Thirty Years Ago This Week: Under the leadership of it’s chairwoman, Sharon Berthrong, the El Paso County Democratic Party was making its presence felt and reaching out to independents and moderate Republicans in an attempt to change the political landscape across the county.

With a combination of highly publicized events and sharp exchanges in the local editorial pages with El Paso County Republican Party Chair Bob Gardner, Berthrong had brought the Democratic Party to the forefront of the largely conservative county’s news coverage.

“This is going to be an exciting year for us,” said Berthrong. “We are going to have more than nine viable candidates nominated at the county assembly for local and legislative offices. I’m anticipating that 435 delegates and 45 alternates will attend. And they are going to be very pleased with the candidates who have the charisma, credibility and courage of Renny Fagan.”

Former Rep. Renny Fagan’s, D-Colorado Springs, House District 22 seat was the most contentious of the local races, as Republican Ken Gray had decided to challenge incumbent Rep. Mary Morrison, R-Manitou Springs. Morrison had barely beat Gray in the previous election.

“The Republicans — Marcy and Ken — are engaged in their usual bloody battle and a lot of people are not happy with either of them,” said Democratic HD 22 candidate Shawn Yocum-Alford. “It’s unacceptable that Republicans run unopposed. Unlike them, I’m a real person and we aren’t represented in the state legislature. My husband and I are working class people, we’re the epitome of the Democratic Party.”

Yocum-Alford’s platform drew heavily from her work at a community health center that served the working poor.

“There is a health care crisis despite what the Republicans say,” said Yocum-Alford. “Crime is another major issue, but passing legislation to allow people to carry concealed weapons only enhances the problem.”

In HD 17, Democrat Phyllis Marie Wynn, who hosted a talk show on the local Fox network, was pursuing Rep. Daphne Greenwood’s, D-Colorado Springs, seat, as the legislator was vacating the position at the end of her term in her bid for state treasurer. Wynn campaigned on a platform of tighter controls on gun sales, three-strike rule for felonies, and increased funding for community health clinics that served the poor.

Channel 5 television reporter Peter Aubrey was also seriously considering challenging incumbent Rep. Bill Martin, R-Colorado Springs, for the HD 17 seat.

Twenty Years Ago: Republican Gov. Bill Owens passed the College Opportunity Fund into law, calling the measure “a groundbreaking innovation that empowers thousands of Colorado students.”

“Quality education isn’t about institutions, it’s about the future of our students,” Owens said. “The Colorado Opportunity fund puts real economic power in the hands of students and will cause colleges to compete for those dollars. It’s a new day for higher education funding in America and I’m proud that it’s dawning in Colorado.”

Originally known as Senate Bill 04-189, sponsored by Sen. Norma Anderson, R-Lakewood, and Rep. Keith King, R-Colorado Springs, the bill created a mechanism by which higher education tuition wouldn’t count against the TABOR limit and gave institutions greater flexibility.

The value of the stipend, set at $2,400 in 2004, would be set each year by the legislature, and would be available to under-graduate, in-state, students who were state residents and enrolled in a public institution. Low-income students attending one of three private institutions; Regis University, the University of Denver, and Colorado College, would receive $1,200.

Creating these vouchers had been one of Owens’ top priorities and grew out of recommendations from a statewide commission he’d formed that searched for ways to strengthen the state’s higher education and expand the number of Coloradans who attended college and university.

“This is another milestone in the efforts Colorado is making to transform education from kindergarten through college,” Owens said.

Rachael Wright is the author of the Captain Savva Mystery series, with degrees in Political Science and History from Colorado Mesa University, and is a contributing writer to Colorado Politics and The Gazette.