Our view: A strange election, for sure

We’ve followed the Fort Collins daily newspaper for several decades, and the newspaper has ebbed and flowed depending on the quality of the manager that owner Gannett shuffled into town. Except for Dorothy Bland, most haven’t stayed longer than a couple years. Fort Collins is a proving ground and a stepping stone, and most of the young guns move on to better pastures before the door stops revolving.

But because of the changeovers, there are sometimes inconsistencies. The Coloradoan’s lack of endorsing a U.S. Senate candidate is hard to figure out. The Coloradoan chose not to endorse a Senate candidate because Cory Gardner didn’t show up to chat with the newspaper’s editorial board. He was scheduled, then cancelled, then said he would get back to the paper but never did.

To be consistent, the Coloradoan should apply its editorial policies to the HR and business side. If a job candidate doesn’t show up for an interview, just don’t hire anyone at all. Or if an advertiser doesn’t want to pay a bill, just forgive everyone’s bills.

Another October oddity is U.S. Senator Mark Udall’s reelection strategy. Colorado’s other Senator, Michael Bennet, who also chairs the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, decided that what worked for his election in 2010 would work for Udall in 2014. In 2010, Bennet eked out a victory over Ken Buck by focusing on Buck’s stance on women’s health. The Bennet strategy was to appeal to core Democrat supporters — women and Hispanics.

So far, Udall and Bennet have done a good job getting Udall elected president of the National Organization of Women, but have done very little to defend Udall’s record. It’s too late, but Udall finally started running TV ads this week highlighting his criticism of the NSA spying, which has included — for many years — his exceptional efforts to keep our private information private.
While Cory Gardner would probably make a good U.S. Senator, this campaign was Udall’s to lose, and he’s doing a pretty good job of it.

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Since the paper starting publishing in 1993, the North Forty News has shied away from giving political endorsements. Some readers say we should. Others say they like the nonpartisan nature of the paper when it’s election season and there’s a daily bombardment of television attack ads.
And, trust us, we’ve gotten feedback recently saying that our county commissioner endorsements were “tired and predictable.” Keep in mind that we haven’t endorsed anyone.

One thing is clear, though. After having covered a half-dozen other county governments over the years, Larimer County residents are fortunate to have such an open and transparent county government. Commissioners Donnelly, Johnson and Gaiter meet with constituents on a regular basis, often facing the same rabble-rousers month after month after month.

The individual commissioners may not always act on feedback they get, but they’re always willing to listen. Many, many other municipal and county jurisdictions have elected officials who won’t even do that.

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