kathleencurry.org

Curry Statement on Forest Service Process/Snodgrass Application

Back in the early Spring of this year, I started to receive dozens of emails from people both inside and outside of the district regarding the prospect of a full NEPA review on the expansion proposal. Property owners, business owners, employees and many others were dismayed that the USFS had decided not to pursue a full NEPA review. I also received several emails from residents of the area that supported the decisions that the USFS made. continue reading…

Today is Thursday August 19th and I am in Denver preparing for an interview with the Colorado Contractors Association to discuss my campaign.

On deck are two other board meetings to consider my candidacy – one with the Colorado Conservation Voters, another with the Stand For Children organization. I’ve already heard from the Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry folks that they met with my opponents and have decided not to endorse anyone yet (they are watching the race), have interviewed with the Colorado Education Association, and have the support of the Colorado Rural Electric Association political arm.

Now that the primary election is over the various organizations that are active in political circles are starting to weigh in on this race. Not bad for a write-in candidate that both parties would like to “write off!” continue reading…

The following email exchange is between Kathleen Curry and the Hinsdale County Democratic party chairperson, Greg Ochocki.

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Dear Greg,

Here is the reply you requested, I hope you will distribute it because I don’t have access to the cc list you mentioned. It is too bad that you have decided to endorse my opponent, and have decided to try and convince others to do the same. It affirms why I left the party…you even state in your email that I am the better candidate. My record speaks for itself, protecting western slope water, protecting funding for Western State College, re-structuring the oil and gas commission to protect my constituents that live in the gas patch, tackling the tough issues like commercial floating and balancing the budget – that is what really matters to most of my constituents. continue reading…

I write this in mid-August after talking with people the last several months and learning more about the bill. Back in March, at a town-meeting in Carbondale, I was asked whether or not I would have voted for the proposed bill, and based on the information I had at the time – I said that I felt my constituents needed help so I probably would have voted yes. I got the same question when I visited with the Silt Town Council, and still thought the bill was acceptable. Based on what I have learned since that meeting I believe that the benefits of the bill don’t outweigh the costs. Knowing what I know now, I can’t support it. continue reading…

Curry files lawsuit over campaign finance rules: AP via Washington Examiner 8/8/2010

Lawsuit challenges contribution limits for third-party and unaffiliated candidates in Colorado: Denver Post 8/7/2010

Today is Friday, July 30th, and I am in the campaign office trying to get caught up. Things are going really well with the campaign in general, and there is a lot of support throughout the district. Last weekend I spent time in Carbondale at the Mountain Fair and held a meet and greet at the Pour House. The economic future of our state is definitely on the minds of everyone I talked with. There was not a lot of hope that things will ever be like they were before the recession, and I did hear frequently that people don’t want the Colorado State Government to make matters worse. There was a lot of support for the state helping out with job creation, but no support for expanding the size of government….

I think that feedback from Carbondale is not very different from what I am hearing in Crested Butte, or Lake City, or Aspen, or Silt. “Do No Harm” is a good philosophy to use down at the state house, and I think the key to taking that approach as a legislator is to do your homework before you vote. The goal is to try and make sure that the benefits outweigh the costs when we cut spending, when we reform education, when we take any legislative action. For example, funding for tourism marketing is not only good for my district – but the data shows that this investment pays for itself many times over. These will be the conversations we will be having as a state as we continue to try and match appropriations to the falling revenue stream.

As far as the progress of the campaign goes, I continue to attend events, develop materials, fundraise, and communicate my message. In addition to attending Mountain Fair, I spoke at the Gunnison Water Workshop on landscape water conservation and met with officials at Holy Cross Energy to discuss potential legislation that could impact our rural energy cooperatives. As usual, the Water Workshop was well attended and the discussions were insightful, and the meeting with Holy Cross will help me make good decisions next year during the session.

In addition to working as the district’s representative, I am continuing to pursue my efforts to improve ballot access and opportunities for independent candidates to run for office. We will be filing another lawsuit today or Monday arguing that the Secretary of State’s decision to limit campaign donations for unaffiliated candidates to half of what affiliated candidates can receive is unconstitutional. The timing on this lawsuit and how it would impact my race is not as important as the issue itself – why do affiliated candidates that don’t actually have contested primary races get to receive $400 per individual and unaffiliated candidates who likewise don’t have a primary only get to take $200? We will have to wait and see what the court decides on that issue.

Final thoughts – we have added a new section on the website detailing the campaign calendar for those that are interested (kathleencurry.org calendar). Yard signs are due early in the week. If you are interested in putting up a sign just let us know by replying to this email or emailing steve@kathleencurry.org. I will be bringing plenty of them up to the north side of the district next Friday, and they will be available in Gunnison as well.

We are also gearing up to do our constituent calling effort starting the week of August 16th. The plan is to call people throughout the district to let them know HOW to write my name in on the ballot. If anyone out there reading this is interested in helping us with the phone bank, also please email us. Robocalling is not an option

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I think we need reform. However, I didn’t like the process of the majority ramming through its approach – I know that they can, but that doesn’t make it right when either side does it (that is why I am an independent). There were other ways to tackle this issue in my view: one approach would have been to break the bill up into pieces. More could have done about defensive medicine (i.e. malpractice costs).

But on the other hand, I know they did alot of good work on improving competition in the market, reducing administrative costs, and getting people covered so that they don’t use the emergency rooms for care (this ends up costing us all either way). continue reading…