Tag Archives: John Morse

Organizers say state GOP scoffed at recalls of Sens. Morse, Giron

At a gathering of county Republicans inside a Pueblo public library in June, organizers behind the effort to recall Democratic Sen. Angela Giron met for the first time with the leader of Colorado’s GOP.

Furious that Giron had pushed for stricter gun laws, the group had collected signatures to force a special election and were just days away from having it certified by the secretary of state.

They were confident, but the private conversation with Chairman Ryan Call did not go well.

“He scoffed at us. He told us we didn’t have a shot at getting the recall signatures certified and that what we were doing was just wrong,” said Victor Head, a Republican and leader of the group, Pueblo Freedom and Rights, which took the initial steps to have Giron recalled. “He did not care to listen to what was going on with the grass roots in Pueblo, and that’s a problem with leadership in the Republican Party.”

Read more at The Denver Post

Colorado Senate President John Morse recall petitions certified

Sen. John Morse, D-Colorado Springs, has received thousands of dollars to help fend off a recall effort. (Colorado Springs Gazette file)
Sen. John Morse, D-Colorado Springs, has received thousands of dollars to help fend off a recall effort. (Colorado Springs Gazette file)

The effort to recall Colorado Senate President John Morse charged forward Tuesday with the secretary of state’s office announcing that organizers submitted more than enough valid signatures to produce the first-ever recall election of a lawmaker in the state.

Secretary of state officials said that organizers with the El Paso Freedom Defense Committee’s effort obtained 10,137 valid signatures from the roughly 16,200 signatures the group turned in earlier this month. To spark a recall, they needed just 7,178 verified, and they outpaced that figure by about 3,000 votes.

But supporters of Morse argued Tuesday the petition language used was incomplete and the recall effort should be set aside.

Push to recall Senate President John Morse on in Colorado Springs

Andy Shank, a volunteer helping to gather signatures to recall state Senate President John Morse, watches Dana Beasley sign a petition at the corner of West Uintah and North 19th streets in Colorado Springs on Thursday. Morse, a Democrat representing Senate District 11, is term-limited in 2014. "I don't like what went on in the legislature in Denver, " Beasley said. (Joe Amon, The Denver Post)
Andy Shank, a volunteer helping to gather signatures to recall state Senate President John Morse, watches Dana Beasley sign a petition at the corner of West Uintah and North 19th streets in Colorado Springs on Thursday. Morse, a Democrat representing Senate District 11, is term-limited in 2014. “I don’t like what went on in the legislature in Denver, ” Beasley said. (Joe Amon, The Denver Post)

EL PASO COUNTY — It’s rare to find a Democrat representing Senate District 11, especially in a part of the state where most of the surrounding Senate districts are Republican strongholds.

Even more rare — if not unprecedented — is a Democrat who not only won the seat, but then turned around and won re-election four years later.

But that’s exactly what John Morse did, in 2006 and 2010

Read more at The Denver Post

Attorneys in John Morse recall effort argue language in petition

John Morse speaks with fellow senators Irene Aguilar and Angela Giron after being elected Senate President in this November 2012 file photo. (AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post file)
John Morse speaks with fellow senators Irene Aguilar and Angela Giron after being elected Senate President in this November 2012 file photo. (AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post file)

The legal team backing a supporter of Senate President John Morse on Thursday waged an aggressive attack against the petition process used to recall the state lawmaker.

With straightforward readings of the Colorado Constitution and even an opinion poll, attorneys stressed in a hearing before the secretary of state’s office that the recall effort of the Colorado Springs Democrat failed to meet the basics needed to remove him from office.

Mark Grueskin, who represents the Morse supporter who filed the contest, argued Thursday the constitution clearly outlines that petitions must note the election of a successor to the recalled official — something the petitions in the Morse recall did not do. Grueskin placed the burden on the proponents of the petition and not the secretary of state’s office, which by law is not allowed to offer legal advice.

Push to recall Senate President John Morse on in Colorado Springs

EL PASO COUNTY — It’s rare to find a Democrat representing Senate District 11, especially in a part of the state where most of the surrounding Senate districts are Republican strongholds.

Even more rare — if not unprecedented — is a Democrat who not only won the seat, but then turned around and won re-election four years later.

But that’s exactly what John Morse did, in 2006 and 2010.

And now, Morse, who has since worked his way to becoming Senate president and is term-limited in 2014, appears on the cusp of a third election later this year.

Yet, it’s an election no incumbent politician wants to endure.

“Whether he wants it or not, I guarantee there’s going to be a recall election,” said Robert Harris, a member of the Basic Freedom Defense Fund, which is spearheading a recall of Morse. The organization must gather 7,178 signatures from residents of the district before a June 3 deadline.

“People are going door-to-door. We have business owners with petitions at the ready if a person wants to sign it. We’re just ready,” he said.

The recall effort sprang from conservative anger at Morse and his party for passing gun-control measures.

Read more at The Denver Post.