2011 election yard signs (Pat Shanks)

Election night 2011 was full of surprises.  The fact that some of the outcomes were surprising suggests many factors influenced voter behavior, and without detailed post-election polling, explanations have been at best speculative and at worst self-serving and emotional.  But with the certification of election results by the ad hoc City of Boulder canvassing board on Tuesday, November 15, we now have the final numbers to analyze.  This opinion article is intended to provide a fair analysis and interpretation of this important election.  It is based on the election outcome, first-hand observations, websites and election materials, council candidate forums, and long-term study of Boulder elections and politics.

Surprise number one in this election was the top-polling overall victory of Boulder City Council candidate Suzanne (Zan) Jones. Political veteran Jones (Environmental Advisory Board, Blue Ribbon Commission II on Revenue Stabilization, PLAN-Boulder County board member, Regional Director for The Wilderness Society) ran an excellent campaign with a strong focus on the issues, but it is still unusual for a first-time-candidate to gather the most votes for council.  The most logical explanation is that Jones is an engaging candidate and that her positions on the issues strongly appealed to the people of Boulder.  Her positions (zanjonesforcouncil.com) emphasize preserving what’s best about Boulder, creating a sustainable energy future, improving local and regional transportation, creatively enhancing our downtown area, and investing in our infrastructure.

Lisa Morzel, who is completing her twelfth year on council, finished strongly in second-place and now will serve another four years with a huge affirmation from the people of Boulder.  Morzel’s positions on the issues (lisamorzel.com) highlight progressive and environmental values, with strong emphasis on exploring municipalization as a pathway to clean reliable energy, creating new bikeways and crosswalks, developing our civic space at the St. Julien, acquiring and carefully managing open space, preserving “Section 16” to complete the Rocky Flats Wildlife Refuge, and creating the long-awaited north Boulder library branch.

Tim Plass, Planning Board member, former Landmarks Board member, and community activist finished in third place.  Plass supports many of the positions advocated by Jones and Morzel (plassforcouncil.org – now taken down).  All three of the top winners were endorsed by PLAN-Boulder County, the Sierra Club, the Daily Camera, and the Boulder Weekly.  All three are strong environmentalists, advocates of careful land-use planning, supporters of the Boulder municipalization issues (ballot measures 2B and 2C), and strong advocates for the Move to Amend ballot measure 2H (opposing corporate personhood).

Final election outcome

The second surprise of election night was the relatively weak showing of incumbents George Karakehian and Ken Wilson, who trailed Jones and Morzel by 2400-2900 votes (22-23%; see chart and table).  Incumbents are usually golden in Boulder and, whereas both retained their seats, it is striking that they were displaced from the top of the ticket by two newcomers with relatively low name recognition.  This is important.  Both Karakehian and Wilson have served well and are competent councilmembers, but both opposed 2B/2C as did the conservative groups who endorsed them (Boulder Area Realtors Association, Boulder Outdoor Coalition, and Boulder Chamber of Commerce).

Finishing significantly behind the electeds (1336 votes behind Wilson), Dan King’s campaign started strongly but faded in the end, perhaps due to his close ties with the Chamber, his opposition to the 2H issue, his opposition to dedicated taxes (like open space, recycling, and climate action), or his seeming ambiguity on 2B/2C.  Or perhaps Dan’s thin knowledge of city issues other than the budget came through in the long stream of forums and questionnaires.  Daniel Ziskin and Jonathan Hondorf came next, finishing ahead of 2-time candidate Fenno Hoffman.  King, Ziskin, and Hondorf are likely to be strong candidates in the next council election, if they choose to run again in two years.

It’s tempting to speculate that the 2B/2C victories lifted Jones, Morzel, and Plass to decisive victory, but the narrow margins of the municipalization issues suggests other factors were at play.  Rather, the high vote tallies of Jones/Morzel/Plass seem to be a confirmation of the vision of the current council, which includes supporting strong environmental action and open space conservation, careful development when it provides a distinct community benefit, a strong social services network, and encouraging innovative and locally-grown businesses.

Some have speculated that anti-incumbent sentiments influenced this Boulder election (Daily Camera, Nov. 3), but two outcomes argue against this hypothesis. The very strong showing by incumbent Lisa Morzel suggests the results are related more to the issues and positions championed by Morzel as opposed to the more conservative positions of the other incumbents, Wilson and Karakehian.  Further, the very weak showings by Mark Gelband and Thomas Johnston, both of whom were relentlessly critical of the current pathways chosen by Boulder leadership, shows that anti-incumbent sentiment is not important in Boulder at this time.

