Despite slipping to a 32-33 minority in 2010, Colorado House Democrats have nevertheless enjoyed an extremely successful legislative session. They have a lot to be proud of, but the centerpiece of their accomplishments is the many successful Democratic bills to create jobs:

OED Small Business Navigator – HB1209, Rep. Matt Jones (D-Louisville) will provide a single point of contact for small businesses to aid them in diagnosing problems, streamlining referrals, and cutting through red tape so they can grow.

Extension of Bioscience Grants – HB1283, Rep. Jim Riesberg (D-Greeley) extends the successful bioscience grant program, which provides matching grants to turn promising Colorado research into good paying Colorado jobs.

Colorado Innovation Investment Tax Credit – HB1045, Rep. John Kefalas (D-Fort Collins) extends a successful pilot program from 2010 which has helped create 21 different businesses in 13 cities across Colorado.

Third-party Air Quality Air Modelers – SB235, Rep. Sal Pace (D-Pueblo) will allow third party engineers, chosen by CDPHE to ease backlogs and encourage companies to use their own money to pay for the third party to carry out the inspections, helping companies meet their growing demand and saving and creating jobs.

Creative Districts – HB1031, Rep. Joe Miklosi (D-Denver) promotes a growing sector of our economy by allowing local governments to set up “creative districts” within their jurisdiction and have them certified in order to help attract artistic industries and to market their unique businesses.

House Democrats were also active on other key issues, and they passed successful legislation to improve schools and crack down on bullying, boost transparency and accountability, and help struggling families avoid foreclosure.

For the full list of highlights, be sure to visit the Colorado House Democrats’ blog.

Republicans captured a bare majority in the Colorado House by just a single seat – with one race going down to just a handful of votes. But apparently, legislative Republicans view that as a mandate to invite hate into the halls of the state capitol. Literally:

Republican legislators Monday hosted an informational meeting to discuss immigration in Colorado, but the Colorado Independent has learned two of the presenters invited to speak were from organizations founded by white supremacist John Tanton. One of those organizations, The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), has been named a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).

In addition to FAIR, The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) — which also presented at the meeting — was founded by Tanton.

Tanton has argued that for U.S. culture to survive, the country must maintain a clear white majority. The SPLC refers to him as the “racist architect of the modern anti-immigrant movement.”

That meeting was held inside the state capitol.

Yet despite the SPLC’s reports that detail FAIR’s long history of peddling racist conspiracy theories and employing members of white supremacist groups in key leadership positions, Republican legislators were unmoved:

“If you’re trying to say they have an agenda, well, I don’t know about that, but I do know the Southern Poverty Law Center has an agenda that I have never been impressed with,” [GOP Sen. Kevin] Lundberg added.

The meeting was intended at least in part to be a springboard for Colorado Republicans seeking to pass an Arizona-style anti-immigrant bill. To pass such a bill, Republicans must first convince Coloradans that their motive is based on policy, rather than hate.

But with top GOP leaders already aligning their legislative caucus with hate groups and denigrating the organizations founded to combat hatred, that’s going to be a tough sell.

Earlier this month, Colorado voters elected four new Democrats to the state Senate. All four of these Senators-elect are women, which means that the majority of the Senate majority caucus will be women (13 of 20). This brings the total number of women in the Colorado state Senate to 14 of 35.

Meet the Colorado Senate Democrats’ class of 2011:

Angela Giron (D-Pueblo) was raised in the community she now represents in the State Senate, District 3. In Pueblo, Angela’s 30-year career in public service includes building a premier youth-serving organization from the bottom up and working with two U.S. Senators. Her work to organize and create change is evident in her 20+ year tenure as a precinct chair for the Pueblo County Democratic Party and support of Pueblo’s Colorado Progressive Coalition. As a Latina, Angela knows that the opportunities in her own life are due to the sacrifice of many who came before her and she takes the responsibility very seriously to continue ensuring opportunity for those who will come after. Angela is married to Pueblo City Councilman Steve Nawrocki and has one daughter, Melanie Bravo, who is now the President/CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of Pueblo County. Angela has spent her life and career committed to Pueblo.

