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OPINION:
Garcia: “Growing up in
Southern Colorado...”
— PAGE 14
VOL. 116, NO. 9 | DENVER, CO | FEB. 27, 2015 ©
Remembering
Regis Groff
— PAGE 4
Marijuana Industry
“We want to regulate our
industry.” Have you ever heard
a businessperson utter those
words? — PAGE 4
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Showdown
BY ERNEST LUNING
THE COLORADO STATESMAN
More than 75 die-hard conservatives
braved a blizzard on Wednesday night
to hear Colorado Republican Party chair
Ryan Call, who is seeking a third term
heading the party, and his challenger,
former gubernatorial candidate Steve
House, discuss their visions for the GOP
at a forum in Greenwood Village.
“We all agree that either one we’d be
blessed to have to lead us forward in 2016
for a very important presidential elec-
tion,” said the forum’s organizer, Arapa-
hoe County Commissioner Nancy Doty,
who runs the Colorado Conservatives
Denver Meetup group and its monthly
gatherings at Las Brisas, a Mexican
restaurant.
On the heels of stunning wins in last
fall’s election — including unseating an
incumbent Democratic senator for the
first time in 36 years and retaking control
of the state Senate for the first time in
a decade — Colorado Republicans will
meet on March 14 at Douglas County
High School in Castle Rock to elect party
leadership.
During the hour-long forum, Call and
House took turns answering questions
from the audience and presented distinct-
ly different approaches to running the
party.
Stressing the years he’s spent “rela-
tionship-building,” with party leaders and
grassroots organizers, elected officials
and donors, Call argued that his expe-
rience steering the state party makes a
big difference when it comes to winning
elections in a decidedly swing state.
“I do think that experience, and rele-
GOP: ‘High stakes’
battle for state
leadership
Colorado Democratic Party chair candidates David Sabados, Vic Meyers and Rick Palacio, the incumbent, listen to a questioner at a forum
on Feb. 22 in Denver. The election for state Democratic leadership is Feb. 28. PHOTO BY ERNEST LUNING/THE COLORADO STATESMAN
Reactions mixed to task force recs
BY ERNEST LUNING
THE COLORADO STATESMAN
The task force established by Gov.
John Hickenlooper last summer to
resolve conflicts between the oil and gas
industry, local governments and envi-
ronmentalists over drilling in Colorado
voted Tuesday to deliver a handful of
proposals to the governor but fell short
of producing the sweeping compromise
some had anticipated.
“Is it a resounding success? No. Is it a
good path forward? I think it is,” former
Secretary of State Bernie Buescher, a
member of the Governor’s Task Force
on State and Local Regulation of Oil
and Gas Operations, told The Colorado
Statesman after the panel had conclud-
ed its business.
Following nearly six months of
hearings and discussions, the 21-mem-
ber task force sent ahead nine policy
recommendations with the required
two-thirds’ support at the conclusion
of an all-day meeting at the Colorado
Convention Center.
The panel approved proposals to
create a mediation process to deal with
impasses over drilling operations, as
well as suggestions to increase staffing
at the Colorado Oil and Gas Commis-
sion and bolster inspections to monitor
emissions at drilling sites. Nearly 30
more proposals got insufficient support
Continued on page 3
Continued on page 10
BY ERNEST LUNING
THE COLORADO STATESMAN
Who will chart the course?
The three candidates for chair
of the Colorado Democratic Party
agreed that the state party needs to
chart its own course distinct from
Washington, D.C., at a forum on
Sunday in Denver. But the candi-
dates disagreed sharply over wheth-
er stunning losses in last year’s
election mean it’s time for a change
in party leadership or that experi-
ence counts more than ever as next
year’s presidential election looms.
Democratic state central commit-
tee members — state and county
party officers, elected officials and
bonus delegates, awarded to coun-
ties based on the vote for top-ticket
Democrats in the last two elections
— will chose between incumbent
state chairman Rick Palacio, who is
seeking a third term, and challeng-
ers David Sabados, a Denver-based
political consultant and party
veteran, and Vic Meyers, a Trinidad
rancher and former congressional
candidate, at the party’s biennial
reorganizational meeting on Satur-
day morning at the Denver Marriott
City Center.
During the two-hour forum, held
at the local offices of the Service
Oil and Gas Task Force members Dan Kelly of Noble
Energy and former Supreme Court Justice Rebecca
Love Kourlis prepare to cast votes on several dozen
proposed policy recommendations at the conclusion
of the panel’s nearly six months of meetings on Feb.
24 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver.
PHOTO BY ERNEST LUNING/THE COLORADO STATESMAN
Continued on page 8