In June, Gov. Bill Ritter hired Maranda Pleau as the "Minority Outreach Coordinator" for his office coordinating the spending of federal stimulus money. She was tasked with “helping state agencies set goals and procedures regarding minority contracting and outreach to minority communities.”
COLORADO'S FRONTPAGE
Face the State
Content Index: Bill Ritter
Follow this topic by RSSJohn Hickenlooper takes over for the D's
Following the announcement Gov. Bill Ritter would not seek re-election, Denver mayor John Hickenlooper has announced he will take the reins for Colorado Democrats. How does the switch affect each party's prospects in November?
Play audio - 20:34 minutes
More >
Who will Democrats run for governor?
Following Gov. Bill Ritter's surprise announcement this week he will not continue to seek re-election, Democrats are scrambling to find a replacement nominee. Will there be a primary, or can party leaders coalesce around a "consensus candidate"?
Play audio - 17:01 minutes
More >
Gov. Bill Ritter will not seek re-election
Gov. Bill Ritter, a Democrat, announced this week he would discontinue his re-election campaign. Ritter describes his decision as "deeply personal." FTS has response from Democrats and Republicans under the gold dome.
Play audio - 10:50 minutes
More >
A 'Contract for Colorado'?
This week's show begins with a look at the week in Colorado politics with an eye toward the likely endorsement of GOP gubernatorial candidate Scott McInnis by former rivals Josh Penry and Tom Tancredo. Republicans are rallying around a so-called "Contract for Colorado," a unified platform for the 2010 election cycle. Will this development help McInnis gain steam against incumbent Gov. Bill Ritter?
Play audio - 9:11 minutes
More >
Ritter's 2010 budget proposal
Gov. Bill Ritter, a Democrat, this week presented his 2010 budget proposal to the legislature's Joint Budget Committee. Face The State has audio from his presentation as well as analysis from GOP budget hawk Rep. Kent Lambert, R-Colorado Springs.
Play audio - 10:54 minutes
More >
9/11: Time to cut payroll
It's time to get serious about cutting the state government's payroll.
Play audio - 1:00 minutes
More >
New coal plant equal to 2,000+ wind turbines
A Face the State Staff Report
August 13, 2009As the Comanche unit 3 coal plant near Pueblo is scheduled to start commercial operation this fall, utilities are also seeking ways to comply with a 2004 ballot measure that requires 20 percent of the state's electricity to come from "renewable" sources. A Face The State analysis explores the relative power of Comanche versus two large wind and solar projects.
State 'minority outreach' job still plays the race card
August 11, 20098/3: Ritter's stimulus melodrama
Gov. Bill Ritter says the state would be "destitute" without the federal stimulus money.
Play audio - 1:00 minutes
More >
Best 'endorse Ritter' video not in contest
July 28, 2009
In a July 2 video to supporters, political consultant David Kenney recorded a message asking Coloradans to compose a brief video describing why they support Gov. Bill Ritter's re-election campaign. Nearly a month later, the effort has attracted less than 10 entrants, some of which appear to be recorded by Ritter staff at a recent event.
Trio of anti-tax petitions on deck for 2010
A Face the State Staff Report
July 27, 2009Three anti-tax petitions are being circulated in hopes of rolling back recently-enacted tax and fee increases at next year's election. Backers of the initiatives emphasize the grassroots nature of their endeavor, but Colorado's most prominent tax-cutting activists are at work in the background helping to shepherd the measures to the ballot.
Mr. Ritter goes to Washington
Gov. Bill Ritter was in Washington, D.C. this week touting his "New Energy Economy," though not everyone is sold on the program and the heavy government subsidies it requires.
Play audio - 3:35 minutes
More >
FTS Humor: Perlmutterings
Face The State Humor
July 24, 2009
By Andrew Ripemoff
Even as someone who didn’t vote for Bill Ritter, I have to admit that my heart was filled with regional pride upon seeing the governor of my state invited to our nation’s capitol, to the United States Senate, on national TV and everything, afforded the opportunity to suck up to that annoying Barbara Boxer.
Mr. Ritter was there to share his economic expertise with our nation’s lawmakers. And why not? Let’s be fair: If you really want a serious, bi-partisan roadmap towards creating jobs and improving the economy while solving a budget crisis, you will take note of what Governor Ritter is doing here in Colorado.
FTS on 1310 KFKA: Mr. Ritter goes to Washington
Face The State visits with 1310 KFKA morning show hosts Trevor Carey and George Gray. Gov. Bill Ritter was in Washington, D.C. this week touting his "new energy economy," but GOP senators were ready and waiting for him with questions about carbon taxes, "green" government subsidies and other nastiness.
Play audio - 6:14 minutes
More >
GOP field, led by Penry, outperforming Ritter in DBJ poll
July 23, 2009Republican state Sen. Josh Penry is currently leading a Denver Business Journal web poll that asks readers to pick a favored candidate in next year's gubernatorial election. Penry tops incumbent Democrat Gov. Bill Ritter 42 percent to 15 percent as of Thursday afternoon in the site's weekly "Business Pulse" survey, an unscientific gauge of reader opinion.
Why not 'furlough' some paid holidays?
