From the Styx by Peggy Tibbetts

Here’s the latest news in Colorado’s voting machine calamity:

EXCLUSIVE: ES&S CERTIFICATION TESTING SUSPENDED IN COLORADO

Letter from Sec. of State, Obtained by The BRAD BLOG, Says America’s Largest E-Voting Vendor Failed - Yet Again - To Deliver Required Materials to State Testing Board Company Previously Decertified After Lawsuit Found Little or No Testing Performed by State in 2006…

Once again, the country’s largest voting machine vendor, Election Systems & Software, Inc. (ES&S), has failed in yet another state certification process, The BRAD BLOG has learned.

In a letter faxed to the company yesterday, Colorado’s Secretary of State Mike Coffman informed the Omaha, Nebraska, company that the state has suspended the certification process of ES&S’s voting systems due to a failure to provide required documentation and other materials needed to complete testing. That, after several previous deadline extensions had been granted …

Here’s a PDF of the full text of Coffman’s letter to ES&S.

Coffman keeps setting deadlines and ES&S keeps ignoring them. So is Coffman just a great big wuss? Or are voters getting swindled – again?

There’s so much about this ES&S mess that <sniff-sniff> smells kinda politically corrupty.

This little tidbit was also in the Brad Blog piece:

Of additional note, during the VoterAction.org lawsuit, John Gardner, the man responsible for certifying/rubber-stamping the systems originally on behalf of the state, under then-Secretary of State Gigi Dennis, admitted during his deposition that he had no formal training in computer science and that he was not an expert in the areas required by state law.

Curiously enough, however, according to the notice sent to ES&S, it seems that Gardner is still in his post, as Coffman concludes [in his 10/24 letter]: “If you have any questions regarding this request, please feel free to contact John Gardner directly.”

As for our gal Donetta who made this big fat mess in the first place, she proved The Peter Principle: In a hierarchy, every employee tend to rise to his level of incompetence.

Of additional additional note, the SoS who initially oversaw the entire fine Colorado certification mess, prior to Dennis, was Donetta Davidson.

Davidson would leave her post in 2005 when she was tapped by George W. Bush to become a commissioner on the U.S. Elections Assistance Commission (EAC). In 2006, she became their chairwoman. The EAC is responsible for overseeing federal certification of e-voting systems for the entire country.

You can read all about my run-in with SoS Davidson via class action lawsuit in The Perfect Crime. Ms. Davidson is not the least bit interested in assisting voters and voting rights. With her in charge of the EAC, it certainly explains why we’re in this fiasco. And why there’s no reason to believe Coffman will get the job done right this time.

Gee, if only our democratic led state legislature had the cahones to seize this opportunity to get rid of the damn machines and switch to an all mail ballot system. Mail ballots are not 100% secure, but they’re far better and less expensive than voting machines. Voters can make the choice themselves right now. You don’t even need to contact your legislator – just vote by mail at every election. That sends the message loud and clear.

In the midst of all this, Mesa County Clerk Janice Rich — who evidently lives in a cave — is planning to buy even more uncertified voting machines: Mesa County Looks To Add Voting Machines.

Unbelievable!

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It’s not too early to think about running for office. If the Recall Committee and this blog have piqued your interest in town government, the upcoming town election on April 1, 2008, is a unique opportunity to reclaim open government in Silt.

I have often written and said to anyone who will listen, that because Silt has no local media – except the cable access channel that most people don’t get or don’t watch (I have DirecTV) – town government tends to operate in a vacuum. I have shown you emails as evidence that Mayor Moore has consistently violated the Colorado Sunshine Law by emailing other board members about pending issues before the board, out of the public eye. In one case, it affected a businessman’s right to a fair hearing. I have pointed out a secret executive session and afterward town funds were allocated to deal with employee issues the public was not allowed to know anything about.

If you are reading this blog, then you are paying attention. The purpose of the recall is to get people involved. Here’s your chance!

