Greeley Parade Officials Boost Mark Udall, Leave Out Own Board Rep Bob Schaffer

Northern Colorado 1310 AM KFKA radio talk show host Amy Oliver notes an odd fact about this year's Greeley Stampede Independence Day parade:

Also, how did Congressman and Boulder liberal Mark Udall (D-2nd CD) get his own entry in the parade? Udall doesn’t even represent this area. The Democrat candidate for US Senate had an entry very early in the parade which guaranteed him TV time along with a seven paragraph puff piece that was read by 9 News as it broadcast the parade. The script on Udall read like a campaign ad except it didn’t say “vote for Mark Udall.”

And where was Republican candidate for US Senate Bob Schaffer? According to two sources, the 4th Congressional District Representative to the State Board of Education and Vice Chair of the Board was not on the Stampede Parade Committee’s “select group of elected candidates” invited to have their own entry in the parade. Even after Schaffer asked to have his own entry, the Stampede said no. The committee did indicate it would talk with Schaffer after the parade (and after all Udall’s free publicity). So the elected official that represents this area did not get his own parade entry while the elected official who doesn’t represent this area did. Hmmm…. [emphases added]

That something like this could happen borders on the silly and laughable: It makes me wonder if the actions of parade officials are based in a recognition that Boulder liberal Mark Udall needs all the extra free help he can get, while attendees somehow would be tainted by seeing conservative Bob Schaffer. Officials ought to give a public explanation for the obvious lack of evenhanded treatment.