Politics & Government

Representative Ed Perlmutter has officially dropped out of the race for Colorado governor in 2018 just three months after announcing his candidacy and being branded the Democrat to beat in many quarters. Perlmutter insisted that the reasons for this move had more to do with the difficulties of serving in Congress and seeking statewide office at the same time than the entry into the contest of fellow Colorado rep Jared Polis, a multi-millionaire who plans to put plenty of his personal resources into his campaign. But the press corps had a tough time buying it, despite Perlmutter’s repeated assertions.

After protesters took to Senator Cory Gardner’s office last week to protest his involvement in the American Health Care Act, the Republicans’ proposed replacement for Obamacare, readers had plenty to say about the Colorado senator and health care policy in general.

In late June, HR 3003 — the “No Sanctuary for Criminals” bill — was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. In response, fourteen elected officials in metro Denver penned this commentary.

In March, we reported that the local activist Dezy Saint-Nolde, who goes by Queen Phoenix, pleaded not guilty to five felony and three misdemeanor charges related to her “gifting” marijuana in exchange for donations. Queen Phoenix says that since March, when she entered her plea, the Denver County District Attorney…

Katie O’Donnell and her eighteen-year-old son, Conner, found relief from the sun under a tree outside Senator Cory Gardner’s office in downtown Denver around noon today, July 6. In many ways, the tree has been the only comfort Gardner has provided O’Donnell and her son in recent weeks. At age…

Denver Parks and Recreation  crews have embarked on a series of landscape improvements outside the Hiawatha Davis Jr. Recreation Center only days before Mayor Michael Hancock is scheduled to deliver his 2017 State of the City Address at the rec center.

Red Fawn Fallis, a member of Denver’s indigenous community, has been in jail in North Dakota ever since she was arrested at Standing Rock on October 27, 2016; she is the most seriously charged water protector, having been accused of possessing and discharging a firearm as she was being restrained…

In fall 2017, the City of Denver plans to turn over management of the Globeville Recreation Center to community members or organizations, and the Birdseed Collective, a nonprofit started by Anthony Garcia Sr., hopes to get the contract.

Representative Jared Polis is among the biggest names to enter the race for Colorado governor in 2018, and in the following in-depth interview, he cites his experience in business, the nonprofit world and Congress, as well as proposals related to education, energy, infrastructure and more, as reasons voters should cast a ballot for him.

When immigration lawyers with the Meyer Law Firm first captured video evidence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents conducting arrests inside the hallways of the Lindsey Flanigan Courthouse in February, it caused panic in Denver’s immigrant communities. Within weeks of the video’s release, Denver City Attorney Kristin Bronson announced that at least…

Hugh Jackman is reportedly set to play former Colorado Senator Gary Hart in The Frontrunner, a new film by writer-director Jason Reitman. The movie will examine Hart’s 1988 run for the presidency, which imploded after the publication of a photo showing the senator and a model named Donna Rice posing in a friendly manner in front of a boat named the Monkey Business.

The event provided dozens of services — including medical and mental-health check-ups, clothing, food and help with finding affordable housing — free of charge.

On Wednesday, June 21, Cristina Rodriguez became the latest instance of someone in Colorado who was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents while reporting to a scheduled ICE check-in. According to ICE spokesman Carl Rusnok, Rodriguez was deported to Mexico on Friday, June 23; her family and immigrant-rights advocates…

President Trump’s current budget proposal includes sweeping cuts to long-distance train services, gutting the Amtrak budget by $630 million.

State officials say there’s no danger that the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo will be shutting down any time soon, despite the recent departure of its director and a finding by federal regulators that patients faced “immediate jeopardy” as a result of a severe staffing shortage.

For the second year in a row, the Western Conservative Summit will be holding a national under-30 speech contest, sponsored by Red Alert Politics.

The City of Denver appears to be continuing its public-relations battle against the Denver 420 Rally, which is appealing a three-year permit ban, by contrasting the trashy condition of Civic Center Park the morning after the April 20 event with the much tidier look of the location following this past weekend’s PrideFest celebration. Meanwhile, an attorney for the rally charges Denver with using a double standard by pointing out that a dispensary was allowed to display its logo at PrideFest, as seen in a video below, even though such businesses have been forbidden to do so at the Denver 420 Rally.

Members of Colorado political groups affiliated with the Indivisible movement are blasting Senator Cory Gardner for linking protests at his office involving coffins and costumed Grim Reapers and the attack on Republican lawmakers at a practice session for the Congressional baseball game that critically wounded Louisiana Representative Steve Scalise last week.

Immigration continues to be a divisive topic among our readers (hell, among residents around the entire country). After Chris Walker wrote about a new hotline that immigrants can use to report ICE raids, plenty of people shared their thoughts. Says Chuck: Whenever you hear a politician or anyone say “Comprehensive…

Representative and 2018 Colorado gubernatorial candidate Jared Polis was a star at last night’s Congressional baseball game at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., delivering four RBIs, including the winning run, in leading the Democrats over the Republicans by a score of 11-2. But while he was pleased with his performance, he keeps the focus on Representative Steve Scalise and three others who were wounded in a shooting at a practice session on June 14, the day before the game.

Today, June 15, a coalition of immigrant rights organizations debuted the Colorado Rapid Response Network, a 24-hour hotline that people can call to report, track and verify enforcement operations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. Organizers say they already have over a hundred volunteers lined up to staff the…

Since March 31, when the City of Denver approved a zoning application for a tiny home village consisting of eleven units and a shower facility to be built in RiNo, at 38th and Walnut streets, Mayor Michael Hancock and his new housing czar Erik Solivan have repeatedly cited the project…