Four Trustee seats will be open:
Bobby Hays
Ron Morgan
Jim Voorheis
Joe Sos
 
You still have a couple months to think about it, but please do think about it. According to Town Clerk Sheila McIntyre, the nomination petitions can be picked up at the Silt Town hall beginning January 2, 2008, and must be turned in on or before January 18, 2008. 

Tod Tibbetts will be running for Mayor. Contrary to what acting Town Attorney Cindy Tester said at Monday night’s board meeting, Tod does not have to give up his Trustee seat to run for Mayor. Nor does any other sitting board member whose term expires in 2010. In other words, if Moore is not recalled, or is recalled and Tod is not elected, then Tod will remain a Trustee until the end of his term. Conversely, if the recall is successful, and Tod is elected Mayor, then he will give up his Trustee seat.

Here’s the info from The Paper about how to run for Mayor in the recall election:

Silt mayor nomination petitions available
Only applicable if Dave Moore is recalled
By Heidi Rice

SILT - In the event that current Silt Mayor Dave Moore is recalled, nomination petitions to fill that position are currently available.

A committee seeking to recall Moore filed a petition on Sept. 14, with more than 100 valid signatures. The committee claims that Moore has violated state statutes, town ordinances and codes of conduct, which included failing to obtain a fence permit, failure to obtain a permit to close a road through work done by his construction company and interfering into a town employee issue when he was not authorized to do so.

The committee is being spearheaded by mayor pro tem Tod Tibbetts and his wife, Peggy, along with several others.

Moore has insisted he has done nothing wrong, except perhaps making some “procedural” mistakes.

A recall election has been set for April 1, 2008, in conjunction with the town’s regular municipal election.

The petitions to run for mayor may be obtained at Silt Town Hall, 231 N. Seventh St. Applicants must be at least 18 years of age, a one-year resident of Silt prior to the election and a registered voter in the town of Silt.

“The petitions must be taken out and turned in by Feb. 15, 2008,” said Town Clerk Sheila McIntyre.

The regular election will also include four open Town Board seats currently held by Bobby Hays, Ron Morgan, Jim Voorheis and Joe Sos. Nomination petitions for those seats will be available on Jan. 2, 2008, and must be turned in by Jan. 21, 2008.

“But you cannot run for the mayor recall position and one of the open trustee seats,” McIntyre stressed. “You’ve got to pick one or the other.”

Should Moore prevail in the recall election, the nomination petitions for the mayor’s position would become null and void.

For more information, contact Silt Town Hall at 876-2353.

Silt is growing fast. If you care about the issues facing our town, get involved in town government. Run for office!

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Autumn is gorgeous right now at Dogland (aka River Park).

Check this out –

This is me with Zeus and Isis (foreground). She’s Ema’s dog. We’re dogsitting.

Sunny cottonwoods along the Colorado River with snow on the Roan Plateau in the background.

Doesn’t get any better than this!

New Blog!

Advice from a Caterpillar is an updated, edited version of my old Writing World column, featuring advice, book reviews, and author interviews. Still a work-in-progress …

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Gah! I simply cannot let propaganda like this go unanswered. A truck crashed south of Silt on Monday and spilled fracking chemicals. Here’s the story:

Energy industry truck spills fluids south of Silt
Company says no danger to environment, hires contractor for cleanup
By Pete Fowler

SILT - A truck going to a natural gas well pad crashed and spilled fluids south of Silt Monday morning that caught the attention of a Colorado State Patrol hazardous materials unit.

The accident was reported at 7:10 a.m. A Schlumberger Limited precision continuous mixer truck had spilled its contents down an embankment, according to Garfield County Sheriff’s Office community relations deputy Tanny McGinnis. The crash occurred near County Road 326.

“There was no threat to homes or evacuations in the area of the accident and Schlumberger Oil has made arrangements for a private contractor to clean up the spill site,” McGinnis said in an e-mail.

The driver was cited with careless driving, McGinnis said, but the name wasn’t included and she didn’t return a phone message after sending the e-mail.

Stephen Harris, a spokesperson for Schlumberger, said the spill consists of fluids commonly used to “frac” or crack open the formation of an oil well. It’s done by sending them down the hole with large amounts of pressure, he said. Harris said he didn’t know the scientific names of the fluids.

