same time.

“When anybody asks you which party values life, here we are doing this in a safe way, and the president of the United States, who finally made it out of his bunker, is jeopardizing the lives of tens of thousands of people in Oklahoma as we speak,” said Polis.

After detailing the House Democratic caucus’s unprecedented diversity, Jeffries, whose speech clocked in at about 9 minutes — three times as long as any other speaker’s but less than a third the duration of the dinner’s typical keynotes — referenced Trump’s in-person rally a state away in Oklahoma.

“We know as we gather here under the diverse umbrella, the hopeful umbrella, the good-natured umbrella of the Colorado Democratic Party, in a neighboring state of Colorado, we know that Donald Trump is holding another ‘Make America Hate Again’ rally,” Jeffries said.

“The contrast couldn’t be any clearer between what we’re about and what the Republican Party under Donald Trump is all about,” he said.

“We want to move the country forward; they are trying to turn back the clock. We’re working to bring people together; they are trying to tear us apart. We’re fighting for the people; they’re fighting for the privileged few. We believe in the public interest; they’re all about the special interest. We are fighting for the least, the lost and the left behind; they’re fighting for the wealthy, the well-off and the well-connected.”

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Arguing for the urgency of the November election, speakers took aim equally at Trump and at Republican Cory Gardner, who they called one of Trump’s closest allies in the Senate and faces the winner of a June 30 Democratic primary between former Gov. John Hickenlooper and former state House Speaker Andrew Romanoff.

Democrats ought to consider taking up a collection to buy Gardner some luggage, quipped Gloria Neal, director of public affairs for Denver Mayor Michael Hancock and the event’s emcee, “since we’re going to send him packing.”

“The rule of law and our capacity for self-governance is on the ballot in 2020,” Weiser said.

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Crow, who served with Jeffries on the team of impeachment prosecutors, likewise sounded the alarm over the prospects of a Trump winning a second term, saying the president “presents a threat to our democracy itself and our institutions.”

“Colorado Democrats, the bottom line is this there’s no substitute for victory. We have to win,” Crow said. “The other side knows that they can’t beat us on the policies. They know that if the people understand what we are fighting for, they will rally behind us. So they resort to deception and they try to divide us. Our strength will be our unity.”

Then, in a message that sounded like it could be describing the increasingly vitriolic primary between Hickenlooper and Romanoff, Crow concluded: “We must come together — have the policy debates that we have to have, but we must campaign cleanly, we must campaign based on the issues, and we must come together as one to fight and win. Because our country, our democracy, our children and our grandchildren depend on it.”

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The event began with a moment of silence as the names of dozens of victims of police violence appeared on screen. Several speakers lauded the comprehensive law enforcement reform package signed Friday by Polis, while others framed the November election as the chance to finish the job.

“I think justice is on the ballot in 2020,” said Harris.

Declared Carroll at the event’s conclusion: “If we can reach the moon, there is no reason we cannot achieve real equity, economic and educational opportunities for all in America.”

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The Democrats renamed their annual dinner three years ago after decades of calling it the Jefferson-Jackson dinner.

Alan Salazar, Hancock’s chief of staff, told Colorado Politics after the event that he enjoyed showing up for the fundraiser barefoot and wearing shorts, after attending the dinners for decades in more formal wear. He added that he didn’t miss the usual banquet fare and was glad it didn’t go too late into the night, like some previous editions had.

“This virtual dinner had the virtue of including quick thoughts from national leaders, and I think most Colorado Democrats probably appreciated that,” Salazar said. “One thing that was certainly missing is the usual tension and competition among candidates and campaigns at these events. No need to avoid the eager staff people putting stickers on your lapel, and no gauging the crowd for applause or groans.”

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The Democrats handed out a slew of awards Saturday night to party luminaries, activists and volunteers, with all except the chair’s awards determined in an online poll conducted earlier this year. The honorees were:

Democrat of the Year: Former state Rep. Joe Salazar

Rising Star Award: Denver Public Schools director Tay Anderson

Murphy Roberts Young Volunteer of the Year Award: Jeeva Senthilnathan

Outreach Award: Omar Montgomery

Rural Outreach Awards: U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse

Lifetime Achievement Award: Former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb

Volunteer of the Year Awards: Julia Bristor, Kathy Ayala, Betsy Daniel, Hasheem Coates

Chair’s Awards: La Plata County Democratic Party Chair Carol Cure and Montrose County Democratic Party Chair Kevin Kuns

Last year’s dinner was headlined by U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the chair of the House Intelligence Committee and the leader of the impeachment managers, and U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland of New Mexico, the first Native American woman to preside over the U.S. House of Representatives.

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Previous years featured keynoters Gov. Steve Bullock of Montana, former Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander, former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, then-Minnesota Sen. Al Franken, then-Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill, Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, when he was mayor of Newark, New Jersey.

Colorado Republicans in March postponed the party’s annual Centennial Dinner, originally set to feature a keynote address from Florida Sen. Marco Rubio on April 17, the night before the GOP’s state assembly. Tickets for the dinner ranged from $100 for an individual to $10,000 for a table of eight, along with VIP perks. The party plans to hold the dinner in person sometime this fall, a spokesman told Colorado Politics.

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