Boulder Clean Energy Business Coalition poster

The third surprise was the narrow victory and last minute surge of support for 2B (50.40%) and 2C (51.93%), which will enable further study and consideration of municipalization of our electrical energy supply.  These issues pitted liberals and environmentalists who believe in clean energy and local government against conservatives and others who argued that they have a better chance of influencing Xcel or the PUC (Public Utilities Commission, which regulates Xcel in Colorado) than their own elected officials.  As the campaign progressed, many voters were offended by the steady stream of distortions and half-truths that Xcel and its proxy (Boulder Smart Energy Coalition) produced. The anti-2B/2C groups spent at least $900,000 to protect the current regulated monopoly, about ten times the amount spent by the pro-2B/2C groups.

The Xcel message did not seem to resonate strongly in Boulder, but did accomplish its mission of scaring or confusing some voters, resulting in a very close final tally.  Even after the election was decided, representatives like Xcel-hired point-man David Miller stayed on message. “It looks to me like the voters are not endorsing municipalization,” he said. “It was presented as the passport to clean energy, and I don’t think there’s any sort of resounding endorsement of that.”

Perhaps a primer on how democracy works is in order, but I guess Xcel has already received that.  The election outcome, with both 2B and 2C passing, and 2H passing by an overwhelming margin (73.79%), shows that Boulder residents still possess highly functional BS detectors.

Significant credit needs to be given to our local newspapers (Boulder Weekly, Daily Camera, and Denver Post), who stood up to intense pressure and endorsed the municipalization ballot measures.  The narrow passage of 2B/2C with a strong surge at the end was clearly lubricated by incredibly intense and effective campaigning all the way to the end.  This effort was led by New Era Colorado and the Boulder Clean Energy Business Coalition.  Volunteers from RenewablesYes and the Sierra Club participated in a massive and successful get-out-the-vote campaign at the end, which produced a last minute surge that carried 2B/2C over the top.  The challenge of the municipalization issues was educating the voters, and the margin would probably have been larger if the clean energy campaign had had the resources to reach more voters.

The most important take-home message of this election is that Boulder voters are happy with the city and support the direction the City Council has taken us in the last four years.  Boulder citizens want our city to be a national and international leader in drastically reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and they believe that municipalization may be our best chance to achieve that goal.  But issues of Open Space conservation and environmental preservation, and a careful, measured approach to development should not be underestimated as issues that propelled the top 3 vote-getters.

Timeline of Ballot Issue 2B returns

Timeline of Ballot Issue 2C returns

Curious that there might be a correlation between late voting and late counting, I asked the Boulder County Clerk’s office if they had any information about which votes were counted when.  According to them, the early returns (7:00 p.m.) were primarily pre-Election Day votes, but not entirely.  Between 7:00 and 10:00 p.m. the returns were a mix of pre-Election Day and Election Day votes.  From 10:00 p.m. on, all of the new returns reported were votes cast on Election Day.

On Ballot Issue 2B, prior to 10:00 p.m. 48.9% of the votes were “For”; after 10:00 p.m., 57.1% of the additional votes counted were “For.”  On Ballot Issue 2C, pre-10:00 p.m. votes were 50.3% “For”; after 10:00 p.m., 58.8% were “For.”

Building on the weeks, months and years of sustained efforts by RenewablesYes volunteers*, New Era applied the last push that put the measures over the top.  According to New Era Executive Director Steve Fenberg, in the 72 hours prior to the election they made 15,000 voter contacts.  On Election Day, they had 65 people making phone calls, knocking on doors, and picking up ballots from people who were sick or unable to make it to the drop off centers.  Many of those volunteers worked up until 6:50 p.m. on Tuesday.  Pitching in with New Era were folks from RenewablesYes, Boulder Clean Energy Business Coalition, and “countless other committed individuals.”

“It really was a great ‘community coming together’ moment yesterday,” said Fenberg.

Correction:  this sentence was changed to remove the organization name Clean Energy Action

There sure are a lot of talking points flying around out there about Boulder’s move to create a municipal utility. And I know you’ve seen the online ads that Xcel is spending millions on. Here’s a point by point rebuttal to each and every lie and myth Xcel is spreading. Read this, and you’ll definitely be the most informed guy or gal at the bar tonight.

Read the entire article at the New Era News: Top Ten Lies About Municipalization.

The Midterm Elections are around the corner and the voter registration deadline is approaching. Have you moved recently and need to update your address? Want to request a mail-in ballot? Or are you a late bloomer and still need to register to vote for the first time? Just a word of warning: your first time can make you nervous, but don’t be surprised when it all happens quicker than you expected. Registering takes just a minute and you can now do it all online if you live in Colorado.

New Era Colorado just launched our Online Voter Registration website where you can take care of everything in one spot. If you’ve got a Colorado Driver’s License or ID you can even use the site just to check your registration to make sure it’s all accurate and good to go.

Do it now. I bet you can even manage to do a yoga pose while you’re at it.

And if you think you don’t know enough about the issues on the ballot, join us at the Boulder Drafthouse at Spruce and 13th on Wednesday, Sept. 15th at 5:30 to learn about the ballot measures this year. Some of them are kinda scary. More info at the Facebook event here.

