A banner night for Bernie
Hillary Clinton may have carried Super Tuesday, but across the state and La Plata County, Bernie Sanders won the day.
Sanders won 59 percent of Democratic delegates in Tuesday night’s primaries, to Clinton’s 40. Across the state and locally, registered Democrats turned out in droves to pack meetings halls, schools and other public meeting places. In Boulder, hundreds were turned away from a caucus filled to capacity and in Denver, thousands filled a school parking lot to voice their support for their candidate of choice.
 It was standing room only at the Precinct 2 caucus Tuesday night in the La Plata County administration building. Democrats in La Plata County and across the state had a strong turnout for Super Tuesday, in which a majority of delegates were chosen for Bernie Sanders. |
In La Plata County, it was standing room only at most precinct caucus locations, with some 2,300 Democrats turning out. In the end, Bernie carried an estimated 1,466 supporters (65 percent) vs. 819 for Clinton (35 percent) as per raw numbers available Wednesday morning.
“I was amazed and gratified at the turn out,” Jean Walter, La Plata County Dems chairwoman said Wednesday. “We did not expect to exceed 2008’s numbers, but that’s what we did.”
Walter said she was not surprised by Tuesday’s results, in which la Plata County bucked the national trend toward Clinton. “Both candidates had been campaigning really hard and turned out in very good numbers,” she said. “I think we were more liberal in ’08, when voters turned out for President Obama.”
As far as results for the contested 6th Judicial District Attorney seat between Christian Champagne and Ben Lammons, Walter said those results were “inconclusive.”
“Some caucuses didn’t take a poll and others did not select delegates,” she said.
Rather, delegates will be chosen at the 6th Judicial assembly, held in conjunction with the county assembly on March 12. Likely, after the state’s primary on June 28, that number will be whittled to one.
In addition to the big ticket items at Tuesday’s caucus, Walter said a handful of resolutions were passed, including one supporting reform of the state’s antiquated 1872 mining law as well as a proposed revision to the current caucus process. In the end, Walter – who remained uncommitted – considered Democrats fortunate to have two solid choices. “I think so much of both our candidates,” she said. “We’re lucky to have such stellar candidates at the top of the ticket.”
Although Republican caucuses were held Tuesday in Colorado, no straw poll was taken in opposition to the national party’s “winter takes all” stance. However, delegates were selected and there is a chance their as-of-yet uncommitted voices will come into play during the national convention next July.
Sports Authority to close stores
Colorado-based sports retail giant Sports Authority may be losing the game against Dick’s Sporting Goods.
On Wednesday morning, Sports Authority – which has a store in Durango – filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and said it will close 140 of its 464 stores, nearly a third of its total. The bankruptcy has been looming since January, when the company announced it had missed a $20 million debt payment.
“This was a tough decision to make, but we believe it was a necessary step in our plan to make Sports Authority an even better partner for our customers,” CEO Michael Foss told CNN Money online.
The store closings will take place over the next three months. The bankruptcy filing will allow the company to break leases for money-losing stores. The company’s disclosed more than $1 billion in liabilities and assets valued between $500,000 and $1 billion, according to the CNN report.
A sales associate at the Durango Mall Sports Authority said she had not heard of the bankruptcy filing or any impending closures and referred calls to a regional office. Monique Sidhorn, an L.A.-based publicist for the company sent an email Wednesday saying there is no “public list” of store closures available and she could not confirm specific store closures at this time.
The company was once the largest sporting goods retailer in the country. However, in recent years, Pennsylvania-based Dick’s Sporting Goods, which markets itself as providing a more “high-end” shopping experience, has taken a bite out of Sports Authority’s market share.
Another unknown as of Wednesday was the fate of naming rights to Mile High Stadium, home to the Denver Broncos. Sports Authority pays a reported $6 million a year under a 25-year deal to have its name on the stadium.
In addition to the stores, the company will be closing two distribution centers. In all, the company expects to let go about 3,400 of its 15,000 employees, Foss said in an interview with The Denver Post. The affected stores and distribution center-level workers were notified Feb. 10.
The court still must approve store-closing sales. Under court approval, the majority of those stores could begin closing sales as early as Friday.
– Missy Votel