Latest news with #Hinrichsen
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Incumbent Pueblo state senator won't seek reelection. What's next for Pueblo Democrats?
Colorado state Sen. Nick Hinrichsen will not seek reelection to a second full term in November. Hinrichsen, a Democrat, was set to defend his State Senate District 3 seat from Republican challenger Dana Charles prior to his announcement at the Pueblo County Democrats' JAC-X-Pres meeting at the Eagleridge Event Center on June 5. "Serving the constituents of SD-3 is an incredible privilege, and I'm proud of the work that my office, together with leaders across the state, has done over the last three and a half years to move Pueblo and Colorado forward," Hinrichsen said in a statement shared with the Chieftain." We've passed nation-leading measures to protect renters rights, and cut red tape around affordable housing development." Hinrichsen's statement also celebrated the expansion of statewide "free fare" public transit programs, the creation of the Southern Colorado Institute of Transportation Technology, and measures ensuring "Colorado elections remain the safest in the country." Appointed to his seat in February 2022 to replace Leroy Garcia, Hinrichsen narrowly defeated Stephen Varela in the November 2022 election to retain his seat. Serving as the Colorado General Assembly's Senate Majority Whip in 2025, Hinrichsen sponsored legislation aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reforming municipal court charges, among other goals. While writing that he will remain "deeply involved" in state issues, Hinrichsen said he will opt out of a 2025 reelection campaign in favor of spending more time with family. "Legislative work, if done right, is hard," Hinrichsen said. "It takes you away from your family for extended periods at times, and it upends their daily lives in order to stay connected to others. This fall, my son will enter high school. At the end of the next term for SD-3, he will already be a graduate." Hinrichsen continued that he and his wife, Bri Buentello, plan to spend 'as much time as possible' with their son during this transitional time. As Democrats look for a candidate to run in Hinrichsen's place, the state senator said he will support whoever the party nominates. "I'm excited because I know that there's no shortage of wonderful, qualified leaders in this community," Hinrichsen said during his June 5 announcement. "I'm excited for who will take this torch and run with it, and super excited to see what they do with it, because I'm positive that they will do great things." School Board Elections: 'Lifting up student voices': Former Pueblo D60 board president seeks return to board Pueblo Chieftain reporter James Bartolo can be reached at JBartolo@ Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo's Nick Hinrichsen drops out of Senate District 3 race
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pueblo Republican launches bid to unseat Nick Hinrichsen in Colorado Senate District 3
A local healthcare practice manager with nearly 25 years of experience is venturing into politics as a 2026 Republican candidate for Colorado State Senate District 3. Dana Charles told the Chieftain she is "not a politician," but is running for a state Senate seat because she is concerned about state fees, high taxation and legislative "attacks" on rights. Charles lists affordability, parental rights, Second Amendment rights, public safety, and preserving Colorado's Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR), among her priorities. "I just was so tired of questioning whether our Pueblo legislators were actually working for the people of Pueblo," she told the Chieftain. "I felt like enough was enough and I wanted to bring a voice to the state Senate that you don't have to wonder about." On her website, Charles said that recent legislation passed by members of the Colorado General Assembly has "tied the hands of law enforcement" and jeopardized the safety of Pueblo residents. She also told the Chieftain that taxes and fees have hampered residents' ability to afford living in Colorado. "Every single time we go to do absolutely anything — whether it's to renew our vehicle registration, whether it's going to the grocery store and paying bag fees — we are taxed and (made to pay fees) to death," Charles said. As a supporter of TABOR — a 1992 amendment to the state constitution limiting the amount of tax revenue Colorado government can retain and spend — Charles strongly believes Colorado does not have a revenue shortage and that Colorado residents, not state government, know how to best spend their money. In addition to having 24 years of experience in healthcare, Charles is a lifelong Pueblo resident who has raised two sons. "We have an amazing community, and I plan to tout that in every way when I'm in the state Senate. Many of the members of even our own city council, I have known for many years," Charles said. "While we may disagree on certain issues, I believe that we can communicate in a way that is positive and helps continue to move Pueblo forward." Senate District 3 includes all of Pueblo County. Senate Majority Whip Nick Hinrichsen has held the seat since February 2022. As of May 19, Charles and Hinrichsen were the only candidates who'd filed to run for Senate District 3, according to the Colorado Secretary of State's Office. Charles has already raised $11,915 in monetary contributions and has spent over $2,547, according to Transparency in Contribution and Expenditure Reporting (TRACER) information accessed May 19. Hinrichsen has received over $6,752 and spent over $5,551. City Park Bathhouse: Pueblo leaders respond to preservationists' frustrations over rejected bathhouse proposal Pueblo Chieftain reporter James Bartolo can be reached at JBartolo@ Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo Republican launches 2026 bid for Colorado Senate seat
