Campaign Capers

By Dan Kelly

This is a story about a man who life has been good to and now he has the time and means to give something back. He is fed up with the political arena, both state and federal, where speeches filled with promises, misinformation, platitudes, self-aggrandizing and cheap shots take the place of meaningful legislation and genuine interest in the needs of constituents. Corruption appears to be permeating the top levels of government. He believes he can make a difference if he can get elected. He throws his hat into the political ring and surprises many when he emerges a winner.

However, it doesn’t take long for him to learn that politics can be a very dangerous career if one angers the wrong people and he ticks some folks off before he’s even elected. His life and the lives of his family and colleagues are put at risk because he won’t go along with the program of some very hostile people or they just think he won’t.

What is most perplexing for him is he has no idea who is behind his troubles and that remains the case for quite a while. However, the culprits have no idea about who they are messing with. A former Navy Seal, it is ingrained in him to never give up as long as he’s breathing.

His adversaries are intelligent, resilient in stressful situations and don’t give up easily either. The reader will have no inkling about how the tale will end until the end. It’s a cliff hanger and that’s what makes this yarn so exciting.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dan Kelly
• Release date: Mar 14, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005464370

Dan Kelly

A Little Bit About Dan Kelly the Author"May you always find a good book to read and the time to enjoy it!"After spending forty years in the real world of domestic and international banking, my writing activities being largely restricted to business plans, internal memos, advertising copy, news releases and speeches, I decided I had had enough of the real world and made up my mind to pursue something I’ve wanted to do for quite a while, immerse myself in the world of make believe just for the sheer joy of letting my imagination and creative juices run wild.Except for the occasional humorous ode for the enjoyment of family, friends and colleagues, I never had the time to indulge the more fanciful side of my nature, but since July 2007 I’ve made great progress in atoning for that neglect. My Irish sense of humor coupled with my experience in dealing with a broad spectrum of people from all walks of life and social status are proving to be a wonderful reservoir of inspiration for me in character and story development.Celestial Capers, Casino Capers, Computer Capers, Caribbean Capers, Carat Capers, Calling Card Capers, Cabernet Capers, Calumny Capers, Canyon Capers, Capital Capers, Counterfeiting Capers, Cryptography Capers and Chopper Capers are the products of my first thirteen mental voyages into the realm of make believe and I hope you will be as delighted as I was to make these trips. I am currently embarked on my fourteenth safari into the relatively unexplored dimensions of my imagination, Campaign Capers, and I am finding the expedition as thoroughly enjoyable as my first thirteen tours. I’m hoping you will too.If you'd like to contact me, feel free to send me an e-mail at [e-mail].

Book preview

Chapter 1

Once again, it’s time for political bedlam in the state of Colorado as the two sitting senators, Republican Arthur Bigelow and Democrat Gene Hurley, are up for re-election. They have both served for two six-year terms and have a mixed performance record that is leaving them vulnerable to some fresh blood that’s hoping to replace them.

With one exception, the other candidates vying for these seats have years of experience in the political arena, not as office holders but in the background as worker bees doing the bidding of the office holders.

The Republican senator want to bes are Sheldon Waters and Wendy Vallance and the Democrat want to bes are Perry Bianchi and Dayna Nowak.

Although these four people are unique in many ways, they all have one thing in common. They are not bound by any morality, personal or social, and will do anything to get elected. They are driven by a lust for power.

The exception is an independent candidate, Charles, Chuck to his friends, Crosby.

Politics are unchartered waters for Crosby as he’s been occupied with other endeavors more to his liking. However, he has become fed up with the state of politics in both his state and at the federal level, with the corruption that pervades every aspect of the political arena, the lack of honesty, the favoritism, the under the table dealings, the misinformation that is intentionally broadcast around the country to swing things a certain way.

Although he has no political experience, he strongly believes that he could be a force for change from the way the incumbents have been running things for decades.