Lucia Guzman (D-Denver) has lived in Colorado for 30 years. Before serving as your State Senator, she served on the Denver Board of Education for eight years and was a small business owner in Northwest Denver for seven. She is an ordained clergy member with the United Methodist Church, Rocky Mountain Conference. Guzman’s pastoral work has given her a profound opportunity to experience the pain of those who suffer, the challenges of the aging process, the toils and hopes of those incarcerated, the joys of those who overcome severe obstacles in life, and the sadness that befalls us all when a life is taken too soon. Sen. Guzman was elected to serve out the term of Senator Paula Sandoval when she vacated her Colorado state senate seat in May of 2010. The 2011 legislative session will be her first.

Cheri Jahn (D-Wheat Ridge) is a single mother and small business owner from Wheat Ridge. In her eight years as a Representative in the State House, she stood up for those who would not otherwise have their voices heard. She received her paralegal degree from the Community College of Denver while running her business and raising her three children. She has been actively involved with the Stevens Elementary PTA, the Everitt Middle School Accountability Committee, and co-chair of the Jefferson County Schools District Accountability Committee. She also worked as a victim advocate and first pager responder often responding to calls in the middle of the night. Jahn volunteered over 7,000 hours to the Victims Services for several local Police Agencies. In the State House, Jahn used her experience running Colorado Housekeeping Services to bring common sense approaches to small businesses and economic development. She fought to offer incentives to retain and grow small businesses in the state as well as increase tourism dollars. Cheri Jahn understands strong economic development policies create a stronger job market that benefits all Coloradans.

Jeanne Nicholson (D- Granby) has been elected to Senator of Senate District 16, previously held by Senator Dan Gibbs. As a nurse and resident of the district for 39 years, Jeanne Nicholson is a two-term Gilpin County Commissioner and serves on the Gilpin County Board of Health. For 39 years, Nicholson has used a hands-on approach to making her community the best place to live, work and raise a family. Jeanne's priorities include strengthening our economy and getting our citizens back to work, providing access to health care, protecting the quality of our water and fighting for our families in these tough economic times.

In its 40 Under 40 list today, TIME gave a nod to multiple state legislators.

We already highlighted OH Rep. Jay Goyal as an “outside the beltway” civic leader and rising star. Now we’re please to present Colorado state Senator Mike Johnston (SD 33- Denver).

A former high school principal who advised Barack Obama on education policy, Johnston, 35, of Colorado, sees poor test scores and dropout rates as nothing short of a civil rights issue.

Who is your political hero/inspiration?
Dr. King

What's your go-to political blog?
coloradopols.com

If you weren't working in politics, what would you be doing?
Principal of an urban high school

What's the most overlooked issue facing America these days?
Ensuring working class Americans access to college

Where do you see yourself professionally in five years?
Hopefully still in the state senate, or head coach of the Denver Broncos :-)

State legislatures are where many of today’s most successful political leaders cut their teeth and begin honing the skills and qualities that will make them great leaders on the national stage. The DLCC is pleased that TIME is recognizing some of those we’ve worked to hard to help elect.

See if you can spot the logical fallacy in GOP state Rep. Frank McNulty’s argument about why it’s OK that so many of his fellow GOP legislative nominees have violent arrest records (including one nominee, Clint Webster, arrested for threatening to kill his ex-wife and shooting at her):

"You're seeing normal people stepping up and running for office," McNulty said. "You see folks who are ordinary people, who face the real challenges that families in Colorado face and that have the real problems that people in Colorado have." (…)

Now that he has the fuller story, McNulty doesn't think it will be devastating to Webster's campaign. "Even though you have folks with blemishes on their record, some more serious than others, this is something people should recognize as being a slice of Colorado," McNulty said. "These are honest, everyday folks who want to go out and serve their neighbors in the state legislature."

See? All these candidates are just “a slice of Colorado!”

So in other words, McNulty is arguing that because:
A.) state legislators should represent the people in their state, and
B.) some people in Colorado have shot at or otherwise tried to kill their ex-spouses;
Therefore:
C.) Colorado should elect a few legislators who’ve tried to kill their ex-spouses.

Presumably, McNulty would use the same argument to defend other GOP nominees who’ve been arrested for assault, domestic violence, perjury, and assaulting a police officer (among many, many others).

Of course, we all know what McNulty wanted to say but couldn’t: It's OK if You're a Republican (IOKIYAR).

The Denver Post recently ran criminal background checks on the major-party nominees for state legislature, and they found a “slew” of mostly Republican candidates with pretty impressive rap sheets.

Lynn Bartels at the Post explores the details:

Bounced checks and bankruptcies. Arrests and restraining orders.

The names of a slew of candidates running for the Colorado legislature can be found in police and court records and other official documents. Some incidents happened decades ago, while others were as recent as this year.

