Steve Farber, a big-wheel Democratic attorney and lobbyist, surprised the party in February when he said he was supporting Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez in his race against Democrat Bill Ritter. Farber said he was impressed with Beauprez when they worked together on projects in recent years.
But the Ritter camp doesn’t seem too worried that Farber’s defection will be contagious.
Farber is a founding partner of the law firm Brownstein Hyatt & Farber and wields some serious influence around town. But his endorsement doesn’t seem to have captivated the folks in the home office, or even at home. Ritter has received contributions from about 35 of the firm’s lawyers, two of whom serve on his campaign finance team. And Farber’s son, Brad Farber, has donated the maximum $1,000 to Ritter.
Farber hosted a Beauprez fundraiser July 14 at the Cherry Hills home of Level 3 executive Jim Crow. Andrew Hudson, another Democrat, co-hosted. Hudson is the former press secretary to Denver Mayor Wellington Webb (who has endorsed Ritter). Hudson, an executive with Frontier Airlines, says he didn’t actually attend the fundraiser – he was out of town.
Beauprez spokesman John Marshall declined to say how much was raised at the gathering. He said the campaign might do a “Democrats for Beauprez” event some time in the future. Republicans for Ritter made their debut in June.
Astronaut’s local connection
Now that the shuttle Discovery is safely returned to planet earth, state Sen. Peter Groff is planning a trip to Cape Canaveral. Groff is friends with shuttle astronaut Stephanie Wilson, who invited Groff and his family to the July 4 launch. Since the launch window varied, and a special legislative session loomed, it was difficult to plan a trip then, said Groff, a lawyer and University of Denver professor.
Groff met Wilson at his church, Shorter Community AME Church, back in the 1990s when she was working in Denver for Martin Marietta Corp. “She was one of those smart people whose job I didn’t understand,” said Groff.
Wilson supervised the transfer of cargo from the shuttle to the international space station on the recent 13-day mission. “She’s very humble, incredibly smart, always wanted to be an astronaut,” said Groff.
Turnout looking up
Historically, party primaries have been low-turnout affairs in Colorado. But this year’s Aug. 8 elections could be different, judging by the number of requests for mail-in ballots in counties that will host this year’s hottest contests.
In El Paso County, where six candidates are duking it out in the 5th Congressional District GOP primary, assistant election manager Liz Olson said 28,000 mail-ballot requests have been received so far, ahead of the 27,122 in 2004, a presidential election year. In the three-way 7th CD democratic contest, officials in Jefferson, Arapahoe and Adams say they could surpass previous primaries. “We’re doing very well,” said Jeffco elections official Susan Miller.
Vote centers soar
Precincts are on the outs and vote centers are on the way in. Twenty counties are opening vote centers this year – far more than the handful expected.
If a county wants to use a vote center for the November general election, it must first use them in the preceding election.
Larimer County launched the first vote centers in the nation three years ago, making it easy for voters to cast ballots in centralized locations. Denver, Broomfield, Adams and Weld counties are the Front Range counties opening recreation centers, police stations and other sites as vote centers next month.
Julia C. Martinez (jmartinez@denverpost.com) is a member of the Denver Post editorial board.