His CV includes four years as a Navy Seal followed by twenty years as a detective with the

Denver Police Department and then ten years as an entrepreneur, manufacturing proprietary surveillance equipment, including drones with unique capabilities, and he’s acquired contracts with the U. S. Department of Defense, Homeland Security, the FBI and police departments across the country. His business is a financial success and he’s become quite wealthy. He’s 52 years old, married with two kids, a son and a daughter, Charles Jr. (Charlie) 19 and Shelly 17, and his wife, Janet, is a tv journalist at a local station.

If appearances have any weight in an election, the Crosbys are at the head of the pack. Chuck is a well-built 6-foot 2-inch 195 pounder with dark red wavy hair beginning to turn gray, dark brown eyes and most folks would consider his very expressive face handsome.

Janet, a former gymnast, has a nice five-foot ten-inch, 155-pound figure, topped off with a lot of thick light brown hair with streaks of gray which accents a very attractive face with beautiful light blue eyes and a ready smile.

From a personality standpoint they also stand out from the crowd. They are both extroverts. Chuck is very analytical, quite introspective, very observant, has a strong sense of humor, is not easily intimidated and can be very stubborn.

Janet is very curious about lots of things, has an exceptional memory, also possesses a strong sense of humor and can be quite stubborn, is a quick thinker and doesn’t back down from anybody.

The Crosbys have been married for twenty-four happy years and are going into this new adventure with their eyes wide open.

Both knows it’s going to be an uphill battle since Chuck is an unknown, has no celebrity whatsoever, but Chuck’s willing to get into the political ring and trade punches. Janet, fully supports him in his attempt to make a difference.

Becoming the Independent party candidate for senator was a shoe-in because no one else was interested. Party caucuses were held and he was the only person expressing a strong interest which he backed up with well thought out reasons for why he thought he had a chance to upset the apple cart. Therefore, no assembly was convened and no primary election would be required.

He filed the Statement of Candidacy within 15 days after becoming a candidate as required and he’s now busting his butt to put together a campaign.

On a chilly Saturday morning in late March, Chuck and Janet have just sat down at their kitchen table in their upscale home in the affluent community of Greenwood Village and between sips of some hot freshly made coffee are thinking about what must be done to launch an effective campaign that will get him elected.

Janet starts the ball rolling with, The first thing we need to do is find a campaign manager, someone who knows his way around the world of politics, someone who knows people who are politically active, people who contribute funds to a campaign’s coffers, who knows how to get the word out in the news media.

Chuckling softly, he says, "Maybe we should run an ad in the newspapers, CAMPAIGN MANAGAER WANTED!!! SALARY DEPENDS ON FUND RAISING.

I was hoping the party officials would provide valuable input in that regard, but no one has broached the subject. In fact, I have detected little enthusiasm over my candidacy so far.

Janet shakes her head and says, My impression is they are seriously intimidated by the incumbents and the other candidates because of their backgrounds. They’ve thrown in the towel before the fight even gets started. You’re just a symbol of their desire to participate.

Maybe we can get some help from independent organizations in other states. We’ll be spitting in the wind if we try to do this by ourselves.

We could finance your campaign out of our own pockets, but money isn’t the only requirement for a successful campaign. The key ingredient is experience. Of which we have zip.

Damn. I don’t know anyone who I’ve crossed paths with that would fill the bill or could point us in the right direction.

Suddenly Janet holds up her hand and says, Wait a minute. Our political journalist at the station might be able to help us out. He knows a lot of people in the local and federal arenas. Agreeing to give him exclusive coverage of our campaign might motivate him sufficiently to get involved. I have his cell number so I’ll give him a call and make our pitch.

Twenty minutes later they have their first team member, Andy Barner, not as an information source but as a campaign manager. Andy thinks he can sell their boss on the idea of him being a campaign manager while also reporting on the idiosyncrasies and progress of the campaign on the evening news.

Janet says, Andy knows all the players in the political arenas, including the people with the big bucks. Why I didn’t think of him right off the bat is beyond me, but we just took a huge first step down the avenue to getting you elected.