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Environmental groups warn Colorado lawmakers of risks from data center bill
Interior of a modern data center. (Stock photo) A bill moving through the state Legislature to establish tax breaks for energy-hogging data centers could pose serious risks to Colorado's climate goals, utility rates and state budget, environmental groups say. Senate Bill 25-280 was given initial approval by the Senate Transportation and Energy Committee on a 6-3 vote, after a lengthy hearing on Wednesday. Democrats, who hold commanding majorities at the statehouse, were split on the bill, with three joining the committee's Republicans in favor, and three opposed. Sponsored by state Sens. Nick Hinrichsen, a Pueblo Democrat, and Paul Lundeen, a Colorado Springs Republican, the measure would create a 'Data Center Development and Grid Modernization Program' in the state's economic development office. Beginning in 2026, it would offer sales and income tax credits to incentivize investments in data centers and upgrades to electric transmission infrastructure. A nonpartisan fiscal analysis estimates the tax breaks would initially cost the state about $17 million a year. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Hinrichsen pitched data centers — sprawling server farms that power artificial intelligence models, cloud computing services and other technology — as an economic lifeline for communities like Pueblo, which faces a looming drop-off in tax revenue because of the early closure of Xcel Energy's coal-fired Comanche Generating Station. To help the state meet its greenhouse gas emissions targets, Comanche's final remaining 750-megawatt generating unit is now scheduled to be closed 40 years ahead of schedule in 2031, with a local tax revenue loss estimated at $25 million a year. 'We're heading towards this cliff, and we have some significant challenges, but with data centers, we have a really, really unique opportunity,' Hinrichsen said. 'We have a prime geographic location. We have the energy capacity and development capabilities to support a data center.' States rethink data centers as 'electricity hogs' strain the grid But a nationwide boom in data center construction, largely driven by investment in AI, has stoked concerns about the electricity- and water-intensive facilities' impact on the environment, and what the surging demand for energy could do to utility rates paid by consumers. Data centers made up about 4.4% of all U.S. electricity demand in 2023, and that figure could rise to 12% by 2028, the Department of Energy estimated last year. In addition to large amounts of electricity, operators use millions of gallons of water a year to cool their equipment. Megan Kemp, a policy advocate with environmental group EarthJustice, called SB-280 'rushed legislation' that doesn't balance generous incentives for data center operators with protections for Colorado communities. '(The bill) fails to provide critical safeguards for utility customers, neglects to consider impacts on communities and undermines our progress toward meeting critical climate goals,' Kemp told lawmakers. The bill's sponsors and its critics disagreed sharply during Wednesday's hearing on the outlook for the data center industry in Colorado in the absence of new incentives. Hinrichsen said that while he was reluctant to pass legislation that would reduce state tax revenues in the face of a serious budget crunch, he had been convinced by 'hundreds of conversations over the summer and fall' that Colorado isn't competing effectively with other states for data center investments. 'What I have heard talking to folks in my economic development community, folks at the chamber of commerce, and those in the data center development world, is, 'It's not going to happen in our current framework,'' he said. 'This is an opportunity that we're uniquely poised to capitalize on, that we will not capitalize on, and 100% of nothing is precisely nothing.' But Justin Brant, utility program director at the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project, a Boulder-based environmental group, pointed to requests for over two gigawatts of new electricity load received by Xcel Energy, Colorado's largest electric utility. 'Data centers are coming to our state no matter what,' Brant said. Climate advocates are especially concerned that surging data center demand could lead electricity providers to prolong the use of fossil-fuel-powered generating assets, a trend already seen in the southeastern U.S., where utilities are expanding natural gas infrastructure to meet the anticipated demand increase. Sara Axelrod, head of public affairs at Denver-based Crusoe Energy, told lawmakers of the 'cocktail of energy solutions needed to power campuses like this.' Crusoe began in 2018 as a bitcoin mining operation powered by the waste methane from oil and gas extraction — excess natural gas that's typically vented or flared by drillers — and now uses the same power source to power AI infrastructure. 