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| 2013 Boys & Girls Club Champions of Youth Dinner!!! |
The
Boys & Girls Club of Pueblo County held their annual fundraiser last night.
The Club is where I became rooted in service to Pueblo. I spent 27 years
working there working with kids and families. My daughter, Melanie Bravo, grew up in the Club
and now serves Pueblo as the Club President/CEO. I proudly continue my support of the Club and
being there last night with staff, former staff, board members, other community
supporters, and kids was like coming home.
I give great thanks to the Club for the role they’ve played in my life,
my daughter’s life, and the lives of Pueblo families who rely on them for
quality programs and fantastic youth development.
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| My youth partner and I won this foosball game against Rep. Garcia. |
Would
I consider it a highlight of the week? I don’t know but, it was certainly
exciting! I had a meeting with the Denver Post Editorial Board this week. Yup, the Denver Post. They invited Rep. Pabon,
Rep. Hollinghorst, a Republican County Clerk, a Democrat County Clerk, Elena
Nunez from the non-partisan group Common Cause, and me to talk about the
Elections Modernization bill. As you may know, this bill simplifies the
elections system and gives eligible Colorado voters the most options to cast a
ballot. I wasn’t surprised this piece of legislation caught the attention of
their editorial board. I am surprised that our Secretary of State is opposed to it. Over
75% of County Clerks (most of whom are Republicans) have come out in support of this bill that simplifies the elections process and saves money. We met with members of
the Denver Post editorial board for an excellent conversation on the merits of
the bill. It was a rather formal process and I might have felt a little nervous
or intimidated but I am so excited about the legislation and confident in our
team.
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| The bill passed the House State Veterans and Military Affairs committee last week. |
Their board really did their homework and they asked in-depth questions. It
was a great process and I was so engaged in the discussion that I was late
getting back to the Capitol to present a bill I’m running with Sen. Ted Harvey
(R-Highlands Ranch). Luckily, Harvey
didn’t wait for me; he presented our bill solo and got it passed through
committee in 5 minutes! I was sorry to be late but this was great prep for when
I present the elections bill to the Senate State Affairs Committee. KRDO scheduled a live radio interview with me
about the elections bill at 7:30am on Thursday and I was even ready to answer questions that early in
the morning. I’m ready to get this passed in the Senate and to the Governor to
be signed into law!
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| Lots of Pueblo and Southern CO folks were on hand for the signing! |
On
Friday, the Governor signed an Executive Order establishing a statewide
committee for the 2013-2014 commemoration of the events surrounding the Ludlow Massacre
and Great Coalfield Wars of 1913-1914. In
September of 1913, the Great Coalfield War began when striking miners were
evicted by the Colorado Fuel & Iron company (CF&I) from their
company-owned homes and moved into tents along the Colorado plains. At the
height of this conflict, on the morning of April 20, 2014, a skirmish broke out
between striking miners and the Colorado State militia. This event, labeled the
Ludlow Massacre, ended with the death of over 20 people, which included
guardsmen, miners, and their wives and children. The death of children at the
Ludlow Tent Colony thrust the Coalfield War into the media spotlight, with
national scrutiny focused on the Rockefellers, who were majority shareholders
in CF & I. In the aftermath of this tragedy, the Rockefellers and CF&I developed an employee representation plan that transformed industrial
worker-company relations. For over 18 months, a diverse group – including
historians, scholars, union members, Colorado National Guardsmen, archaeologists tourism representatives, etc. – has gathered along the Front
Range to plan activities, exhibitions, curriculum, lectures, and events to
commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the Ludlow Massacre.
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Dawn DiPrince is one of the Commission members working on the commemoration.
I was proud that the Governor chose to
recognize the on-going work of this group and prouder still that so many
friends are members of this commission. You can see a full list of committee members here. Many
activities are planned between September 2013 and December 2014 and I hope to
attend most of them!
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