Test event 1 – December 4, 2010 – something cool at lake.

Join the boys basketball team as they practice. alesuada velit. Phasellus vulputate tristique ipsum at posuere. Fusce sed libero diam. Sed tristique neque ac eros porttitor sed dictum lacus sagittis. Curabitur ut enim sit amet ipsum tristique auctor. Aliquam erat volutpat. Sed pulvinar vestibulum ante non commodo. Suspendisse non metus vel odio gravida pulvinar vitae quis purus. Donec mattis sodales semper. Donec mattis felis eu enim auctor scelerisque. Morbi cursus mollis vulputate. Nunc at nisi massa, eu condimentum nisi. Ut a cursus purus. Duis posuere ante turpis, id cursus lorem. Duis accumsan dolor non mauris consequat ultricies. Praesent ultricies rutrum vulputate. Ut sed aliquam velit. Suspendisse potenti.

Test Event 2 – December 5, 2010 – Something cool at Lake

Join the boys basketball team as they practice. alesuada velit. Phasellus vulputate tristique ipsum at posuere. Fusce sed libero diam. Sed tristique neque ac eros porttitor sed dictum lacus sagittis. Curabitur ut enim sit amet ipsum tristique auctor. Aliquam erat volutpat. Sed pulvinar vestibulum ante non commodo. Suspendisse non metus vel odio gravida pulvinar vitae quis purus. Donec mattis sodales semper. Donec mattis felis eu enim auctor scelerisque. Morbi cursus mollis vulputate. Nunc at nisi massa, eu condimentum nisi. Ut a cursus purus. Duis posuere ante turpis, id cursus lorem. Duis accumsan dolor non mauris consequat ultricies. Praesent ultricies rutrum vulputate. Ut sed aliquam velit. Suspendisse potenti.

Test Event 3 – December 6, 2010 – Something Cool at Lake

Join the boys basketball team as they practice. alesuada velit. Phasellus vulputate tristique ipsum at posuere. Fusce sed libero diam. Sed tristique neque ac eros porttitor sed dictum lacus sagittis. Curabitur ut enim sit amet ipsum tristique auctor. Aliquam erat volutpat. Sed pulvinar vestibulum ante non commodo. Suspendisse non metus vel odio gravida pulvinar vitae quis purus. Donec mattis sodales semper. Donec mattis felis eu enim auctor scelerisque. Morbi cursus mollis vulputate. Nunc at nisi massa, eu condimentum nisi. Ut a cursus purus. Duis posuere ante turpis, id cursus lorem. Duis accumsan dolor non mauris consequat ultricies. Praesent ultricies rutrum vulputate. Ut sed aliquam velit. Suspendisse potenti.

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by Lucia Guzman, Senate District 34, Incumbent |

What makes you a Democrat?

The Democratic Party has been around for a very long time and has gone through many changes over all of these years. I often jest that I became a Democrat by the time I was six years old, when my daddy introduced us to his railroad working buddies: an American Jew, a Japanese American, a German American, an African American, a Polish American and an Anglo American. Along with my dad, this diverse group of men worked for the railroad and labored many hard working days.

More than that, however, they represented hardworking Americans, mostly from immigrant families who had sought out America as their new land of hope and opportunity. None were rich or even middle class, but all worked to be able to care for their families, find the means to build a home, be able to send their kids to school, and have health and medical care when needed.

Today, I am still a Democrat, and hold close to the Democratic values I grew up with. I continue to honor the diversity we see and share in northwest Denver and the areas south of Colfax, including the Barnum, Villa Park and Athmar areas. I continue to wish all families the ability to own a home, have a job, and be able to move out of poverty – with an eye toward a collectively richer, stronger Colorado.

I honor the independent and hard-working small business owners as well as the larger companies which offer jobs and benefits to workers. As a Democrat, I believe in free, quality public education for all, and I believe that government has a responsibility to play a role in alleviating poverty and social injustices.

While all politicians swear allegiance to defending liberty, to me, being a Democrat means that we must work to ensure liberty for all. There is no true liberty unless the rights of each and every American is guaranteed and protected.
While being socially progressive, I am also a fiscally prudent Democrat. I believe in a balanced budget, increasing the opportunity to build more revenue through job growth and production, and the generation of new revenue streams in fields such as renewable energy. I believe strongly in reproductive rights.

Senate District 34 encompasses a great number of vibrant neighborhoods. Within these neighborhoods live a great percentage of seniors: persons over 55 years old. The district is also home to hundreds of young families and lots of children and youth. As a Democrat I believe in creating opportunities and advocating for services that meet all of these groups’ needs.

My Democratic values serve this area very well, but I cannot say that my values are superior to my opponent’s values. I believe that we are both in this race because we care so deeply about many of the same issues. Where we do differ is in our backgrounds and experiences. We probably differ in the ways we plan to lead, and in the ways our party’s platform intends to find solutions to major issues.

