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Headline RSS FeedIt's snowing hope in West Vail
November 5, 2008 —
Wow, what a night. After live-blogging into the wee hours on the key political races I’ve been covering for The Colorado Independent (www.coloradoindependent .com) and RealVail.com, I finally hit the hay just after 2:30 a.m. MST.
But first I had to chase a raccoon off the roof as six or seven inches of new snow pounded down around me (and it’s still snowing this morning). At least three more ski areas open on Friday, although none locally (Vail opens Nov. 21 and Beaver Creek follows on Nov. 26).
Life in the mountains, though -- and life in America – is good. I woke up this morning stoked by all the new snow and the promise of a great ski season, and also tremendously proud of my country.
Michelle Obama may not be able to say it without getting pilloried by the right, but it’s been a long time since I’ve felt this way about the USA – probably since we all came together immediately following 9/11. But soon after that the partisan bickering started, and so many bad moves were made in the following years.
Now I feel like we have hope again. Hope that we can put forward a progressive social agenda that will once again make us a world leader on so many fronts – from science to health care to energy policy to diplomacy to humanitarian efforts. We have regressed out of fear and retribution so far that it will take some time to undo what has been done, but President Barack Obama can make it happen.
Locally I’m also heartened by voters who understood that we could not take this county back to the 1980s and hope that developers and market forces will take care of things like affordable housing for young people, procuring open space for future generations, improving our schools and shaping our youth through early childhood education. On everything from transportation to dealing with the pine beetle, the Dems we elected will carry the day in coming years.
Both county commissioner seats stayed with the Democrats, and Democrats carried the county and the state for U.S. Senate and the 2nd Congressional District representing Vail. Republican Ali Hasan narrowly won the county but lost the overall race for the state House seat that represents us, with Democrat Christine Scanlan winning her home base of Summit County and claiming Lake County as well.
It’s good to know Hasan’s huge infusion of family money couldn’t buy the seat, just the county, and that he now has some time to hone his ambitious but unrealistic platform at a lower level. If he’s serious about politics, the energetic and charismatic Hasan should run for a town board (and ditch his lightning rod of a campaign manager).
But I’m not here to kick the local GOP while it’s down, I would just recommend they reassess who calls the shots, get rid of the far-right radicals and put up some moderate and reasonable candidates. They could have won more seats with that approach this season, even with Obama-mania.
For instance, having recently interviewed our former rep in the U.S. Congress, Scott McInnis, and our former state House rep, Al White – both more moderate Republicans who don’t mind listening to liberal viewpoints – I realize those are the kind of candidates all parties should be putting forward. People who are short on impassioned rhetoric and long on listening skills.
White won his overall race for state Senate District 8 by a 55 to 45 margin, although Democrat Ken Brenner carried Eagle County. But Al’s a good guy and will serve us well in Denver. Ken would have been great as well, and hopefully he’ll try again.
Below are the unofficial final vote tallies for Eagle County with about 85 percent (21,565) of the county's active voters (23,855) casting ballots. Take a look at those, and meantime, let’s put away the partisanship and get to work on all the problems facing our county, state and country.
But first, I may have to go skiing.
Unofficial Eagle County Election Results
Presidential
Barack Obama/Joe Biden – 13,055
John McCain/Sarah Palin – 8,112
U.S. Senate
Mark Udall- 12,320
Bob Schaffer – 7,687
2nd Congressional District
Jared Polis – 11,354
Scott Starin – 7,661
State Senate District 8 (White won overall 55 to 45 percent)
Ken Brenner – 10,028
Al White – 9,647
House District 56
Ali Hasan – 8,725
Christine Scanlan – 8,342
Eagle County Commissioner – District 1
Peter Runyon – 10,144
Dick Gustafson – 9,628
Eagle County Commissioner – District 1
Jon Stavney – 10,390
Debbie Buckley – 9,173
Avon Town Council
Albert “Buz” Reynolds – 817
Kristi Ferraro – 810
Amy Phillips – 781
2 Comments on "It's snowing hope in West Vail"
Scott Proper — November 5, 2008
I, too, am very psyched. The snow is like a cherry atop the sundae.
RKG — November 6, 2008
Well, I suppose I'm pretty proud about the whole election thing. But you guys suck with snow. I'm stuck down here in the Great Dismal Swamp with rain and 60 degree days. What I wouldn't give for a face plant in a foot of fresh snow right now.
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Snow-bama: new presidency delivers blast of winter to the Vail Valley
November 5, 2008 —
The local election numbers changed a bit since my previous post (see below) but the spirit of the blog remains, and I forgot to mention that as I write this at about 2:30 in the morning Wednesday I’m looking out my deck door at about six inches of new snow.
It seems nature had the perfect way of covering over the ugliness of the last year of campaigning and the last eight years of a failed administration and starting the healing that is only possible here in the Rocky Mountains. Colorado is a blue state again for the first time since 1992, but here in the mountains we’re in a mostly white state of mind – and it has nothing to do with race.
Snow will cure all economically and politically here in Eagle County, so let’s hear it for the same inch total of snow this season as Obama got electoral votes last night: 349, with a couple of states still left to count.