Oh really? Well let’s help the guy out. Here’s a look at the toxic soup ingredients:

Putting the Heat on Gas
By Valerie J. Brown

… Both air and water quality are affected by extraction of natural gas rich in methane. Sometimes methane must be separated from fluids and other gases in processes that emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Chemicals containing VOCs may also be used when a well is drilled and during a process known as hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”), in which chemical mixtures are injected into wells to break up rock formations and release gases. VOCs are also emitted by compressors and other equipment. “Produced water,” groundwater drawn from wells that can contain various salts as well as drilling and fracking chemicals, is usually reinjected underground or placed in evaporation ponds on the surface, from which chemicals including VOCs can be released to the atmosphere. Methane and fracking chemicals can also migrate into shallow aquifers used for drinking water wells.

Benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, and xylenes are naturally present in many hydrocarbon deposits, and may be present in drilling and fracking chemicals. These VOCs can cause symptoms such as headache, loss of coordination, and damage to the liver and kidneys; benzene is a carcinogen as well. VOCs help create ground-level ozone, which can contribute to severe respiratory and immune system problems …

Ok, now back to the spill article:

The fluids are not dangerous to the environment, were spilled at least 100 yards from two nearby homes and there were no water sources nearby, Harris said.

Well gosh, if that’s the case then why did Schlumberger hire a private contractor to clean up the spill?

“They’re not what they call reactive,” he said. “They don’t react with one another in a chemical process. They’re also what the industry calls not regulatory reportable because of the nature of the fluids.”

Oh please. It’s time to inject some truth into this load of crap

Not “reactive” just means there was no immediate toxic chemical cloud resulting from the spill. That doesn’t mean they’re not dangerous to the environment. It just means no one had to be evacuated.

“Not regulatory reportable” simply refers to the 2005 oil and gas industry exemption from the Safe Drinking Water Act, allowing the injection of toxic fluids directly into groundwater without oversight by the EPA. Just because the EPA doesn’t regulate fracking chemicals doesn’t mean they aren’t dangerous to the environment.

There’s plenty of evidence out there to the contrary:

Fracking Biocides Pose Danger to West

(Beyond Pesticides, February 20, 2007) With little oversight from the federal government, a myriad of chemicals are being injected underground in the name of energy exploration in the West. Among these chemicals, biocides are considered to pose a serious threat to environmental and public health.

Hydraulic fracturing, known as “fracking” or “frac’ing” for short, is the process approximately 90 percent of oil and gas wells in the U.S. undergo to facilitate extraction. Biocides are used to kill microorganisms that can interfere with other fluids and methods used to stimulate extraction, and to prevent corrosion to pipes …

… Since there is no disclosure of the chemicals or amounts used in the process, it is not possible to determine how much of a threat these chemicals pose. However, from the analysis that has been conducted by the Endocrine Disruption Exchange (TEDX) on the limited information that has been obtained, it has been determined that the products labeled as biocides are among the most lethal.

One example is an ingredient used in some biocide formulations: 2-(2-methoxyethoxy) ethanol, diethylene glycol monomethyl ether. It is a suspected carcinogen, known to cause fetal deformities and organ malformations, and reduced male fertility …

If you’re interested in learning more about the risks to our health and environment from oil and gas drilling go to Earthworks for the latest news and research. This is a good place to start:

Contamination Incidents Related to oil and gas development

There is no question that oil and gas chemicals and wastes are being released into Colorado air, waters and soil.  The media have documented a number of incidents where releases have occurred.  As well, the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) keeps track of spills of oil and gas exploration and production wastes that are more than 5 barrels in volume.  By combing through the COGCC files, OGAP has uncovered and summarized information on chemicals used and released by the oil and gas industry in Colorado.

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Long time readers of From the Styx – all three of you – know what a voting rights fanatic I am. And you might remember last August when I covered Colorado’s voting machine crisis in Vote By Mail and Colorado’s Conundrum.