General Jeb Stuart and his cavalry

Originally published in New Era News

Tom Tancredo knows how to create heat. His quotes, everything from seeing President Obama as the number one threat to America to the desire to see Mecca bombed, have defined a man that is now running for governor in Colorado as the candidate for the American Constitution Party.

The Interview

When I asked him what platform he’s running on, he stumbled a bit and answered: “Freedom. Freedom in everything.”

In regards to his choice to run as an American Constitution Party candidate, he simply said that they are able to put him on the ballot and that the current race was a mess, but failed to elaborate on any details of the party’s ideals that might have appealed to him.

I couldn’t help but bring up the controversial statement Tancredo had made several times that President Obama is the “biggest threat to America, even more than Al-Qaeda.”  In an interview with Megyn Kelly of Fox News, Tancredo based the above claim on Obama’s inability to keep our borders protected and safe.   Here is a transcript of our conversation about immigration from this afternoon.

Q: If President Obama asked you to be an advisor to him on immigration, would you accept?

A: No, I would never work for him or that administration.  I wouldn’t say yes even if he went to my house and asked me personally, I don’t want to be part of his administration.  He’s a threat to the security of the United States.

Q: So, I mean, he still has two years in the office, you can make a huge difference if you go into the White House and become his advisor, why not decide to compromise, to discuss and learn instead of wanting to just be on your own, and not work with him, because he is, after all, the president, and having an influential person like you in there would make a huge impact, and reverse the fact that you think he’s a threat.

A: It would never work – he would never ask me to work with him or be his advisor and I would never agree.

Q: We’re talking in hypothetical terms here.

A: He’s a threat to America, I would not want to work for him, and it’ll never happen – he’ll never ask me to be his advisor. You see, I was in Congress when Bill Clinton was president.  Me and my colleagues were invited to have dinner in the White House with Clinton.  Everyone went except for one attendant, me.  I didn’t want to go, I didn’t want to shake my hand with him, I didn’t want to be around him and all that he did. I didn’t want to meet him.

I proceeded to ask him about how he defines the United States of America, since I personally have found that Tancredo’s statements seem to advocate separation and hate in this nation. What about the united part of United States of America?

This is where it got personal.

“I think your view on the country is skewed,” Tancredo said. “Have you heard of Jeremiah Wright? ACORN? The news on the Black Panthers?”

According to Tancredo, these forces were the ones separating and destroying the country, and he and other conservatives were simply reacting and working to keep this country alive. Tancredo implied that I was coming from an ideological bias.

Many are assuming Tancredo’s run dooms the GOP’s chances for electing a governor. To Tancredo, however, it’s not about electing a Republican. He’s shifting the debate – and that’s all that matters.

Boulder City Council began its first reading of the much-discussed SmartRegs proposal at their meeting on May 18. In witness of an over-capacity meeting hall, Mayor Susan Osborne said it was, “the most important issue we’ll tackle this year, and the most complex.” Landlords and renters passionately agreed.  Read more in the New Era News.

SmartRegs is a potential city policy that will create minimum standards for energy efficiency in rental units, such as sealing gaps in windows, installing programmable thermostats, low-flow shower heads and insulation.

SmartRegs has already passed through the Landmarks Advisory Board, the Environmental Advisory Board and Planning Board. With a few minor edits to the policy it is moving on to Boulder’s City Council next. (Click here to email City Council)

The SmartRegs policy will have its first reading at the City Council Meeting on May 18th at 6 p.m. City council needs to hear support from the community about this innovative policy. Please take a moment to edit this letter and let City Council members hear that we need this policy to be passed in Boulder. (Click here to email City Council)

You can also join New Era and show up in person to make a statement!

Boulder’s City Council Meeting

May 18th, 6 p.m
City Council Chambers
1777 Broadway

(Click here to email City Council)

New Era is raising money for their “conspiracy” here.

Progressive political activist group New Era Colorado took to the streets this weekend here to gather signatures from the student community in support of proposed regulations that would force rental properties in Boulder to lower energy usage through efficiency upgrades.  Read about it in the Colorado Independent.

]]> http://www.boulderblueline.org/2010/04/14/colorado-independent-new-era-knocks-on-doors-for-smartregs-in-boulder/feed/ 0 http://www.boulderblueline.org/2010/04/07/new-era-news-renters-with-benefit/ http://www.boulderblueline.org/2010/04/07/new-era-news-renters-with-benefit/#comments Thu, 08 Apr 2010 03:42:47 +0000 admin http://www.boulderblueline.org/?p=960

The city council, representing the citizens of Boulder, passed the Climate Action Plan.  SmartRegs is their first measurable step in a series of actions steps aimed at attaining the plan’s goals.  Read about it in New Era News.