As Colorado’s state senator, I will continue to respect and support the worker, the senior, and the family. I will support plans for implementing comprehensive health reform, building incentives for businesses to move to Colorado, building affordable housing in our area, and improving a young person’s chance of affording a college education. I will do all that I can to support sound immigration reform, and celebrate the ethnic diversity in our district and Colorado. I will continue to work for a stable and sound state government which can hold all of its people, its history, its environment and its future in the highest respect.

by Derec Shuler, Senate District 34 Candidate |

What makes you a Republican?

I’m running for the Colorado state senate to represent our community in District 34 as the Republican candidate in a race that hasn’t been seriously contested in recent history. While asked what makes me a Republican, it’s more important to understand what makes me the best candidate for this position.

My race has never been about party identity, it’s always been about bring new ideas and a fresh face to the discussion. It’s been about building bridges across the political divide and working together as a community to get things done. It’s been about working tirelessly to engage people in Denver and talk about the issues and how we need to address them.

Local politics should be less about parties and partisanship and more about ensuring we have the right people with good ideas and a willingness to work hard to represent the needs of our community. When my wife and I were talking about this race before I became a candidate, we didn’t see anyone realistically addressing the issues in a way that represented our values or those of our friends in the neighborhood. I’ve been hearing talk about expanding government, increasing taxes, and making business pay more of its “fair share,” without a focus on accountability and providing value and a return to our community.

I’m a fiscal conservative and social moderate and believe in a limited government and empowering us, the people. First off, I care deeply about educating kids, helping create jobs, protecting our seniors, the environment, etc. Government does have a role, and it includes educating our children, ensuring we have good transportation infrastructure and a fair legal system, and providing a competitive and predictable climate for business. But like our families and households, we must stick to a budget and address these issues using the resources available to us.

Education
NW and SW Denver have some of the highest rates of schools that are failing our kids. We have an achievement gap and drop-out rate that’s unacceptable. A child’s zip code and ethnic background should not be the determining factor in their academic success and the status quo can no longer be tolerated. I have worked with schools in our neighborhood that have large minority student populations living in poverty, and they are showing that all kids can learn.

As your state senator, I will work tirelessly to ensure we implement the new principal, teacher and student accountability standards passed last legislative session. I will continue promoting school choice so families will have options to failing schools since a child’s education is too important. I will work to demand we get more money into classrooms and we must continue as a community engaging and supporting our schools.

Jobs and Small Business
Most of us have been affected by the economy over the past two years. The backbone of our economy in West Denver is small business. To get our economy back on track and people back to work, we need to promote strong businesses. Our entrepreneurs and small businesses need a low tax, low fee, and low regulatory burden to get back on their feet. I’ve heard from countless business owners who are paying more to the state and city and struggling to keep their doors open. We must do all we can to encourage businesses since their success is our success, creating jobs, getting people back to work, and helping us grow out of our state budget crisis.

State Spending and the Budget
The state budget crisis just mentioned refers to the $1.1 billion shortfall this next year. Colorado has a balanced budget amendment and we must cover this shortfall. In addition to promoting business to increase revenues, we’re going to have to reduce spending. We need to know where we can make the right reductions without impacting vital services. Part of my platform includes bringing LEAN process improvement to state government to look at what can be done faster, with better quality, providing more value and, ultimately, at a lower cost. Denver Health has saved $62 million alone bringing this initiative to their hospital.
We need to structurally transform how state government operates and is funded to make it more sustainable. This includes a rainy day fund and bringing other new initiatives to the table to make government work for people.

As a believer in limited government, it’s important to be consistent. While it’s important for all of us to know what we stand for and our beliefs, government shouldn’t be a vehicle to extend that to the entire community. This is where I differ most from the traditional concept of a “Republican” since I strongly believe in personal freedom and responsibility.

As a community, I’m asking for your support this election to become your next state senator. Please visit my website www.ShulerForColorado.com and always feel free to contact me with questions, comments, or to talk further.

A frog leads a family on a journey of hope! The latest children’s book on profound truth and the Universal Law of Attraction teaches children (and their parents) in a gentle and understandable way. [Read more...]

ALTITUDE PEAK FITNESS- Give your old fitness routine the BOOT!   Former Studio29 personal trainer, and Highlands resident Danica Ansardy has taken ownership of Altitude Peak Fitness. Altitude is a 5000 sq ft bootcamp/ personal training facility in LoDo on 22nd and Larimer. We offer bootcamp classes for all fitness levels. What is bootcamp? Bootcamp offers is a high intensity group exercise class, that incorporates, body weight, core, strength, speed, endurance and flexibility exercises into an 1 hour 15 min workout. Don’t be scared, get in the gym today. Have fun, work hard, and meet lots of great people. Check us out on the web www.altitudepeakfitness.com

First Published in The North Denver Tribune