The gist of it was Judge Manzanares told Colorado to vote with the improperly secured voting machines they have and not with the secure voting machines they might want or wish to have at some later time. In other words, in the 2006 election in Colorado, the voting machines used had not been properly certified. The Judge also ruled that the Secretary of State must retest the voting machines before they could be used in future elections.

Guess what …

Newly elected SoS Mike Coffman hasn’t gotten around to that little task yet. Oh, he’s created some strict new standards for recertification – but they haven’t been implemented.

The Colorado Statesman covered that story and the whole voting machine debacle in this article:

SoS to County Clerks: Don’t ask, won’t tell on voting machines
By Chris Bragg

Memo to county clerks: If you ask the secretary of state’s office a question over the next couple of months about the recertification of your electronic voting equipment, don’t expect a call or e-mail back.

The secretary of state’s office has cut off direct communication with county clerks about the recertification of electronic voting machines until after the recertification process is done. In an Oct. 1 letter obtained by The Colorado Statesman, sent by Deputy Secretary of State Bill Hobbs to nine county clerks, Hobbs expresses his concern that direct communication with counties could be used against the Department of State in a lawsuit.

Hobbs writes: “Because of various open records requests we have received … and because of the expectation that there will be litigation again this year concerning the certification process, we have tried to make as much information as possible available via our web site, while trying to avoid communications that might be viewed as compromising the integrity of the certification process.”

As a basis for the direct communications cutoff, Hobbs cites litigation before the 2006 election attacking the certification process. Plaintiffs opposing electronic voting charged that the Mesa County clerk’s office exerted improper influence over Secretary of State Gigi Dennis, in order to obtain certification for Mesa County’s voting system. As evidence of that influence, plaintiffs presented in court a series of e-mail exchanges and phone calls between Mesa County and the Department of State.

That precedent has led to the current communications cutoff between counties and the state, as a protection in the case of future litigation.

Some clerks say they feel handcuffed by the state-imposed communications blackout. As clerks try to plan the 2008 elections, they’re unsure if they should purchase more voting equipment and whether their current equipment will be certified.

“The clerks and the vendors are really the ones that are caught in the middle of all of this,” said Adams County Clerk Karen Long. “You really cannot get through to anyone [with the secretary of state] to talk about voting equipment.”

Jefferson County Clerk Pamela Anderson said it was difficult not having a clear idea whether the equipment would be certified. “We have a very tight timeline and a lot to do and we literally can’t plan,” she said. “Our entire job is based on a calendar. And we’re running out of time.” At this point, she said, county clerks are getting no more information about the recertification process than the public.

The decision on whether to recertify the four electronic voting systems Colorado uses was supposed to occur this summer, but has been pushed back until at least Dec. 1. The state would first use the equipment in primary elections in August 2008 …

Be sure to click through, the rest of the article is well worth reading.

If you vote in Colorado, you need to know the mess that is our election system. It’s why you should vote by mail ballot. It’s why Colorado should switch to mail ballots. Luckily the upcoming November election will be mail ballot and the April 08 town election will be mail ballot.

I’m not saying mail ballots are 100% secure. But we know the voting machines are not secure, so the next best thing is mail ballots. I still don’t trust the computers they use to count the mail ballots. See Voting By Mail: Is it Safe?

Anyway, the risk to your voting rights is not something the state wants you to know about. It’s Colorado’s dirty little secret. Any news that trickles out, I’ll be sure to post it here.

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Tuesday night’s Town Board meeting was broadcasted live on the cable access channel but I don’t think it was videotaped for replay because Paul-the-video-guy had another meeting to videotape someplace else. Whenever the Board moves their meeting from Monday to Tuesday because of a holiday, the meeting doesn’t get videotaped. But I was there, so I can tell you all about it.

This is town budget season so the Board met from 5:00-7:00 p.m. to work on that. The regular public meeting began shortly after 7:00.

In the So What Else is New Dept, Ex-Trustee Craig Wallace spoke during Public Comments about some issues on his mind:

• Drivers do not obey the stop sign at Home and 5th Street.
• When cars are parked in the municipal parking lot, they block the sidewalk.
• The culverts under driveways need to be cleaned out so the streets don’t flood when it rains.
• Trucks and cars are speeding on Main Street.

