Rep. Marshall Townhall Observations 3-30-23

I attended Rep. Marshall’s public town hall last night, and once again came away with a high degree of satisfaction that the work and money #DougCoDems put into his campaign were well spent.

Frankly, Rep. Marshall’s public demeanor is a breath of fresh air in the political arena. Tonight, he was assertive and respectful to each of his constituents, including those obviously sent by the opposition to confront him.

I don’t agree with all of his votes, but I’m never at a loss to understand why he is voting as he does, because he is 100% #transparent with his logic and decisions. And I also know that he is voting and supporting his legislative colleagues on our side. Recently, I testified on a bill before the House Judiciary Committee, and it was apparent members on both sides of the aisle respect Rep. Marshall’s thinking and opinions.

From my perspective, the moderate Democrats in the House deserve acknowledgement when they stand against the kind of legislative overreach that comes with a political supermajority. The primary reason Democrats have lost majorities at every level of government is the tendency to start costly programs and enact new laws that expand government too much. And this Legislative Session is no exception.

I live in HD39, represented by the opposition. My elected Representative recently held a so-called town hall meeting without notifying her constituents.

I’m not at all worried that Bob Marshall would pull such a stunt. Kudos to Rep Marshall. Keep up the good work. #RepBobMarshall #ColoHD43

#HighlandsRanch

Lloyd Guthrie, Precinct 105, Roxborough Park

*This is solely the opinion of the author and does not necessarily represent the opinion of the Douglas County Democratic Party as a whole.

Great 2022 Election Results for Dems in Colorado!

Pictured (left to right): Bob Marshall, Mike Bennet, Jared Polis, Jena Griswold, Phil Weiser, Kathy Plomer.

Dems Win Statewide and in our own Douglas County

Here in Douglas County, voters in the Highlands Ranch district (HD43) of the Colorado State Legislature elected retired US Marine Bob Marshall (pictured above, with American flag). This is the first time in modern history that a Democrat has been elected for a House District in traditionally Republican Douglas County.

Bob's campaign – which appealed to Independents and Republicans as well as Democrats – emphasized representing all of the voters in his district. He also committed to keeping in touch with residents during his term in office. In the course of unseating the Republican incumbent, Bob and his team of volunteers overcame a voter registration disadvantage in HD43, where active registered voters are currently 22% Dem, 31% R and 45% Unaffiliated.

Also, in the HD61 Aurora portion of northeastern Douglas County, Eliza Hamrick was the voters' choice for that State House district.

All our our Democratic statewide leaders (pictured above) were re-elected:

• US Senate from Colorado: Mike Bennet

• Governor: Jared Polis

• Attorney General: Phil Weiser

• Secretary of State: Jena Griswold

• State Treasurer: Dave Young

Kathy Plomer (pictured above) was elected to the statewide at-large seat on the Colorado Board of Education.

As a result of the 2020 census, Colorado has now grown from seven US Congressional Districts to eight, and five of those eight were won by Democrats.

District 4 (for Douglas County and counties in the rural eastern third of the State) was held by the Republican incumbent, but the following districts were won by Democrats:

• District 1: Diana DeGette

• District 2: Joe Neguse

• District 6: Jason Crow

• District 7: Brittany Pettersen

• New District 8: Yadira Caraveo

In the Colorado State House our HD43 representative Bob Marshall joins a history-making majority of 46 Democrats versus 19 Republicans.

And, in the Colorado State Senate, voters increased the Democratic majority to 23 to 12. In Senate District 27, in a portion of the northeastern corner of Douglas County, longtime gun-violence opponent Tom Sullivan was elected.

Throughout Douglas County, some of our Democratic candidates outperformed previous-year election results in their respective districts, such as:

• Braeden Miguel, for state Senate District 30, and

• Eric Brody, for state House District 39.

2022 goes down as a great year for Democrats throughout Colorado.

VOTE EARLY - VOTE BLUE - VOTE FOR THE FUTURE

Ballots are arriving in your mailbox. We should thank Coloradans for supporting a nation-leading process that reduces the burden of voting for everyone.

Please join our Douglas County Democrats, family, and friends in voting for our great candidates. Each is pledged to truth, democracy, and setting DougCo, Colorado, and America on the right path.

In DougCo and elsewhere, the GOP offers a soup of extreme naysayers and ideologues. They are clearly divided. Just recently, the county GOP chair sent an email begging people not to vote for alternative far-right candidates. Truly, their divisions create our opportunities. There are enough enlightened local voters to produce wins for our candidates, up and down the ballot. Although many of these voters may not be declared Democrats, our steady and consistent ideas and ethics are widely held.

What we need to do is VOTE.

We also need to take that extra step to ensure that all reasonable people meet their obligations to our community and country by voting. So, talk to your family, friends and neighbors over the next few weeks...GET OUT THE VOTE. Our endorsed candidates still need money for their final pushes to Election Day. If you haven't contributed to campaigns, now is the time. If you have contributed, please dig a little deeper. Each candidate also needs volunteer support, if only a few of your hours, for mailers, door knocking, posting yard signs and calls.

The DougCO Democratic Party supports these incumbents and new candidates. Thank you for your active and engaged support. https://www.dougcodems.org/candidates-2022 Colorado Blue Book prepared by our State government. https://leg.colorado.gov/content/initiatives/initiatives-blue-book-overview/ballot-information-booklet-blue-book Douglas County Measures Yes- DCSD 5A and 5B )Bond/MLO) - Official endorsed by a unanimous vote of the Executive Committee.

Yes - Ballot Issue 1A The existing Douglas County Sales and Use Tax of 0.17% for parks, trails, historic resources and open space shall be extended for another 15 years. (While not officially endorsed by our Executive Committee, we democrats value our environment. If we vote based on our values a Yes vote is appropriate.

Colorado Democratic Party - Support vs Oppose vs No Position Yes - Amendment D (grandfather judicial residency) Yes - Amendment E (homestead exemption for military widows) Yes - Proposition FF (food, nutrition, hunger) Yes - Proposition GG (fiscal transparency ballot measures) Yes - Initiative 123 (.01% income tax re affordable housing) No - Initiative 121 (drop income tax rate) Neutral - Amendment F (gaming); Initiative 122 (halluncinogens as medicine); Initiatives 124, 125, 126 (alcohol measures)

The Douglas County Democratic Party supports these positions with the exception of 125 which we suggest a No vote. It was the opinion of the EC that this measure would be detrimental to small businesses.

Thanks to Lloyd Guthrie for this post.