Advance Colorado Takes on Sanctuary Cities

From left: Denver Mayor Michael Johnston, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and David J. Bier, Director of Immigration Studies at the Cato Institute, are sworn in during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on sanctuary cities' policies at the U.S. Capitol on March 5, 2025, in Washington, D.C.
Alex Wong / Getty Images

Ballot Issues Pull Colorado to Right

President Trump is threatening so-called Sanctuary Cities on his media platform, Truth Social.

“No more Sanctuary Cities! They protect the Criminals, not the Victims. They are disgracing our Country, and are being mocked all over the World.”

“Working on papers to withhold all Federal Funding for any City or State that allows these Death Traps to exist!!!”

Given the chaos the administration has caused in its first 80 days, cities and states vulnerable to the sanctuary city label such as Denver, and possibly Colorado, should be concerned about federal funding flows.

But an even larger problem for Colorado’s immigrant rights advocates is Advance Colorado, an influential Colorado-based political action committee with a proposed ballot initiative that would limit funding for undocumented immigrants and require local police authorities to check the immigration status of certain criminal suspects such as those charged with violent crime and having prior felony convictions.

Colorado may appear a “blue” state in terms of its voting for partisan offices, legislation and the policies of many cities, but in fact the state frequently votes “red,” for example, on initiatives that take a conservative position on hot button issues such as crime. In the 2024 statewide ballot election, initiatives related to a tougher position on criminal law enforcement and punishment won easily.

Some facts about Advance Colorado:

1. Ballot issues are the primary threat restraining liberal forces in the state legislature. Governor Polis often uses the group’s specific and implied threats as a restraint on his party-related to:
   • environmental issues
   • tax issues
   • labor/union issues
2. Advance Colorado’s ballot strategy has the benefit of being well funded, mostly unreported and with high profile professional leadership.

READ
After Failures in the Courts, the GOP Is Threatening Sanctuary City Mayors Truthout, March 7, 2025
How Denver and Nearby Cities Are Responding to ICE Westword, February 19, 2025

Brian Vogt Transformed the Gardens

Brian Vogt photo: Monarch Society

When Brian Vogt began as director of the Denver Botanic Gardens in 2007, the attendance was below half a million visitors a year. In 2024, the last year before his passing, attendance exceeded 1.4 million.

Brian transformed the modest but well-cared-for gardens into a regional asset that millions appreciate with a large satellite park in Arapahoe County and new, expanded, and upgraded facilities on the main campus in the heart of Denver at Cheesman Park.

Under Brian’s leadership, the Gardens hosted major art shows, for example, the Chihuly Glass, and has a regular schedule of summer concerts and music in its natural amphitheater.

His enthusiasm and dedication to making the Denver Botanic Gardens a people’s space will be missed. His life work is an enormous legacy for the Denver region.

Trump, Tariffs, and the Crash

President Donald Trump holds up a chart of reciprocal tariffs chart
Photo: Chip Somodevilla Getty Images

It took Joe Biden until August of 2021, a full 7 months into his term, to lose his approval majority. After the Afghanistan withdrawal, he never came even close to closing the negative gap between the public disapproval and approval. He had failed on his claimed expertise, managing foreign policy.

Donald Trump first crossed into negative approval territory on March 14. It followed the wild first 53 days into the Administration, but April 2 “Liberation Day” is likely to be more like Biden’s chaos and pain than a celebration. Approval of his economic performance is a negative 10 points. If the public concludes Trump is not good for the economy, his claimed area of expertise, he and his party will be in serious political jeopardy.

After April 2, his approval went from 1 point down to 4 in a matter of days, while all the major market indexes passed from correction territory (down 10% from their peak) to at or near bear markets (down 20%). Trump was president in the last market crash of March 2020 as business activity began closing due to the pandemic. The economy then went into a brief recession. The odds of a slowdown in economic growth and recession have grown dramatically in the last week, in spite of the tariff pause.

The National Dashboard is a Buzz platform showing the state of public opinion for the presidential approval. It tracks key indicators on the economy, direction of the country, and competition for the U.S. House of Representatives. It primarily uses RealClearPolitics (RCP) but makes comparisons to Gallup and other polls, as reported in Opinion Today.

RELATED:
Trump Starts at Record Low Feb 13, 2017
Trump Approval Weak, But Better on Economy Than Foreign Policy Feb 22, 2017

Signal Gate: What We Learned

2017 (left) and 2025 (right)
Photos: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters and Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Five observations about Trump’s 2025 Administration were highlighted by the media and others from Signal Gate. First, although there may be mostly new players in the Trump Oval office, the show is still as chaotic and amateurish as 2017.

• Stephen Miller as the chief loyalist has the final word on Trump think – “The President was clear: green light” was his final comment.
• Vance will cross Trump to push his view. In this case, no benefits for Europe. “I just hate bailing out Europe again.”
• Contrast and criticism of Biden is important for policy and messaging. “Biden failed, Biden cratered.”
• If mistakes are made, attack the media: Goldberg gets Woodward and Bernstein award.

Signal Gate will make a contribution to President Trump’s approval about 70 days into the new Administration. As of April 1, he is down two points in approval since the inauguration; 2 points, year to date, in the Dow; 5 points in the S & P, and 10 points in the NAZ. Republicans’ most serious challenge today is their slim House majority. Pulling the Elise Stefanik nomination as UN Ambassador was a “tell” that Trump and Speaker Johnson are concerned. The Wisconsin Democratic win and Republican underperformance in Florida confirm their concern.