July 23, 2009Gov. Bill Ritter announced yesterday the dates of four furlough days for state government. And taking a page right out of Mayor John Hickenlooper's playbook, the state has conveniently scheduled its new unpaid days off adjacent to paid holidays. At the risk of raining on state employees' parade, we ask why long weekends should be made even longer causing state services to be inaccessible for up to four days at a time.
7/22: Ritter tests power of incumbency
Incumbency has its benefits, but will Gov. Ritter enjoy them?
Play audio - 1:00 minutes
More >
Mixed reaction from Senate for Ritter energy policy
July 21, 2009
Gov. Bill Ritter is in Washington, D.C. today, "touting clean-energy laws and polices that are creating jobs, attracting companies and advancing a new era of manufacturing in the state," according to a press release. In a call with media after Ritter's presentation to a U.S. Senate committee, Sen. Mark Udall said his colleagues are very interested in the "Colorado example." But not everyone in Washington is so enamored: Republican U.S. Senators used the committee hearing as an opportunity to criticize Ritter's energy policy positions on a national stage.
Hiring 'freeze' thawed, now Elliman's domain
FTS Opinion
July 21, 2009Despite substantial fiscal instability, the state hiring freeze quietly came to an end June 30. The moratorium on hiring, to which exemptions were liberally granted, will now be replaced by an even looser prior-approval process.
FTS on 1100 KNZZ: Ritter's campaign tactics; a health care mess
Face The State managing editor Brad Jones visits with Rick Wagner of 1100 KNZZ in Grand Junction. This week: Gov. Bill Ritter is ramping up his re-election campaign, inviting activists to attend upcoming "Ritter Retreats." He's also getting savvy about collecting voter data online, but the nastygrams his Web site generates might be more useful if they actually get delivered.
Play audio - 12:02 minutes
More >
Ritter plays up Obama connection
July 16, 2009
While Republican candidates play up conservative political ideology over partisan affiliation, Democrat incumbent Gov. Bill Ritter is proudly touting his connections to Pres. Barack Obama.
7/15: Say 'no' to make-work train project
Watch out! The federal gravy train is heading straight for Colorado.
Play audio - 1:00 minutes
More >
Court hears appeal in Ritter campaign finance lawsuit
July 14, 2009State Rep. Kent Lambert, R-Colorado Springs, is pressing on with an appeal of his lawsuit against Gov. Bill Ritter, who is accused of improperly spending more than $200,000 from his gubernatorial inaugural committee.
Bennet lunches in Mass. with U.S. Senator from Penn.; RSVP to D.C.
July 13, 2009
Freshman U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Denver, is busy amassing cash ahead of next year's general election. His next campaign stop: Martha's Vineyard.
'The Buzz' on 1310 KFKA, 7/13/09 - Ritter's revenue estimates; GOP Guv race
FTS managing editor Brad Jones visits with 1310 KFKA talk show host Amy Oliver. A recent Face The State analysis of state government budget projections shows the Ritter administration was slow to adjust its revenue estimates as the recession worsened. Also, the GOP field lining up to challenge the incumbent Governor grew to three with the weekend addition of state Sen. Josh Penry.
Play audio - 16:50 minutes
More >
Ritter budget numbers consistently rosier than Leg Council's
A Face the State Staff Report
July 10, 2009
Two state offices tasked with estimating government revenues have attempted to predict the recession's impact on tax revenue, with differing results. The Office of State Planning and Budgeting, within the Ritter administration, has been at odds with the non-partisan Legislative Council, with the latter being consistently more conservative in its estimates of general fund revenue.
FTS on 600 KCOL: Vehicle registration fees & budget woes
Face The State visits with 600 KCOL morning show hosts Keith and Gail to talk about state politics and preview the FTS Weekend Edition. County clerks are busy fielding complaints about increased vehicle registration fees, but there's little they can do to help ease the pain. Gov. Bill Ritter has said he'll push for late fee relief, but that won't happen until 2010. In the meantime, lawmakers are working to plot the future of Colorado's budget, but consensus is unlikely.
Play audio - 11:42 minutes
More >
Show your outrage - and give us your e-mail address!
July 9, 2009Colorado liberals have mastered the art of building massive grassroots e-mail lists. Their most effective tool in doing so? Facilitating angry constituents in writing letters to political opponents, automatically capturing personal contact information in the process. It's a shrewd scheme, one honed through years of technological R&D that has largely left Republicans in the dust when it comes to online campaigning.
It's hard to run a campaign when your voicemail is full
July 8, 2009The last line of today's staff report on the status of Gov. Bill Ritter's Colorado Promise reads: "Multiple calls and e-mails to Ritter's campaign management firm, The Kenney Group, were not returned." Nearly 20 attempts were made by FTS staff to reach Ritter campaign manager David Kenney to answer the simple question, "Is the Colorado Promise going to be a part of Ritter's re-election platform?" One reason Kenney may not have called back? His voicemail has been full for at least the last week. (Probably mostly with staff writer Kate Melvin's patient yet persistent requests for comment.)
The Colorado Promise Three years later
A Face the State Staff Report
July 8, 2009
During his 2006 campaign, Gov. Bill Ritter established his platform in the "Colorado Promise," a 54-page document containing dozens of pledges to Colorado voters. In his third year as governor, experts and pundits are weighing in on his progress and shortcomings thus far.