"This is the challenge of having ordinary people running for office," said Rep. Frank McNulty, R-Highlands Ranch, who is overseeing House Republican candidates and was unaware some had police records.

In all, the Post’s researchers found an astounding 19 Republican nominees with criminal or civil records.

There are a handful of petty crimes and financial disputes among the Post's findings, but the rogues gallery that is the Colorado GOP has also racked up plenty of arrests and charges for violent crimes.

Consider the history of HD-24’s GOP nominee, Clint Webster:

Record: Arrested in 1991 after threatening to kill his ex-wife and firing two shots from a Colt semi automatic pistol at her and another person as they drove away from his house. No one was injured. He pleaded guilty in 1992 to second-degree assault, a felony, two counts of felony menacing and a misdemeanor assault charge.

There were various other arrests and charges against GOP nominees for assault, domestic violence, perjury, and assaulting a police officer (among many, many others).

Of course, it’s hard to tell what impact this information will have on Election Day. Normally, voters ask themselves questions like “which candidate is a better person?” or “am I better off now than I was?”

But this year in Colorado, anyone planning to vote Republican will also need to ask “would I be scared to run into this candidate in a dark alley?”

Selling something you don’t own in the first place (say, an iconic bridge in Brooklyn) is a form of fraud, but that’s not stopping GOP state House challenger Bob Boswell from selling Colorado’s 50th District seat to highest bidder more than seven weeks before Election Day.

In a letter to Colorado lobbyists dated September 13th, Boswell opened with “Well, we’re getting down to the nut-cutting,” and went on to declare “I am going to win this race. The opportunity for you to align yourselves and your clients with the next Representative of House District 50 is now.”

As Nate Miller of the Greeley Tribune explains, that crosses a major ethical line:

I've never seen a letter like this,” said Luis Toro, director of Denver-based Colorado Ethics Watch. “It's blatantly addressed to lobbyists. That, in and of itself, is highly unusual.”

Colorado Ethics Watch said Thursday the letter, which makes a direct appeal for campaign cash, sends the clear message that influence can be bought, a charge Boswell denied. (…)

Toro said the letter is unambiguous.

“I think the clear message of this letter is: This office is for sale, access is for sale and now is the time to buy,” he said. “There's really no other way to read the language.”

The fundraising letter was one of three Boswell sent to lobbyists, but as this third letter notes, “maybe I’ve not sent out all the right signals.” That’s obviously still a problem for him.

No doubt the voters of the 50th District wish Boswell cared less about the signals he’s sending to lobbyists and more about the issues facing Colorado families. If so, Boswell is one “nut” they can cut loose this November.

The Democratic candidate in this race is state Rep. Jim Riesberg.

I don’t know if you’ve heard, but the DLCC is kind of a Big Deal.

Jeremy Jacobs makes the point in The Hotline. By winning Democratic majorities in state legislatures, the DLCC arguably laid the groundwork for President Obama’s path to victory in 2008.

Dems have gained majorities in many legislative chambers since 2004 in states that John Kerry lost but that Obama won 4 years later.

These include CO House, CO Senate and NC House in '04. In '06, Dems took control of the IN House, IA House and IA Senate. The following year, they won back the VA Senate. Most recently in '08, Dems took back the NV Senate and OH House.

So of the 9 states that Obama won in '08 that Kerry lost in '04, the Dems had taken back at least one chamber of the state legislature in 7 of them.

You’re welcome.

It’s nice to be recognized for our work in building Democratic infrastructure across the country.

Because that’s what we do. The DLCC builds strategic, accountable legislative programs from the ground up through work with legislative leadership and caucus directors. Among other things, we build the Democratic brand on the local level, run highly targeted field and turnout programs, and groom the “farm team” of tomorrow’s Democratic leaders.

But while the DLCC may be deserving of recognition because of what we’ve done, the real story is what’s at stake for the Obama reelect in state legislative elections this fall.

But for a better indication of how Obama '12 chances, it is worth watching the most competitive state legislature races this fall.

Aided by the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, Dems have made significant gains at the state level. They now hold majorities in 28 state Senates and 32 state Houses.

