Sharf For Colorado

Dear Friends and Supporters,

What a busy summer this is turning out to be, and time is passing quickly as we head towards November!

Count Every Vote – That Should Count
This week saw two major developments in the issue that my opponent and her colleagues insist isn’t a problem: voter fraud. The critical (albeit temporary) 60th vote in the US Senate may well have been provided by felons voting. This alone would have been enough to put Al Franken over the top (as though he weren’t most of the time, already). But it’s also likely that students voted twice, both in Wisconsin and Minnesota, and illegal aliens voted in urban centers. At the same time, credible reports surfaced that the Justice Department has made a policy decision not to pursue cases purging dead or ineligible voters from the rolls. A case in Missouri – where certain disticts’ voter rolls contain more names than live people – was dropped.

The issue of ballot integrity, the avoidance of what Scott Gessler calls, “Zombie Elections,” is of particular interest to me, as my district contains the Fairmount precinct, but it must be of interest to all who are concerned about fair and honest elections.

Apparently, this doesn’t rate very highly on my opponent’s scale. She sits on the State, Veterans, and Military Affairs Committee, and in 2009:

• Voted against requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote.
• Voted against requiring a photo id to vote.
• Proposed legislation that would have permitted non-citizens to obtain a driver’s license.

Coloradans deserve fair and honest elections, and deserve legislators who care about the integrity of the process.

What’s Happening
Great events coming up on the campaign calendar:

• This coming Friday, July 16th, please join me at the Denver Lincoln Day Dinner, featuring keynote speaker, Tim Pawlenty, governor of Minnesota. The Lincoln Day Dinner will be held at the Infinity Event Center in Glendale. Please see event details and register here.
  
• Family fun awaits at the R Block Party Picnic at the Washington Park Boathouse on Wednesday evening, August 25, with live and silent auctions, a dessert contest and a bake sale. It’s going to be a great time! If you’d like to donate to their auction or want to enter your Aunt Ida’s Cheesecake recipe in their dessert contest, please contact them here.

Last night I had a wonderful time meeting voters in the Cheesman Park area of the district, at a fine evening put together by Michelle and Ben Lyng. Many thanks to them for all their hard work!

My wife, Susie, and I had the pleasure of attending the Western Conservative Summit this past weekend. The lineup of excellent speakers at the Summit read like a Who’s Who of Conservative America. Personal favorites included Arthur Brooks of the American Enterprise Institute, Dennis Prager, and Dick Morris. Kudos to John Andrews and the Centennial Institute for putting together such an outstanding weekend.

How to Help
On the campaign trail, I meet many folks who tell me “I want to help. What can I do?” Coloradans are realizing that it’s no longer enough to stand by and watch political landscapes unfold; those who are concerned about their lifestyles, their jobs, their kids’ educations, their taxes, their environment and their state now want to be involved, supporting the candidates who, in turn, support their values. I am so grateful for the incredible amount of help I’ve been receiving from Coloradans who care. Thank you.

Here are three ways you can volunteer for Team Sharf:

• Lawn signs: We’ll be ordering them over the next two weeks, and if you have a lawn (or even a window), we’d love for you to show your support by displaying one. Please contact Tom Aanerud, who is coordinating the distribution of lawn signs throughout the Denver area.
• Walking: Put on your walking shoes and come walk the beautiful precincts of District 6 with me! It’s great exercise and fun. We’ll train you in how to do this, and you won’t walk alone; I love walking the precincts and getting to know what’s on people’s minds. Contact Anne Nichting if you’d like to join us. Newcomers encouraged.
• Calling: On July 22, we’ll be holding another Phone Bank Day. Volunteers are needed to help us make calls to the voters in our district. Contact Jeff Krump if you’d like to join us. Again, newcomers encouraged.

A Last Word
We’re continuing our new addition to the Backbone Radio franchise, Backbone Business, my radio feature on business concepts. Be sure to listen to the Backbone Business broadcast next Sunday evening, July 25, at 7:00 PM, on 710AM KNUS in Denver, or 1460AM KZNT in Colorado Springs.

Hope you are enjoying your summer! See you on the trail,

It’s been a busy few weeks for my campaign and for all Colorado Republicans. Last week we had the State Assembly; we are coming up on Memorial Day Weekend and that time of year when citizens usually begin paying serious attention to politics.

Of course, this will be anything but a typical year. The Sharf campaign has been out there with the rest of the wonderful Republican candidates, hitting the hustings and getting our message out. This past month, I’ve had the pleasure of addressing the Colorado Jewish Republicans, and giving a legislative update to the Windsor Gardens Republican Club. At the CD-1 Assembly, we nominated the very talented Mike Fallon as Republican challenger to Diana DeGette’s seat here in Denver, and this past Sunday, he was generous enough to invite me to share space with him at his campaign kickoff.