I mean no disrespect to Craig, just that these are all ongoing problems. I would even add, the 7th Street and Orchard intersection after school is an accident waiting to happen. And vehicles constantly park on the pedestrian/bike trail in front of Master Petroleum. Same Silt — different day.

Ex-Town Administrator Rick Aluise was present and his service to the town was recognized with a plaque and a resolution expressing the Board’s appreciation. His resignation represents a huge loss for the town and he is sorely missed. How ironic that on the same night his service was recognized, the Recall Petition was presented to the Board, since it was his resignation that spurred the formation of the Recall Committee in the first place.

A shout out to Rick. Thank you for putting up with all the shit for five years. You spearheaded a lot of improvements to our little burg. Your imprint will last forever.

The Board approved the extension of the sewer line to 131 Home Avenue. Eventually the lots on the south side will be annexed into the town and an apartment building and some other stuff will be built there. The annexation process for the North Painted Pastures subdivision was also initiated with a resolution for findings of fact, which is sort of like a title search.

In between those 2 Agenda items, the Board voted on the resolution calling for a recall election to be done by mail ballot on April 1, 2008. I already know from talking to lots of voters during the petition process that they prefer mail ballots, so this makes me very, very happy. YAY!

Before the vote, Mayor Moore told Tod to recuse himself and also recused himself. So Tod did too. It wasn’t necessary for either of them to recuse himself, because neither of them has a true conflict of interest regarding the recall petition. But there was no attorney present to offer a legal opinion. So whatever. 

Anyway, here’s what the Municipal Code says about conflict of interest:

K. Compliance with Criminal Code.
1. All officials and employees should be aware of the provisions of Section 18-8-308, C.R.S., which requires the disclosure of a conflict of interest if an official or employee exercises any substantial discretionary function in connection with a government contract, purchase, payment or other pecuniary transaction. The official or employee must give seventy-two hours actual advance written notice to the Colorado Secretary of State and to the Board of Trustees of the existence of a known potential conflicting interest of the official or employee and the transaction with reference to which he or she is about to act in his or her official capacity.
2. A potential conflict of interest exists when an official or employee is a director, president, general manager or similar executive officer of, or owns or controls directly or indirectly a substantial interest in, any nongovernmental entity participating in the transaction. Failure to timely disclose the conflict of interest constitutes a Class 2 misdemeanor.

The Recall Petition is not a contract with the town and there’s no money involved. However their recusals did not affect the outcome, the remaining Board members voted unanimously, but they didn’t really have any other choice. That’s what petitions are all about. They trump the Board. The people have spoken, therefore the Board must respond. That’s how democracy works. Cool, huh?

During the Town Administrator’s report, Betsy Suerth mentioned that representatives from RFTA would like to talk to the Board about the town supporting bus transportation, so they would like to be put on the Agenda. Which means that RFTA probably wants to get an initiative on the April ballot for taxpayer support. Trustee Robinson said that unless they had something new to say than the last time, she wasn’t interested. Mayor Moore said they want too much money and rattled off some numbers.

Tibbetts interjected that he thought the point was to hear them out. He said he objected last year when RFTA came to the Board and requested a ballot initiative and the Board turned them down. He doesn’t feel it’s appropriate for the Board to deny voters the right to decide.

Moore argued that as elected officials they are the “stewards of the taxpayers’ money”.

Tibbetts responded that the Board should at least let RFTA on the Agenda, hear what they are proposing, then let the voters decide. Trustee Morgan agreed that the Board ought to allow them on the Agenda, and the rest of the Board agreed by consensus.

I don’t ride the bus, but I support public transportation. Both New Castle and Rifle support RFTA. No matter how you feel about public transportation, voters should have the right to hear RFTA’s proposal and vote on it. It’s not up to the Mayor or the Board to decide. It’s not their duty to keep public transportation initiatives off the ballot because the majority of members are against them. Elected officials might be “stewards of the taxpayers’ money” when it comes to working on the town budget, but they are not the stewards of the voters’ right to decide on ballot initiatives.

