Tag: John Suthers

Republican Colorado Attorney General John Suthers Saturday explained to critics again why, on behalf of the citizens of the state, he joined a Massachusetts gay marriage case. Progressive groups have accused Suthers of overreaching in support of an anti-gay politics agenda and have ridiculed his explanations for the move as waffling and unconvincing. Attorney General's office spokesman Mike Saccone told the Colorado Independent there's nothing inconsistent about Suther's position and that Suthers penned an op-ed for the Denver Post in response to criticism.

Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler announced today that he will not moonlight for his old law firm--or for any law firm.

A federal judge in Florida today ruled that federal health care reform passed by congress last year is unconstitutional. Specifically, he ruled that individuals cannot be forced to buy health insurance, which would be mandated in 2014.

Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler is no stranger to political controversy. He has represented a long line of conservative advocacy and attack groups and in that role has become the public face of partisan causes. Indeed, his name and the law firm he founded virtually stand for a branch of Colorado politics that seeks to limit government restrictions on and oversight of campaign financing. He has done battle repeatedly with laws the secretary of state is charged to enforce and now he is secretary of state. His election victory put government watchdog groups on high alert. News coming today, a little more than a week since he was sworn into office, that Gessler plans to keep working part-time as an attorney for his former firm even while serving as secretary of state has set conflict-of-interest alarm bells ringing in watchdog offices.

Colorado Attorney General John Suthers announced today that he has appointed former Secretary of State Bernie Buescher as deputy attorney general overseeing the Colorado Department of Law’s State Services Section.

John Hickenlooper was sworn in today as Colorado’s 42nd governor as flags flew at half mast to honor the dead and injured in Arizona. He told a small group of reporters gathered in his new office shortly after the ceremony that America depends on free speech for its democracy, but he said that history swings like a pendulum and that it is time for the country to come together.

Nonprofit watchdog group Colorado Ethics Watch on Tuesday brought out a list reviewing five of the most glaring high-profile breaches of public trust in Colorado in 2010. Ethics Watch is often described (or dismissed) as "left-leaning," and it's true that its list this year spotlights the actions of four well-known Republican political figures. But it's also true that the names of three of the four men included on the list-- Doug Bruce, Dan Maes and Scott McInnis-- now mostly induce chortles and head shaking on the left and right in political circles across the nation. "We were trying to pick [instances] where there was no redeeming side. These were cases where there was no way to give a positive spin," Director Luis Toro told the Colorado Independent.

Colorado Attorney General John Suthers took a lot of heat when he joined with nearly 20 Republican attorneys general to file a lawsuit against the national health care reform legislation just days after it passed. Detractors saw the suit as a bitter move less about law than about political spectacle. Defenders of Suthers told the Colorado Independent that Suthers was vindicated on Monday when a federal judge in Virginia declared a key provision of the health care law unconstitutional.

A group of Colorado rights and education organizations is calling on Governor-elect John Hickenlooper and state lawmakers to establish a task force on school bullying and harassment in Colorado. The organizations cite the alarming rash of recent high-profile incidents around the country where harassment led gay high school and university students to commit suicide.

9News late Tuesday night called the Colorado treasurer race for Republican challenger and political newcomer Walker Stapleton by 52 to 48 percent margin over...