I also met with the Denver Labor Council at the local AFL-CIO headquarters, which is not traditionally friendly ground for Republicans. I appreciated their taking more than the allotted time to talk to me, and they appreciated my willingness to meet with them and the straight talk that came along with that. Last night, I was downtown at Hamburger Mary’s addressing the Denver Metro Young Republicans. I emphasized the importance of supporting our State House candidates across Colorado and discussed why it’s especially important that Republicans from strongly Republican districts help candidates in competitive districts.

And in my, er, spare time, I also launched a new monthly radio program on 710 KNUS called Backbone Business, a division of Backbone Radio, devoted to a (mostly) non-political exploration of business, economic, and financial issues. If you missed the live broadcast, you can catch it on BackboneBusiness.com. Our next show will be Sunday, June 20, from 7-8 PM. I’m having lots of fun doing the broadcast, and I’m really pleased with the wonderful reaction I’ve been getting from our audience.

Next week, I’ll be at the Denver County Party’s First Thursday Breakfast, after which I’ll be off to a meeting with the House Republican members for a strategy session. You can catch my calendar here to see when I’ll be appearing in your part of town.

Walkers Wanted!

We’re beginning a very ambitious schedule of walking precincts and meeting voters at community events. Please download my “walking card” here and check out my schedule to see when I’ll be walking in your neighborhood. I’d love for you to come and burn some shoe leather with me; please join me this summer as we stroll through the beautiful precincts of House District 6 and meet our neighbors.

Issue of the Week – Energy

As a state we have an obligation to encourage the responsible development of cheap energy sources, while exercising proper stewardship of our environment. Please click here and read about what we can do to turn Colorado’s energy challenges around.

Your Support

Please help me get this common-sense message out to all of the citizens of HD-6. We need to reach not only like-minded Conservatives, but also traditional unaffiliated and even Democrat voters, and make them aware that there is an alternative on the ballot. We can’t get our message out effectively – or respond to the inevitable attacks from a threatened Democrat majority – without your support. Please help me fight the good fight. If you think Colorado can do better, please help me represent you and what YOU care about in this amazing state of ours.

See you on the front lines,
Joshua

Campaign Finance Testimony

On March 25, I testified in front of the House State, Veterans, and Military Affairs Committee against HB-1156, sponsored by my opponent Lois Court.  That bill would have provided for the public financing of state legislative campaigns.  You can hear the audio of my testimony here.

While it’s true that I am strongly opposed to the public financing of election campaigns on philosophical grounds, my testimony focused on the practical and fiscal failings of the proposed bill on its own terms.  I’m delighted to report that the bill failed in committee, 7-4, and was postponed indefinitely, 8-3.

Of course, the lack of public financing means that we’re more dependent than ever on the contributions of supporters such as yourself to help us get our message out to the voters of HD-6, so please help us make that happen.

Denver County Assembly

The Denver County Assembly – followed by the House District 6 multi-county assembly – will take place this Saturday, April 10, at 10:00 AM at East High School.

This year, the Denver Party is encouraging party regulars and especially unaffiliated voters and open-minded Democrats to attend as guests, and participate in the discussion leading up to the adoption of resolutions and the designation of candidates to the ballot.  Please encourage any and all to show up and let us know what you and they are looking for from their elected officials and their government.

I look forward to meeting with my fellow Denver Republicans, as we elect delegates to the State Convention and discuss possible additions to our State Party Platform.  And it goes without saying that I’m excited about addressing and conversing with our District 6 delegates, where I hope to be designated to the primary ballot in August.

I’m also hopeful that our outreach to unaffiliated voters and party regulars will create a more vibrant, more energetic assembly than we’ve see in years.  I hope to see you there!

Upcoming Events

• I’ll be at the Governor’s Holocaust Program on April 7 at the Buell Theatre, and will also swing by the inaugural Denver 9-12 group meeting later in the evening.
• On Monday, April 12, I’ll attend the Center-Right Coalition Meeting
• On April 15, I’ll be at the Tax Day Tea Party down at the Capitol, and later that evening will be with House District 6 at its regular monthly meeting
• On April 20, I’ll discuss the current legislative session with the Windsor Gardens Republican Club, and mention plans for the 2011 session, when I hope to have the honor of representing you
• Finally, on April 22, I’ll be down at the Capitol again for the Rally for Charter Schools.