Despite the partisan battles in 2020, there was one thing we could all agree on: Let s order takeout. As it turned out, it became our civic duty to ensure that restaurants, where 10% of Coloradans work, could survive the pandemic.Â
Politicos statewide were happy to tell us where they got their favorite meals, so we ve compiled them all into one smorgasbord of options.
Let s dig in:
U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Denver:
A patron enters Cherry Cricket, located in Denver s Cherry Creek neighborhood. Courtesy of Cherry Cricket via Instagram The Cherry Cricketâs burger and frings have been a family favorite for decades.
Kathryn Scott, special to Colorado Politics Bernie Sanders campaign volunteer Drew Romano, 25, from Boulder erupts in cheers inside the Bernie Sanders Colorado Headquarters as Sanders is reported to have won the Colorado Democratic primary. Voters take to the polls and ballots are counted during the Super Tuesday primary on March 3, 2020 in Denver, Colorado. Colorado shares a Super Tuesday primary with 14 other states and territories.
Kathryn Scott, Special to The Denver Gazette
Ernest Luning, The Denver Gazette
Kathryn Scott, Special to The Gazette
Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post Pool
Colorado.gov
The Pandemic
This has been a painful year for all Coloradans and a challenging one for Governor Jared Polis, who set out to walk a narrow path between shutting down the state for maximum safety and allowing variances for maximum flexibility in aiding businesses and other organizations. As the state exits 2020, the numbers are looking slightly better in Colorado and a lot better compared to much of the rest of the country. But there are some dreadful numbers, too: The state has lost thousands of lives to COVID-19, and massive revenue shortfalls on the local and state level will lead to strict cost-cutting measures in the months ahead.
It was the year superlatives fell short.
From a jam-packed January that opened in the midst of a presidential primary and plunged head-long into only the third impeachment trial in the nation s history, to February and its leap day, which couldn t explain why it felt like the month that would never end, until March arrived and time slowed to a glacial crawl â from the start, 2020 was all about jerking from one extreme to the next. Weâve had a pandemic with the flu in 1918; weâve had economic strife with the Great Recession and the Great Depression; weâve had civil unrest in the late 60s, early 70s. But we havenât had them all at the same time,â said Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen last summer, before the divisive election that also played out against that backdrop.
So, 2020 is going to end just like it began, with Colorado’s Michael Bennet asking for money for his campaign.
At the start of the year, the U.S. senator was engaged in a longshot bid to win the Democratic nomination for president and his campaign regularly sent fundraising appeals.
“Hey can you spare $5 for Senator Michael Bennet? We’re sorry to be so direct, but we extended our ad buy and now we’re racing the clock to raise enough money to keep our new TV ad on air,” one January missive read.
“If we fall short, we won’t be able to stay on the airwaves in New Hampshire.”