August 19, 2004: Headlines: COS - El Salvador: Politics: Election2004 - Kefalas: The Coloradoan: Democrats Bill Bertschy and El Salvador RPCV John Kefalas will be campaigning together in the coming weeks as they hope to maintain momentum until the last ballot is counted -- and, possibly in this case, recounted

Peace Corps Online: Directory: El Salvador: Special Report: El Salvador RPCV and Political Activist John Kefalas: August 19, 2004: Headlines: COS - El Salvador: Politics: Election2004 - Kefalas: The Coloradoan: Democrats Bill Bertschy and El Salvador RPCV John Kefalas will be campaigning together in the coming weeks as they hope to maintain momentum until the last ballot is counted -- and, possibly in this case, recounted

By Admin1 (admin) (pool-151-196-239-147.balt.east.verizon.net - 151.196.239.147) on Wednesday, August 25, 2004 - 8:42 pm: Edit Post

Democrats Bill Bertschy and El Salvador RPCV John Kefalas will be campaigning together in the coming weeks as they hope to maintain momentum until the last ballot is counted -- and, possibly in this case, recounted

Democrats Bill Bertschy and El Salvador RPCV  John Kefalas will be campaigning together in the coming weeks as they hope to maintain momentum until the last ballot is counted -- and, possibly in this case, recounted

Democrats Bill Bertschy and El Salvador RPCV John Kefalas will be campaigning together in the coming weeks as they hope to maintain momentum until the last ballot is counted -- and, possibly in this case, recounted

Dems join forces, await winner

By MATTHEW BENSON
MattBenson@coloradoan.com

Interested?

Democrats John Kefalas and Bill Bertschy will be campaigning together for state House District 52 on Saturday. The two will be at a forum from 10 to 11 a.m. at Bagel Makers, 2601 S. Lemay Ave. They'll also appear publicly at 2:30 p.m. at a booth at NewWestFest.

But the Democratic primary in state House District 52 has been no ordinary race.

Still without a confirmed winner from the Aug. 10 election, Democrats Bill Bertschy and John Kefalas will be campaigning together in the coming weeks as they hope to maintain momentum until the last ballot is counted -- and, possibly in this case, recounted.

"Whoever wins, we want that person to be in the best position possible to go forward to the general election in November," said Kefalas, a community activist and lobbyist for Catholic Charities Northern. "Even though we were opposed in the primary, we're united in trying to win the District 52 seat for Democrats."

He's clinging to a two-vote lead over Bertschy, but there are 22 Democratic provisional ballots from the district that have yet to be figured into the vote total. In addition, 60 absentee ballots remain, as well as an additional 25 that must have their signatures verified.

Both candidates have said not knowing a winner places them at a fund-raising and campaigning disadvantage compared with incumbent Rep. Bob McCluskey, a Fort Collins Republican.

"Any time you face an incumbent, there's a built-in advantage there -- especially as far as fund raising. It's going to be an uphill battle for whoever is successful here," said Bertschy, a member of Fort Collins City Council. "We really need each other's supporters if we're going to be successful in November."

Bertschy and Kefalas will campaign together Saturday as they attend a morning candidate forum at Bagel Makers, 2601 S. Lemay Ave.; meet with members of the Northern Colorado Labor Council in Windsor; and man a booth at NewWestFest that afternoon.

Plans also are in the works for additional joint campaigning the following weekend, Kefalas said.

In the meantime, Larimer County election officials are working to finalize primary results for the race.

The county's results must be certified by Aug. 25, but elections manager Jan Kuhnen said they might be ready a day earlier. A recount would be necessary if the margin between candidates is less than or equal to half of 1 percent of the votes for the top vote-getter in the race.

The Secretary of State's Office has until Sept. 1 to call for a recount, which would involve forming a recount committee and rerunning the ballots through the machines.

The results for the race must be known by Sept. 8, the deadline for certification of the county's November ballot.

Originally published Thursday, August 19, 2004





When this story was prepared, here was the front page of PCOL magazine:

This Month's Issue: August 2004 This Month's Issue: August 2004
Teresa Heinz Kerry celebrates the Peace Corps Volunteer as one of the best faces America has ever projected in a speech to the Democratic Convention. The National Review disagreed and said that Heinz's celebration of the PCV was "truly offensive." What's your opinion and who can come up with the funniest caption for our Current Events Funny?

Exclusive: Director Vasquez speaks out in an op-ed published exclusively on the web by Peace Corps Online saying the Dayton Daily News' portrayal of Peace Corps "doesn't jibe with facts."

In other news, the NPCA makes the case for improving governance and explains the challenges facing the organization, RPCV Bob Shaconis says Peace Corps has been a "sacred cow", RPCV Shaun McNally picks up support for his Aug 10 primary and has a plan to win in Connecticut, and the movie "Open Water" based on the negligent deaths of two RPCVs in Australia opens August 6. Op-ed's by RPCVs: Cops of the World is not a good goal and Peace Corps must emphasize community development.


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Story Source: The Coloradoan

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - El Salvador; Politics; Election2004 - Kefalas

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