'There is no perfect, one-size-fits-all energy solution when it comes to powering these data centers, particularly as we talk about AI and the increasing scale of these data centers,' Axelrod said. Committee members adopted five amendments to the bill on Wednesday, including a major rewrite known as 'strike below' amendment, which Hinrichsen said was intended to address concerns from labor groups. But Brant said that while the amendment did 'address some of our concerns, it raises a whole host of additional ones,' including questions about geographic preferences for data center sites and the applicability of the state's renewable energy standard. 'This bill was written by the data centers with little or no stakeholder involvement,' he said. 'We'd be happy to work with them and the sponsors in the interim to get something right, but this one doesn't do it.' 'There's so many big things that still need to be ironed out, that I'm really concerned,' said state Sen. Lisa Cutter, an Evergreen Democrat who voted against the bill. 'I think you're trying to address some of these things. But it just seems like there's still a lot to be discussed.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pueblo County commissioners urge Colorado governor to veto semiautomatic gun control bill
The Pueblo Board of County Commissioners passed a resolution April 1 opposing Colorado Senate Bill 3, which would ban the manufacture and drastically restrict the sale of certain semiautomatic firearms that accept detachable ammunition magazines. SB-3 would prohibit Coloradans from buying most semiautomatic rifles as well as some semiautomatic shotguns and pistols, unless they get approval from the local county sheriff and complete up to a dozen hours of training administered by Colorado Parks and Wildlife. The bill passed the Colorado Legislature by a vote of 19-15 on March 28, with three Democrats, including Sen. Nick Hinrichsen of Pueblo, joining every Senate Republican in opposition to the bill, according to the Colorado Sun. Hinrichsen told the Chieftain Wednesday he opposed the bill because he feels it's the wrong approach to the problem of gun violence. "We have a high-capacity magazine ban that's been in existence for about 12 years now -- I support that, and I think we have a mechanism to enforce that now that didn't exist in the past, with the CBI and licensing bill that was passed last year," he said. "I think that is the appropriate way of addressing the issue of the types of firearms we're seeing used in mass shootings without infringing Second Amendment rights." Hinrichsen said SB-3 took a "haphazard, arbitrary" approach in which traditional hunting firearms would be exempted from the new law, and said he believes there are "gaps" in the training element, such as how active-duty or honorably discharged veterans and law enforcement officers, despite past training on the safe use of firearms, would not be exempted from the requirement. "I think there are just so many gaps if you're going to go this route. It's costly and unnecessary, and for those reasons I was opposed," Hinrichsen said. The local BOCC resolution, spearheaded by Republican Board Chairman Zach Swearingen, urged Gov. Jared Polis to veto the bill on several grounds, including violation of the Second Amendment, an undue burden on local gun stores, and a burden to the sheriff in enforcement, as the sheriff would be required to fingerprint and conduct background checks on applicants to determine if they meet the criteria to receive a firearms course card without any additional funding or resources. The bill would also cost the state an estimated $1.4 million in the first year and $500,000 per year after to maintain, according to Swearingen's resolution. Swearingen argued that the bill would drive many gun stores out of business or out of state, and would require "law-abiding citizens to jump through hoops and pay significant fees in order to exercise their Second Amendment rights." "There's a lot of unconstitutional pieces to (SB-3)," Swearingen said. "It is already hurting mom-and-pop gun shops, I've already heard several have moved out of state. By our Constitution, (gun ownership) is a right. You are forcing people to take a test for a right. And that's a slippery slope." Swearingen stated he believed the bill, if signed by Polis, would likely be overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, but it would likely take four to five years to get there, at which point the damage would already be done. He further argued that the Second Amendment was "not intended for hunting," but for people to defend themselves and their families, including from the government. Fellow Republican board member Paula McPheeters also supported the resolution. "As a fellow gun owner, I know I can't rely on anyone coming to protect me, and that's inherent in the Constitution," McPheeters said. "The Second Amendment states that the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. Federal law always supersedes state law, and state law is trying to supersede