Here are my suggestions for those voting in Boulder - and for all of Colorado on the state-wide items. I have not listed anything where there is just 1 person running.
And get an absentee ballot. Speaking as a computer programmer (my job for the last 25 years) - the electronic voting machines could so easily change or lose your vote. More likely through incompetence than intent - but lost is lost.
U.S. Congress - District 2
Mark Udall has done a very good job and by any measure deserves our votes.
Governor
Bill Ritter has shown himself to be a strong candidate with a good record and clearly will be a moderate liberal. The most important reason to vote for him is he understands that we do need adequate funding in the state and reducing the state budget to $1.50/year would not be a good thing.
Secretary of State
They are both very good candidates and either one is deserving of winning and would do a good job for the state. My vote is going to Ken Gordon mainly because his ads have been so clever.
State Treasurer
Once again both are good candidates. Keep in mind that the winner here could be our next Governor and for that reason I am voting for Kennedy (D).
Attorney General
Everyone, I repeat everyone, has assumed Suthers will win. And he almost certainly will. But I think that O'Brien is the one to vote for both because she choose to run when she knew she would get creamed and to encourage the Democratic party to put up someone with a chance next time. Vote O'Brien so we get two contenders next time. That said, I think Suthers is doing a good job.
C.U. Regent at Large
It doesn't matter. Whoever is elected they will spend their time wasting money on the football team while ignoring academics. Vote for any of the 3rd party candidates.
Amendment 38 - make initiatives easier.
Apparently the 14 statewide amendments & referenda this election are not enough for some people. This amendment will drown us in initiatives. Vote no because 14 initiatives already about 4 times what it should be.
Amendment 39 - 65% of school funds used in the classroom
Referendum J
I really really sympathize with the intent of these two initiatives. And I also am frustrated with the disaster that is our public schools and how they are destroying the economic future for so many of their students. But this is not the answer. Even worse, it applies a band-aid that may make people think we have "fixed" the problem. Vote no on both and then work to get quality school board members elected.
Amendment 40 - politicize the judiciary
No! This measure was placed because some conservative legislators were upset that judges ruled impartially on some cases where they wanted a specific result. This will politicize our judiciary. No, no, NFW!
Amendment 41 - eliminate gifts
This is a bad solution to a problem that does not exist. First off, the amendment as written may disallow things like state scholarships for children of state employees. Second, what problem is it fixing? Yes we had two legislators who did things that were clearly wrong. The Democrat resigned and the Republican lost his leadership post and won't ever get re-elected to anything - not even dogcatcher. The system worked and worked well. Vote no.
Amendment 42 - minimum wage
Now this is what the initiative process was designed for - a basic question about our core public policy as a state. Yes this amendment is not perfect (is there ever a perfect one?). But it is well written and it lets us vote to give all who choose to work a better wage. Still not a livable wage, but a better one. Vote yes. And tell your friends to vote yes. This is the vote where we do the right thing for those less fortunate. And to whoever wrote the arguments against this - you said that a) This would reduce jobs as pay went up and b) That almost no jobs are presently at minimum wage. Do you realize that only one of those arguments can be true?
Amendment 43 - no gay marriage
Like amendment 42, this also is what the initiative process was designed for. However in this case it would enshrine discrimination and religious bigotry in our constitution. Vote no. Even if you are against gay marriage, please don't put this in the constitution - leave the small minded discrimination in the law.
Amendment 44 - legalize marijuana
Gee, the war on drugs has been going so well, I hate to see this hurt our efforts. With all of the problems we face, with all of the various issues our legal system needs to address, putting even 1 second into marijuana is a total waste of resources. Vote yes and lets take the next tiny step toward trying something a bit more sensible in our drug policy. And this is a very tiny change.
Referendum E - tax exemption for disabled vets
What is this even doing on the ballot? This is one of those feel good items that should never be here. And what does this do? It helps the best off vets as it is of no use if you rent, only if you own a home. Helping the vets is a good thing to do, but have the legislature come up with a way to target it usefully. Vote no.
Referendum F - recall changes
Another solution for a problem that does not exist. This overall seems sensible but what is it doing on the ballot? And have we had any problems? Vote either way on this but my vote is no just to discourage stuff like this from cluttering up the ballot.
