mark grueskin
-
Newly revealed interactions added to redistricting lobbying complaint
—
by
A complaint filed against a group of Republican political consultants and lobbyists, accusing them of failing to file proper redistricting lobbying disclosure, grew larger Monday, when the complainant added new interactions between the complaint targets and Colorado’s redistricting commissioners. The complaint, initially filed with the Colorado Secretary of State in August, accused Republican political consultant…
-
Colorado congressional redistricting commission focuses on ‘southern district’ concept
—
by
At Wednesday night’s congressional redistricting commission meeting, a “southern district” concept was approved by a majority of the commissioners, meaning some big changes could be coming to the preliminary draft congressional map first released in late June. The “southern district” concept would be built around the idea that Colorado’s rural ethnic minority communities should be…
-
Complaint accuses backers of independent Colo. candidates of finance violations
—
by
A Denver election law attorney who regularly goes to bat for Democrats filed a complaint Monday alleging campaign finance violations by a group of nonprofits that are backing five unaffiliated legislative candidates in Colorado. Mark Grueskin, representing four registered Democrats from Denver and Arapahoe County, says in a 15-page complaint filed with the Secretary of…
-
COVER STORY | Drawing the line on gerrymandering
—
by
Democratic and Republican leaders in Colorado have at least one thing in common: Neither side trusts each other or the courts to be fairer to Colorado voters than Colorado voters would be to themselves. That’s the idea driving amendments Y and Z on the state’s November ballot to allow independent commissions to draw electoral district…
-
Bill to outlaw arcades with cash prizes passes committee 12-0
—
by
An intense discussion of legal interpretation, voter intent and the state constitution by high-priced, well-known lawyers boiled down to a simple question Thursday: Do lawmakers think arcades that offer cash prizes constitute gambling? The answer was yes. House Bill 1234 passed the House Business Affairs and Labor Committee 12-0. The legislation fills in legal gaps left…
-
Lines drawn over ballot measures to determine how Colorado draws its legislative, congressional lines
—
by
The battle is heating up over how Colorado draws its legislative and congressional boundaries. After failing to knock out a pair of proposed redistricting and reapportionment ballot measures in court, a rough coalition of mostly liberal and good-government groups filed competing ballot measures in late December and is vowing to take the choice before voters…
-
Douglas County School Board race neared $1 million in spending
—
by
This story has been updated and corrected. Due to an error in the TRACER reporting system, an expenditure was listed incorrectly with contributions. The Douglas Schools for Douglas Kids independent expenditure committee did report spending $131,000 on campaign expenses in the weeks leading to the Nov. 8 election. __ Final campaign finance reports for the 2017…
-
Legal questions over fix stymie special session
—
by
The biggest fight over whether to fix a drafting error in an omnibus rural sustainability bill is whether the fix requires voter approval. Senate Republicans are adamant that voters in those special districts should weigh in. Democrats and those who have fought similar battles in the courts say no. And it’s all about how the Taxpayer’s…
-
Colorado casino lobby doesn’t gamble on gaming in Aurora
—
by
If you get bit by the gambling bug and want to deposit some of your hard-earned cash in the slots or try your luck at roulette or blackjack, you’d have to leave the Denver-metro area for someplace like Blackhawk or Central City. That’s by design, as Coloradans have said no to gaming expansion on the…
-
Growth limit proposal survives protests
—
by
A proposed initiative to limit growth survived two protests before the Colorado Secretary of State‘s Initiative Title Setting Review Board, although some wording changes were made to clarify and address some of the concerns. The Wednesday, Jan. 4, hearing concerned what is being called Initiative 4 for the 2018 general election ballot, a measure proposed by…
