Publication: The Denver Post; Date: Sep 12, 2013; Section: Denver & The West; Page: 4A PUEBLO GIVES A “DIFFERENT” PERSPECTIVE By Lynn Bartels The Denver Post A couple of hours before the polls closed Tuesday, the chairman of the Colorado GOP advised Republican George Rivera of Pueblo to be prepared to give a “gracious” concession speech. Instead, the former deputy police chief delivered a victory speech in an election that defied all odds. “This is Pueblo, and it’s different,” Rivera said Wednesday. How different? Three Pueblo plumbers masterminded the ouster of state Sen. Angela Giron without much assistance from the establishment and with experts telling them it couldn’t be done. And in a state Senate district where Democrats represent almost half of all registered voters, the Democratic lawmaker was kicked out for her support for gun measures and other issues that riled her constituents. “I’m not sure what happened,” Giron said Wednesday. But a clear sign that trouble was brewing came when constituents turned in voter signatures to force the recall. One fifth of the signatures were from Democrats, who accused her of being arrogant and difficult to work with, descriptions Giron said she doesn’t understand. “I’m really a grassroots person,” she said. “I don’t hang out with the VIPs.” Rivera said state GOP chairman Ryan Call met him about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday to say the party’s numbers showed Giron was going to survive the recall. “The results certainly surprised me,” Call said. Voters in Senate District 3 voted 56 percent to 44 percent to recall Giron. That’s the same victory ratio that Public Policy Polling said it found when it surveyed voters last week. But PPP director Tom Jensen said the organization believed the results were wrong — Barack Obama won the district by almost 20 points in 2012 — and did not release the poll. The firm was blistered by social media and pundits. Lynn Bartels: 303-954-5327, lbartels@denverpost or twitter/lynn
Posted on: Sat, 14 Sep 2013 11:55:12 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015