Referendum G - eliminate obsolete provisions
Can't they just do this once every 20 years? These are for provisions from 1903 and they just now figured out they're obsolete. Who cares.
Referendum H - tax wages paid to illegal aliens
What moron came up with this? It's unlikely any business will ever meet the criteria of this initiative. And something like this should be in the legislature (where they hopefully would kill it as beyond stupid). Vote no. And the next time you hire an illegal alien, tip them better. Also, if one of the people that supports this is up for election on your ballot - vote for their opponent. You don't want someone this stupid representing you.
Referendum I - domestic partnerships
Another one of the few that belongs on the ballot. This gives gay couples a lot of the same rights as married couples. This is so the right thing to do - vote yes.
Referendum J - 65% of school budget in the classroom
See above - vote No.
Referendum K - sue the U.S. to enforce immigration law
What is going on here? This is the dumbest of the dumb initiatives on the ballot. Out of all the issues and problems at the federal level, this would waste money on a symbolic action on this one issue. Strike a blow for sanity and the intelligence of a 10 year old and vote no.
State Representative - District 13
There is no Republican in this race but there is a Libertarian. Like Fern O'Brien he has no chance, but a vote for him encourages giving us a choice. Of course if it was close, then I would back Claire Levy 100%.
Retain Judges
Have you heard anything bad about any of them? I haven't. Yes to all.
County Commissioner - all
I am really tired of the County Commissioners basically having a guaranteed job until term limits hit (and they tried to get that lifted too). These bozos get more out of touch and arrogant with each election. The new group has been better, but the system does not serve us well. Vote for any candidate other than the Democrat. And if one of the three positions is won by a challenger, we will see an improvement in our county government.
County Sheriff
Joe Pelle has done a good job - retain him.
County Coroner
Neither is perfect but Faure is the incumbent and he has done a crappy job. Vote for Lisa Jo Floyd and give her a chance to show she can do better. It shouldn't be hard.
County Issue 1A - taxes earmarks
Ballot Issue 201 - more taxes earmarks
Ballot Issue 202 - even more taxes earmarks
What happened to the system where we pay taxes into the city and county's general funds and the city council/county commissioners then set a budget from that fund based on what services are most critical. All three of these issues should be defeated, not because they are bad ideas, but because earmarks (i.e. pork) is not the way to fund government services. If issues like this pass, and we have 3/year (and it will increase if these pass), in 10 years we will have 30 special taxes each going to their own sacrosanct bureaucracy, outside of the general budget. And our tax rate will be shooting toward 25%.
Ballot Question 2A - Annexation
We haven't made it hard enough already to annex land? This is a bunch of over-entitled trust fund babies who have already forgotten the lesson of Crossroads mall dying over 10 years. They want to freeze Boulder as it is because it gives them what they want and the idea that we might need to provide more housing, jobs, or stores is not something they want. No culture can stay in stasis, it either grows and adapts to changes or it stagnates. Vote no on 2A - and vote for a Boulder that still may be able to adapt to what the future requires.
Ballot Question 2B - Fluoride
The preponderance of research says fluoridating drinking water is a very good thing. However, one big change since fluoridation started is that almost all toothpaste now has fluoride in it and that may make fluoridating unnecessary. I think we should vote for 2B and be a test case for the country. Measure changes in tooth decay over the next 10 years and then decide if we need to bring it back, or if it is no longer necessary. We have so many advantages in Boulder, lets use this as an opportunity to give something back to society and learn if fluoridation is necessary. Vote yes.
Ballot Issue 3A - BVSD 300 million bond
Yes BVSD has broken promises in the past. Yes the BVSD administration is inefficient and spends too much outside the classroom. Yes George Garcia is a mediocre superintendent. (He is resigning, but the board that is thrilled with him is the board that will pick a replacement.) The thing is, I don't think waiting for a better school system will work. It's imperfect and could be better - but this is what we have. And the place to fix that is to encourage better candidates to run for the board and to elect them. In the meantime the schools desperately need the repairs and the money will be well used and is needed today. Vote for the bond. And then encourage someone good to run for the board.
Lists of endorsements across the state
Colorado Confidential - very useful site.
Hawaii - U.S. Senate
Cynthia Thielen (my mom)