Just because RFTA will be on a future Agenda is no guarantee that their proposal will be on the ballot. You can voice your opinion by writing the Town Board, or calling your favorite Board members.

Finally, during Board Comments, Mayor Moore let it be known that he wants Port of Entry to come in and do random truck inspections again, even though it made some people mad when they did them last spring. No one said anything about whether there’s any evidence that those inspections provided any real solution to the problem of overweight trucks on town roads. It would be interesting to find out the statistics on the results back then. Nothing has ever been presented to the public.

Blog Housekeeping

One of the servers had a major meltdown on Monday – what with Mercury in retrograde and all – so the Siltnet site is down, which is where I store all my photos and some of the recall documents. Sorry about that. The Geek Squad is definitely on it.

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No protest to the recall petition was filed last week, so the recall will move forward to an election. YAY!

According to State Statute 31-4-504 (4): “if a regular election is to be held within one hundred eighty days after the date of submission of said petition [to the Board of Trustees], the recall election shall be held as a part of said regular election”. The Town of Silt does have a municipal election scheduled for April 1, 2008, which means the recall will be included in that election. This is a good thing because the recall petition forces Dave Moore to run for re-election, after winning by a slim margin of 22 votes in a 3-way race in 2006. And there won’t be any need for a special election that would cost the town extra money.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. More information about the April 08 election is coming soon.

Come to the Town Board Meeting October 9, or write a letter!

The next step in the recall process will come at the October 9 Board of Trustees meeting – that’s a Tuesday night because Monday is Columbus Day (although really truly Columbus Day is October 12). Town Clerk Sheila McIntyre will submit the certified recall petition to the Board so the recall election can be scheduled for the next election. 

Please come to the October 9 meeting or write a letter to the Board, or contact your favorite Board member to request a mail ballot election for April 1, 2008. Elections by mail ballot are less expensive than traditional walk in and vote elections, and ensure a higher turnout and/or response. It’s important that every voter be heard so make your voice heard now!

Because the April election will be on the Agenda the public won’t be able to voice their opinions during Public Comments. However there should be time allowed once the April election comes up on the Agenda.

One of the most effective ways to make local government officials accountable to the people is for the people to voice their opinions. Local government can be forced to respond to the people. We proved that with the River Park Petition and now with the Recall Petition. But I have learned with this Board, if the people don’t voice their opinions, the majority of the Board members will vote how they see fit, without regard for the people.

So once again, please voice your opinion. Come to the October 9 Board meeting (that’s next Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m), or write a letter to the Board of Trustees (Town of Silt, 81652), or contact a Board member.

Mayor Dave Moore
Mayor Pro-Tem Tod Tibbetts
Trustee Meredith Robinson
Trustee Ron Morgan
Trustee Bobby Hays
Trustee Jim Voorheis
Trustee Joe Sos

See you there!

In the article, No protest filed in Silt recall which was published in The Paper on September 29, Mayor Moore said: “I appreciate the democratic process of which 111 (voters) have spoken. But there has been so much time and attention on this when there are more important issues that face the town of Silt. I have a lot of things to say, but now isn’t the time. Later, I will have further statements concerning the issue.”

Actually 124 signatures were certified by Town Clerk Sheila McIntyre – not 111. And the “so much time and attention” has come from the Recall Committee members only. Not one minute of time has been spent at Board meetings dealing with the recall. So I don’t know what he’s talking about. And certainly the Recall Committee members and the petition signers believe that nothing is more important than addressing the issue of a Mayor who refuses to abide by the rule of law, and continues to violate the rules and the laws whenever he believes they do not apply to him, even after he’s been reprimanded.

I’ve grown weary of the repeated implications and accusations that the recall process is costing the town time and money when exactly the opposite is true. It has cost the town nothing. Or let me put it this way – if anyone can prove the costs of the recall to the town, send me the bill, I’ll be happy to pay for it.

Getting back to the “time and attention” issue, Moore’s comments are a perfect example of what he thinks about the democratic process and public opinion. He thinks it takes up too much time and attention. He doesn’t actually care what the people think.

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