Politics

Recall efforts against Colorado gun controllers move forward

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Greg Campbell Contributor
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On Tuesday, the Colorado secretary of state rejected a challenge to one state senator’s recall while the other senator filed a complaint in district court to stave off a vote that could see him become the first elected official kicked out of office in state history.

Supporters of Sen. Angela Giron are a step behind those of Senate President John Morse, whose attempt to toss out signatures calling for his ouster was rejected last week.

The lawyer representing one of Morse’s constituents argued that the petitions should be invalidated because they didn’t contain specific language calling for an election to replace him, a requirement of the Colorado constitution.

Deputy Secretary of State Suzanne Staiert, however, agreed with Morse’s opponents that the petitions substantially complied with the law and directed Gov. John Hickenlooper to set a date for the recall election.

Giron’s supporters used the same argument in their own challenge — and the same lawyer — and on Tuesday, they got the same result. As with Morse, Staiert rejected Giron’s attempt to toss out the petitions against her.

Now their only hope of avoiding facing the ballot box is if a judge overturns Staiert’s decisions. Morse’s lawyer filed paperwork Tuesday asking the court to prevent Hickenlooper from setting the election date until the legal matter is settled, according to 9News.

“He’s delaying the inevitable,” Morse opponent Laura Carno told the station. “This is going to the ballot.”

The station also reported that both sides hope for a quick answer from the court so they can plan their next move.

Meanwhile, Republicans in Morse’s district cast their votes for a candidate to face Morse if the election goes forward. Vying for the nomination were Jaxine Bubis, who was recently discovered to have authored several books of erotic fiction under a pen name, and Bernie Herpin, a former Colorado Springs City Councilman.

Despite being known as the “erotic grammy” in certain circles, Bubis had gotten early support from several conservative leaders and Rocky Mountain Gun Owners.

Nevertheless, Herpin got the GOP nod Tuesday night, saying in a statement, “I am honored to lead the fight to recall John Morse and make a statement — loud and clear — that we will no longer tolerate politicians who erode our rights.”

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