In their efforts to hold onto those majorities, 7 chambers in 6 states compose what Dems view as their "Danger Zone" this year, and those chambers lie squarely in Obama's re-election roadmap. They are:

CO Senate - Dems hold a 7 seat majority
IN House - Dems hold a 4 seat majority
NV Senate - Dems hold a 3 seat majority
OH House - Dems hold a 7 seat majority
PA House - Dems hold a 6 seat majority
WI Assembly - Dems hold a 6 seat majority
WI Senate - Dems hold a 3 seat majority

These are all states that Obama carried in '08 and he will need to win most of them again in '12 to stay in the White House.

So while redistricting is a significant aspect of what’s at stake in this fall’s state legislative elections, it’s not the only reason to care. Democratic prospects in Congress are incredibly important, but so is getting President Obama reelected.

Last night, a helpful post on redistricting went up on DailyKos. askew provides historical context, an overview of the Democratic playing field, and a call to action, all in one little paragraph:

In 2001-2... Because the Republicans controlled so many state houses during the restricting process, they were able to create gerrymandered districts that resulted in historic gains for the Republicans in the 2002 midterms. The Democratic Party is determined to not let that happen again. The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) (help elect state Reps/Sens), The National Democratic Redistricting Trust (legal team to fight redistricting) and Foundation for the Future (a 527 funded primarily by unions to provide data to the Democratic Party on how to draw maps to favor Democrats). However, they will need our help to GOTV and raise money for the 2010 midterms.

This morning, Alex Burns’ Morning Score gave us a nice little plug:

COMING SOON – THE DLCC’S MAP: The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, charged with waging state House and Senate campaigns this fall ahead of the next round of redistricting, is preparing to release a memo to Democratic stakeholders outlining the most urgent targets for the party this fall. “Of the legislatures with the power to draw congressional maps, 23 chambers in 17 states are within five seats of changing hands. These 17 states will draw 198 Congressional Districts,” DLCC executive director Michael Sargeant writes. “The bottom line: The results of the 2010 state legislative elections will define how key reforms and policies are decided for the next decade.” The DLCC’s top defensive targets: the Alabama Senate, Colorado Senate, Indiana House, Nevada Senate, New Hampshire Senate, New York Senate, Ohio House, Pennsylvania House and both chambers in Wisconsin. And its picks for offense: the Michigan Senate, Kentucky Senate, Tennessee House and Texas House.

Tune into this space next Monday for the memo to which he refers.

With questions beginning to fly concerning specific states, the DLCC is pleased to present, via RedistrictingFacts.com, a state-by-state breakdown of how redistricting actually works in each.

For example, did you know that an Independent Redistricting Commission administers the redistricting of both state legislative and congressional districts in Arizona? Check out the website to learn how the Commission members are appointed!

Were you aware that Governors have no veto authority over the maps drawn by the state legislatures in Connecticut and North Carolina?

Have you heard about the various states in which state Supreme Courts have some authority over the redistricting process?

Learn about all these things and more at http://redistrictingfacts.com/redistricting-by-state/!

Ever since Democrats won control of the Colorado Legislature in 2004, the state has become a leader in pushing for clean energy investment. And that leadership was recently recognized by U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, who described Colorado as a model for national action.

Aldo Svaldi and Drew FitzGerald at the Denver Post wrote about Locke's remarks a few weeks ago:

The country could miss a key opportunity for growth if it doesn't soon follow Colorado's example in pursuing the new-energy economy, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke said Monday. (...)

Colorado earlier this year required that utilities obtain 30 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020, one of the nation's strictest mandates.

That was an increase from an earlier voter- approved requirement of 20 percent by 2020, and the mandate has helped the state attract thousands of jobs in wind, solar and other technologies.

Republicans in both legislative chambers voted near-unanimously against HB 1001, which established the new standard – presumably because they’d rather see more job creation in China, instead of Colorado and elsewhere in the United States.

As Secretary Locke explained, Republican intransigence on clean energy is already causing the United States to fall behind:

China, by contrast, is investing $9 billion a month in the clean-energy field, and not just to meet its own internal energy needs or improve emissions. The Chinese want to export the technology to other countries and reap the millions of jobs that could come from doing that, Locke said.

"If we don't act soon on an energy policy . . . we will wake up and say, 'How is it that Shanghai, China, or Berlin, Germany, have become the next Silicon Valley of clean energy?' " he said.

Colorado, of course, is hardly alone in the push for clean energy. 2009 saw a surge of activity in several states, almost always led and supported by Democratic lawmakers.

It’s an open question whether Republicans will eventually come around to supporting clean energy legislation. But no matter what they do, you can expect Democrats to continue making it a priority in Colorado and across the country.