Unofficial, partial Eagle County election results
Presidential
Barack Obama/Joe Biden – 9,976
John McCain/Sarah Palin – 6,013
U.S. Senate
Mark Udall- 9,421
Bob Schaffer – 5,736
2nd Congressional District
Jared Polis – 8,727
Scott Starin – 5,761
State Senate District 8 (White winning overall)
Ken Brenner -- 7,664
Al White -- 7,236
House District 56 (Scanlan winning overall)
Ali Hasan – 6,472
Christine Scanlan – 6,419
Eagle County Commissioner – District 1
Peter Runyon – 7,742
Dick Gustafson – 7,261
Eagle County Commissioner – District 1
Jon Stavney – 7,930
Debbie Buckley – 6,926
Avon Town Council
Amy Phillips – 621
Albert “Buz” Reynolds – 612
Kristi Ferraro - 601
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Dems poised to clean up again in Eagle County
November 4, 2008 —
Eagle County seemed to be moving even more into the blue Tuesday, overwhelmingly supporting the Democratic Obama/Biden ticket over McCain/Palin 9,383 to 5,656 after backing Sen. John Kerry in 2004. All tallies provided by the clerk’s office as of 11 p.m. were partial (a little more than 50 percent) and unofficial.
The formerly conservative county also was going for Democrat Mark Udall for U.S. Senate 8,880 votes to 5,390. Overall, Udall was up 52 to 43 percent with 66 percent of the vote counted statewide at 11 p.m. Schaffer had conceded the race.
County voters were backing openly gay Internet entrepreneur Jared Polis of Boulder for the 2nd Congressional District seat 8,227 votes to 5,431 votes for Republican aerospace engineer Scott Starin of Lafayette. Polis also was easily winning the overall race.
So leaning toward an African American for president and a gay man for Congress, the county looked like it might make it a diversity trifecta by selecting Democratic state House Rep. Christine Scanlan of Dillon for House District 56. Instead, county voters were backing filmmaker and former Muslim political pundit Republican Ali Hasan 6,205-6,136.
Overall, though, Scanlan was ahead 16.045 votes to 13,460 with more than 80 percent of the vote in , proving Hasan’s nearly quarter of a million dollars spent on a state House race might only buy him Eagle County, leaving Summit and Lake counties firmly in Scanlan’s camp.
Democrats Jon Stavney and incumbent Peter Runyon were also ahead of their Republican challengers for Eagle County commissioner seats, hoping to join Democrat Sara Fisher for a Dem sweep of the board.
Unofficial Eagle County Election Results (just over 50 percent tallied)
Presidential
Barack Obama/Joe Biden – 9383
John McCain/Sarah Palin – 5656
U.S. Senate
Mark Udall- 8880
Bob Schaffer – 5390
2nd Congressional District
Jared Polis - 8227
Scott Starin - 5431
House District 56
Ali Hasan - 6205
Christine Scanlan – 6136
Eagle County Commissioner – District 1
Peter Runyon - 7271
Dick Gustafson – 6867
Eagle County Commissioner – District 1
Jon Stavney - 7498
Debbie Buckley - 6507
Avon Town Council
Amy Phillips – 604
Albert “Buz” Reynolds – 600
Kristi Ferraro - 589
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Voting easy, breezy in Vail, even though local columnist says don't bother
November 4, 2008 —
There are some benefits to living in a town mostly made up of voluntarily disenfranchised voters (second, third and fourth homeowners). It only took a half hour to vote in Vail this morning, a town of under 5,000 permanent residents where 70 percent of the homes are owned by out-of-town residents. And some of those McMansions will no doubt be going on the market if Wall Street continues to crater and a few more CEO indictments are handed down.
Most of the voters in line were young resort workers who live in “affordable” workplace housing, and one longtime election judge said Vail’s only polling place was as busy as she had seen it in her 30-plus years of volunteering. The Eagle County clerk was predicting close to 100 percent turnout for active voters.
A Republican former town councilman said he had crossed over and voted Democrat on at least half of the lengthy ballot, perhaps an indication of where surrounding Eagle County (registered Democrats recently surpassed Republicans for the first time in recent memory) was leaning.
A forecast foot of snow was expected to hold off until well after the polls close at 7 p.m. A winter storm warning for the Central Rockies kicks in at midnight, meaning mountain residents were possibly looking at both a new president and a powder day on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, a columnist for the Vail Daily, Richard Carnes, urged people who were “too stupid” to know the issues not to vote. His column ran under the charming headline, “If ignorant of issues, don’t vote in Eagle County.” How about the newspaper delves into the issues, educates voters and urges them to get to the polls? Could that work too?
Bush campaign mastermind Karl Rove is calling Colorado for Obama by a 7-percent margin. On his final Rove & Co electoral map, Rove has Obama beating McCain by 338 to 200 spread, which would be the widest margin since Bill Clinton routed Bob Dole in 1996. Rove, perhaps hoping to show just how desperately he’s needed, has McCain winning just one key battleground state, Missouri.
1 Comment on "Voting easy, breezy in Vail, even though local columnist says don't bother"
Reid — November 5, 2008
But Dave, Richard Carnes is the only reason I read the Vail Daily. Always funny, thought provoking and at times infuriating, but none the less, he always makes a good point. As for the article about knowing your politics, I took his advice with my absentee ballot and left the boxes open for all of the judges. Who knows these people any way? If you're going to read the Daily, at least make it Tuesday's edition, Carnes' articles will at least make you laugh. Reid
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