House District 3
As your representative from Colorado House District 3 I am working hard to:
Please take a few minutes to explore this website for information about my work at the capitol and how I can best serve the needs and interests of my constituents in House District 3.
Most Recent Update:
John McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin as his nominee for Vice President comes 24 years after Walter Mondale selected Geraldine Ferraro – it took the Republican Party a long time to catch up to the Democrats on that front. But Sarah Palin, only one heartbeat away from being President, would set the country back a hundred years.
It’s not Palin’s lack of national or foreign policy experience that should worry you most. The Republican choice for Vice Presidential nominee supports the most conservative agenda including creationism teaching in public schools; taking away a woman’s right to control her own reproductive health; opposing all GLBT relationships, including marriage and civil unions. She shoots AK47s in Iraq and thinks that theses guns should be allowed in the streets of America. She fired the state official who wouldn’t violate state civil service rules by firing Palin’s former brother-in-law at her request. Her political “management” experience comes from being mayor of a small (population 9000) town in Alaska and then being governor for 18 months of a state with only 640,000 residents (about the size of Baltimore, Maryland), all of whom receive an annual oil and gas dividend payment.
Remembering a Great Health Champion
Submitted by annemcgihon on Wed, 06/11/2008 - 8:33pm.Dennis "Dee" Roe died yesterday at Rose Hospital. Dee was a founding member of the Colorado Progressive Coalition in 1997 and continued to work with the Coalition until a few months ago, when his medical problems became too severe to continue. He had a major part in working to obtain prescription drug benefits in Colorado, holding public forums across the state on this issue, doing grassroots organizing to bring consumers into the health care reform effort, and again organizing forums to inform people of the 208 Commission and the opportunities that could be realized for health care reform through that Commission. He would often testify at the Legislature on important health care bills.
Anticipating the sound of the final gavel marking the close of the 2008 legislative session, I want to share with you some notable accomplishments of the General Assembly this year. I'll start with health care reform, given its place as my prime focus and its importance as a hot topic this election year.
Over the past two years, I have worked in collaboration with the chair of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee on comprehensive health care reform. I salute Sen. Bob Hagedorn's 16 years of public service in the House and Senate. Of the many bills we have worked on together, two bills this session are especially noteworthy. A bill that advances the discussion on comprehensive health care reform, SB 217, also known as Centennial Care Choices, is on its way to the Governor for signature. And SB 160 will expand health care coverage to 50,000 more children.
University Park Home Tour May 4
Submitted by annemcgihon on Wed, 04/30/2008 - 8:43pm.Treat yourself and a friend to the 4th Annual University Park Home Tour. This fun event benefits the students of University Park Elementary School, located at 2300 S. St. Paul. The tour features five fabulous homes plus the historic Chamberlin Observatory in this very popular Denver neighborhood.
When: Sunday, May 4, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Where: University Park
Cost: $15 in advance or $20 day of event
2008 Furry Scurry - Sponsor the "Gold Dome Doggies"
Submitted by annemcgihon on Mon, 04/28/2008 - 2:37pm.Please join me in supporting the Dumb Friends League during the 2008 Furry Scurry to be held, as usual, in Washington Park. This annual event is being held on this Saturday, May 3rd.
I will be walking with “Ms. G” , one of my two sweet canine companions. Any contribution is welcome.
You can sponsor my participation by either going online at: http://ddfl.convio.net/goto/Anne.McGihon or mailing a check (made out to Dumb Friends League)
Balancing free speech and privacy rights
Submitted by annemcgihon on Sat, 04/19/2008 - 6:49pm.The 2008 legislative session is winding down with a flurry, with a full slate of activity both on the House floor and in committees. So it’s been a busy week, capped by today's passage on third reading of SB 192 after a spirited two-hour debate on the House floor.
This bill, sponsored in the House by Rep. Joe Rice and myself, sets guidelines for targeted picketing in residential neighborhoods. These guidelines include requiring protestors to keep moving, restricting the size and number of signs that picketers can carry, and specifying the distance from a residence that picketers must remain. The goal of this bill is to preserve the right of free speech of picketers while also preserving the privacy rights of individuals in their own homes.
One of my favorite local events of the year takes place in just a couple of weeks. It’s the Furry Scurry, a two-mile walk and fun run for you and your pet. The fun begins Saturday, May 3 at 9:00 a.m. in Washington Park.
Sponsored by the Denver Dumb Friends League (DDFL), this annual event benefits the more than 25,000 homeless and abandoned animals that DDFL cares for each year. The goal this year is to raise $850,000.
Now that the state budget bill has passed both the House and Senate, you may have recently heard many voices both pro and con on the merits of this legislation. I continue to believe that this is a fiscally responsible budget in line with legally mandated spending limits. I’d like to clear up some misconceptions you may have heard:
Myth: The state faces a $700 million shortfall over five years.