James Eklund remembers having to work to get the Colorado River Districtâs trust before, when he was director of the Colorado Water Conservation Board and was seeking support for a state water plan.
He said when talks began on the plan it was âdead on arrivalâ among representatives of the Western Slope district.
âPeople were saying itâs the wolf in sheepâs clothing. Itâs going to be an excuse for more transmountain diversionsâ of water to the Front Range, he recalls.
Eventually, a plan was agreed on that the district got behind. But these days Eklund once again finds himself in a battle to gain the districtâs trust, now because of his work as a private water attorney representing a New York investment firm that has been buying up Mesa County agricultural land and associated water rights and leaving the river district nervous about its â and Eklundâs â intentions for that water.
Executives grapple with ripple effects of political turmoil
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Tex., is surrounded by applauding colleagues after he challenged the election certification of the state of Arizona as the 117th Congress holds a joint session to certify the presidential election results on Jan. 6. (Bill O Leary/The Washington Post)
Published January 24. 2021 12:01AM
Douglas MacMillan and Jena McGregor, The Washington Post Get the weekly rundown Email Submit
Washington The 147 Republican lawmakers who opposed certification of the presidential election this month have lost the support of many of their largest corporate backers but not all of them.
The Washington Post contacted the 30 companies that gave the most money to election-objecting lawmakers campaigns through political action committees. Two-thirds, or 20 of the firms, said they have pledged to suspend some or all payments from their PACs.
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Lawmakers who objected to election results have been cut off from 20 of their 30 biggest corporate PAC donors
Douglas MacMillan and Jena McGregor, The Washington Post
Jan. 19, 2021
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Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Tex., is surrounded by applauding colleagues after he challenged the election certification of the state of Arizona as the 117th Congress holds a joint session to certify the presidential election results on Jan. 6.Washington Post photo by Bill O Leary
WASHINGTON The 147 Republican lawmakers who opposed certification of the presidential election this month have lost the support of many of their largest corporate backers - but not all of them.
Kate Greenberg
University of Virginia professor Brian Richter got one thing right in his recent attention-garnering editorial:Â We need to be ever vigilant in monitoring for big emerging threats when it comes to Coloradoâs water.
What he got wrong was when he pinned farmers and ranchers as the threat.
Wealthy investors â many from out of state who have their eyes focused on Colorado water â are the real threat. A recent national headline illustrating Wall Streetâs growing interest in western water makes clear what so many of us from rural Colorado already know:Â Big money is eyeing big opportunities in agricultureâs senior water rights.Â