The height of summer is upon us, with 90+ degree days here in Denver and around most of the state. To celebrate, if you haven’t heard yet, I will be hosting a Kossack meetup at my house in Denver.
I’m just going to repeat last week’s Open Thread because I don’t think I could say this any better —
...there will be a Kossack Meetup at my house in SW Denver on July 16th from 1-5 PM. The occasion is to welcome my sister on a visit to Denver from the flatlands of Missouri. I’m going to return the favor in August when I go visit her for the eclipse. This will be a potluck affair; dishes don’t have to be fancy unless you want to show off. I’ll have a grill (my smoker) if anyone wants to cook something (and of course my kitchen).
We have commitments from both State Senator Aguilar (SD32) and State Representative Susan Lontine (HD1) to attend and I’ll see if I can get any other politicians (or representatives of theirs) to come. (Edit from 7/3 — Denver City Councilman Kevin Flynn will also be here). If anyone has a desire to hear the inside story of how campaigns are run, answers to how/why the state legislature did what they did this spring or if anyone wishes to see what campaigns they might contribute time or money to, this is a way to do so. And meet fellow Kossacks. And get something to eat.
Please RSVP in the diary and I’ll add you to the list here and in the CUA diaries.
The second note is a reminder to check out the various groups that exist within Daily Kos that cover Colorado. There’s the overall group Colorado COmmunity, along with region specific groups DenverKos, Pikes Peak Region and the famous FCK’ers (Four Corners Kossacks). If you’re in one of these areas, check the groups occasionally to catch up on diaries that are local to you and see if you can contribute. With all groups, there’s no requirement to write diaries, you don’t get emailed constantly by anyone (well, beyond what you get now) and there’s a chance you might meet someone you like. For example, there’s a nice two-part diary series about a camping trip to Rocky Mountain National Park that I republished to Colorado COmmunity. I encourage you to check them out.
In addition, there’s a note from the DKos election diaries about CO-6 from 6/30.
● CO-06: A month-and-a-half after forming an exploratory committee, Levi Tillemann, a clean-energy expert who served in Obama's Department of Energy, confirmed that he would seek the Democratic nomination to take on GOP Rep. Mike Coffman. Tillemann is the grandson of ex-Lt. Gov. Nancy Dick, who left office three decades ago and who chaired his exploratory committee.
Clinton carried this suburban Denver seat 50-41, but Coffman won re-election last cycle 51-43 over a touted Democratic candidate. Army veteran Jason Crow was the first noteworthy candidate to announce, and the National Journal reports that Crow was recruited by national Democrats. Coffman's team has also focused most of their attention on Crow. Attorney David Aarestad is also running, while state Sen. Rhonda Fields may be interested.
And a rally in Durango to persuade Senator Gardner— one of the 13 senators who crafted the Senate’s tax cut bill destroying the ACA — to change his mind. That’s this coming Wednesday if folks are available. Go you FCK’ers!
With that, the floor is yours...