Ex-foe’s presence worries
The 2006 election may be history. But the bad blood from one particularly nasty campaign is not.
Rep. Ray Rose, R-Montrose, asked security personnel at the Capitol this week to keep an eye on his former Democratic opponent, Brian Ahern of Telluride. Ahern was turning up at the Capitol building in the same places as Rose for two days.
The pair clashed on the campaign trail after Rose asked Ahern during a public debate about his arrest on domestic-violence allegations. Ahern had been arrested near Telluride last summer after what he termed a “lovers’ quarrel” with his now fiancée. A mistrial was declared in the case in October.
Rose said he alerted the sergeant-at-arms and Capitol security because, “with his presence and his background, it simply gave me rise for concern.”
Ahern said in an e-mail that he has been in Denver lately because he and his fiancée are afraid to return to the Telluride area. He said he is in fear of a Telluride man who attacked him in print during the campaign. That man was recently arrested after allegedly pointing a gun at Ahern when Ahern came on his property.
“I feel sorry for (Rose),” Ahern said. “He shouldn’t flatter himself. I was there because there are a lot of issues I am still interested in. I was visiting with other legislators I know.”
Lawyer tackles “527” bill
It’s hard to recall a campaign- finance bill with so little opposition.
When lawmakers met in committee Thursday to endorse a bill cracking down on so-called 527 political groups – which can raise and spend unlimited amounts of cash – the lone dissenter was Scott Gessler.
The GOP lawyer had technical issues, much too mundane to repeat here, but his testimony was motivated from a desire to protect free-speech rights. He was even representing himself.
Gessler noted that regardless of the bill’s fate, he’s in a win-win situation. If it doesn’t pass, he gets to feel good about the First Amendment. If it does, he has clients who will pay big bucks for him to deal with the new law.
But he is worried about what might happen as more and more lawmakers review the bill, which among other things increases the frequency of contributor disclosures.
“Every time they deal with (campaign finance) issues, they screw it up,” Gessler said.
Thursday’s highlights
The Senate gave initial backing to Senate Bill 1, by Sen. Bob Hagedorn, D-Aurora, which would provide discount generic drugs to uninsured Coloradans.
House Bill 1178 was introduced to let charter schools operating for at least five years buy their building and grounds from their school district.
Senate Bill 103 was introduced to exempt some bars from the statewide smoking ban. Bars could pay $500 for a special license that would allow smoking.
– Denver Post staff reports