the Second Amendment... As a gun owner, as a citizen, a commissioner, and a woman, I oppose any infringement on my right to firearms, so I support this and will be a yes vote." Commissioner Miles Lucero, the board's lone Democrat, said he opposed SB-3, but also opposed the resolution as written, stating that even as a gun owner himself, he believes the Second Amendment can be regulated. "It's crazy to me to say that the founding fathers wrote the Second Amendment of the Constitution with the knowledge that we'd have these horrific killing machines at the disposal of the public," Lucero said. "If we want to revise this resolution to say it's a significant cost at a time when the state doesn't have money, if there's implementation hurdles, there's going to be legal challenges, all of that is true." "I'm not fully on board with the idea that exemptions don't apply to law enforcement officials or honorably discharged veterans," Lucero continued. "I don't think they should have to go through these training courses. And to be abundantly clear, this bill doesn't say you can't own these firearms, it says you have to take a course to do so." Lucero pointed out that firearms are the leading cause of death for U.S. children under the age of 19 since 2020. After some additional back and forth, commissioners passed the resolution 2-1 along party lines. In a statement to the Chieftain, Pueblo County Sheriff David Lucero also expressed his opposition to the bill. "I opposed this bill as it places another level of bureaucracy on county sheriffs," Lucero said. "It is also disparate because to purchase a firearm, you would now have to pay the sheriff to run a background check and pass and then the sheriff must issue a permit which would be valid for five years. Then, you have to go purchase the firearm and pay for another background check through Instacheck before you can purchase it. "A firearm itself is already cost-prohibitive and expensive, so this adds multiple levels of financial impacts in order to possess or own a firearm," he said. "It is almost like you have to be part of a special, exclusive club to have a firearm. This bill doesn't do anything for law-abiding citizens who want to legally own a firearm, instead, it has the potential to fuel black market sales for criminals, who won't follow this law anyway. Law-abiding citizens in Pueblo County love their firearms, and this is yet another layer that doesn't strengthen public safety but puts more restrictions on them." More in local news: What to know about fentanyl in Pueblo and the health department's efforts to track it Questions, comments, or story tips? Contact Justin at jreutterma@ Follow him on X, formally known as Twitter, @jayreutter1. Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo leaders urge Colorado governor to veto gun control bill
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Colorado Senate passes resolution condemning Trump's Jan. 6 pardons
Donald Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as they storm the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by) The Colorado Senate voted along party lines Monday to approve a resolution condemning President Donald Trump's pardons of those convicted of crimes related to the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Senate Joint Resolution 25-6, sponsored by Sen. Nick Hinrichsen, a Pueblo Democrat, and Sen. Matt Ball, a Denver Democrat, condemns the pardons as well as the firing of FBI agents assigned to insurrection-related cases who 'committed their careers to the defense of our nation and its sovereignty.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Nearly 1,600 people were federally charged in connection with the attack, which was fueled by Trump's baseless denial of President Joe Biden's 2020 election win. Dozens of injuries, four rioter deaths and five police officer deaths are attributed to the attack. Almost 30 people with connections to Colorado were charged for actions related to the attack. In asking for bipartisan support of the resolution, Hinrichsen said on the Senate floor he has heard the 'mental contortions' used to justify the insurrection and the pardons, and that they are all 'rooted in lies.' Hinrichsen, an Army veteran, said a friend he served with texted him after Trump announced his pardons and said it's 'pretty obvious that I sacrificed my youth and my friends sacrificed their lives for a lot of Americans who are truly and unequivocally unworthy of those sacrifices.' 'If we cannot, regardless of party, muster the courage to speak with truth about the greatest assault on this Constitution from within our own citizenry in 160 years, or to condemn the aid and comfort now given to its enemies who sought to render the sacrifices of those who gave their lives in its defense to have been in vain, then any words of solemnity for that sacrifice are nothing but hollow, insulting utterances,' Hinrichsen said. 'I have no desire to sit and smile politely for such a performance.' The resolution passed 21-12, with all Republicans voting against it. Sen. Mark Baisley, a Woodland Park Republican, said he finds it 'shameful' that a resolution would be used in a 'political manner.' The Colorado House of Representatives will likely vote on the resolution this week. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
