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Headlines — October 31, 2022

October 31, 2022

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Headlines — October 31, 2022 Stacie Johnson

Boulder County GOP Claiming Not Enough Party Members Are Working The Election

Boulder County Republicans say the county’s election office is not staffing enough GOP election judges to ensure partisan parity at the county’s voting centers. Boulder County Republican Chairperson Theresa Watson told the Longmont Times-Call last week the county clerk is required by law to fill judge positions from each major political party, 50-50, and the county’s top election chief, Molly Fitzpatrick, a Democrat, has failed to do so.

A spokesperson for the Boulder County Clerk and Recorder told the Times-Call, the office has experienced ongoing difficulties in finding enough registered Republicans to work as election judges. The election department has instead appointed unaffiliated voters and people registered with other minor parties to fill the vacant positions. Other than voting centers, Colorado law also requires bipartisan election judges to work in ballot processing as well. According to the department’s data, Boulder County has over 92,000 registered Democrats, 26,000 registered Republicans, and more than 101,000 unaffiliated voters.

County GOP chairperson Watson says her party has a lot of members who have done their training and are not being scheduled, although declined to provide the Times-Call with a list of trained GOP judges, citing privacy concerns. The party leader also did not respond to a follow-up inquiry as to the number of Republicans the party recommended to the clerk’s office prior to the start of the election season.

The County Clerk and Recorder’s office spokesperson says a GOP election judge is working at every vote center through Election Day.

Colorado House Majority Leader Dies of Heart Attack

Colorado House Minority Leader Hugh McKean suddenly passed away Sunday morning. According to the Larimer County Coroner’s office, Mckean died at 55-years-old of a heart attack. Sentiments have been coming out for McKean, his colleagues, and his family in light of his passing. A statement released from Senate Minority Leader John Cooke on McKean’s death expresses, “With his sincere nature and honest approach, he taught everyone what it means to be a statesman”.

McKean’s legacy follows him becoming elected to Loveland City Council in 2009 before being elected to represent Colorado House District 51 in 2016. Soon after, McKean was then elected leader of the Colorado House Republican Caucus in 2020.

During the mourning process, a vacancy committee has been drawn up to find a replacement for McKean’s seat as leader of the House Republican Caucus. According to Representative Colin Larson, a meeting for the committee to find a replacement is set for Nov. 10.

Denver Woman Killed In Connection With Overnight Carjacking Attempt Near Longmont

Boulder County law enforcement arrested two people from Greeley charging them with second degree murder in connection with a carjacking attempt that killed a 21-year-old Denver woman early Sunday morning north of Longmont. Investigators say they believe the suspects first evaded a pursuit by a Larimer County Sheriff’s deputy who suspected they were driving under the influence near Berthoud. Following the failed pursuit, Boulder county dispatch received calls about people running from a disabled vehicle near U.S. 287 and Yellowstone Road. Shortly after, a Longmont hospital notified the call center that medical personnel were treating a patient with a gunshot wound, who died shortly after arriving at the hospital.

Investigators believe the victim, who was a passenger in a vehicle driven by her mother, encountered the suspects as they approached the intersection to stop. Police say the suspects got out of their disabled vehicle, with one of them shooting the victim with a handgun in an attempted carjacking. After searching the area near the disabled vehicle, sheriff’s deputies and SWAT teams from Boulder and Larimer counties found the suspects at a nearby camper trailer and took them into custody without incident.

Law enforcement also arrested a third person with outstanding warrants not associated with the events of the investigation.

Aurora Middle School Band Instructor Named Colorado Teacher of the Year

Aurora’s East Middle School band director Jimmy Day has been named 2023 Colorado Teacher of the Year. Day will represent all of Colorado’s educators and attend a ceremony along with other state teachers of the year at the White House. According to the Aurora Sentinel, he had been told that the school was having an assembly for their award winning students and had his band students play some songs. It wasn’t until he got on the stage that he found out the assembly was actually for him.

The award also comes with $5,000 from the Colorado Department of Education along with the opportunity to teach a course at Adams State University and take a class there for free. He also gets to select one of his students for a $1,000 college scholarship.

Boulder Fox Theatre To Receive Colorado Music Hall Of Fame Induction

Music promoter Chuck Morris will formally induct Boulder’s Fox Theatre into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame this week. In a news release, Morris cites the Fox Theatre’s success of lasting thirty years as a testament to the venue’s ownership, staff, and the music community in the greater Boulder Area while also remarking that the club’s long lifespan is almost miraculous as the average life of a rock club is less than five years.

The music venue, located on The Hill, near the University of Colorado campus, opened in 1992, taking over a near 100-year-old building that was previously a dance hall, movie theater, and other businesses. According to the Colorado Hall of Fame news release, the venue quickly became a “must-play” spot for many well-known artists along with being named by Rolling Stone as one of the top live music clubs in the nation.