I know tis a wee bit early in the day, but do you think an exception could be made for a celebratory kick in the pants of this coffee with a shot of Bushmills.

It amazes me how little it takes to bring out the Irish in you, but what the hell, this is a cause for celebration and I believe this fair maiden will be joining you.

Laughing they enjoyed their Irish Coffee and even added the cream and sugar.

Chapter 2

The Crosbys’ adversaries don’t have to deal with the problem of acquiring a campaign manager. They are well connected, have already recruited campaign managers without any difficulty and are already getting down to forming campaign strategies.

However, they have to deal with something Chuck didn’t have to contend with, a primary election. The primary elections will take place on June 30th and the general election on November 3rd. This gives Chuck some breathing room.

It doesn’t take long for the mudslinging to commence and the rhetoric becomes more and more heated as primary election day approaches. Sheldon Waters and Perry Bianchi almost come to blows in the Denver Pavilions mall, but security personnel stepped in and deflated the situation.

Not to be outdone, Wendy Vallance and Dayna Nowak engaged in a hair pulling contest in front of the Colorado State Capitol Building on East Colfax Avenue, but it was quickly broken up by a Denver cop.

Somewhat amused as he takes all of this in Chuck’s thinking, These people definitely don’t play nice with others. We’re going to have to develop a strategy to deal with this kind of behavior short of putting someone’s lights out. I’m going to become a target when these primaries are over that’s for sure.

Sitting down with Andy Barner and Janet in his office he brings the matter up.

These primaries have become a no holds barred conflict and whoever the winners are will continue in that vein. We must be prepared for both mental and physical altercations and must not hesitate to react.

Andy says, Their behavior certainly indicates they are playing by a different rule book than most politicians. I’m thinking we should head any of these types of encounters off at the pass. We have nothing to lose by becoming proactive and letting them and the public know that if any attempt at calumny takes place, immediate legal action will take place. Any attempt to physically accost you will be countered by overwhelming force acquired by you when you were a navy seal. This should convince them that this kind of behavior will not be tolerated by you.

Janet says have jokingly, Maybe you should start wearing a bullet proof vest.

Chuck says, I’m beginning to think it would be wise not to put anything beyond the realm of possibility.

Andy says, Okay, now let’s get back to working on our game plan. We’ve compiled a very good list of the things you’d want to accomplish if you’re elected and how you would go about achieving those goals. I’d like to reveal them on tonight’s show and close with the aberrant behavior being exhibited by your opponents and how you will respond if any of that comes your way.

Chuck responds with, I have no objections. Do it.

It will be done. Now let’s get to fund raising and public appearances.

They spend the next three hours on these subjects and would have spent a couple of more had they not been interrupted by Andy’s and Janet’s cell phones ringing almost simultaneously.

The calls last less than five minutes, but judging form the expressions on Andy’s and Janet’s faces what they just heard was not good news. When they hang up, Chuck asks, What happened?

Janet says, Somebody shot at Sheldon Waters while he was driving on the 25 Interstate. The bullets shattered the windshield, preventing him from seeing where he was going and he wound up ramming into a semi. The entire front of his car was crunched like an accordion and he’s in serious condition at the Sky Ridge Medical Center in Lone Tree.

Andy says, That’s what I was just told.

Chuck says, Damn, my wearing a bullet proof vest doesn’t sound so off the wall anymore.

Andy says, What also concerns me is all of the other candidates, including Chuck, are going to be at the top of the suspect list of the Denver State Police and/or the FBI. Since this occurred on an interstate highway, it wouldn’t surprise me if the Feds took center stage.

Janet says, "Well, we are each other’s alibi. We’ve all been sitting here while this was going down.

Chuck says, The shooter was probably hired by someone else. None of the other candidates or their associates are off the hook at this stage in the investigation. This is not the kind of publicity that will help any of us in our campaigns.

Andy says, I think it would be a smart move if we weaved this development into what we were talking about before, the unusual behavior of the other candidates. This is no time to be reactive.

Chuck says, I agree. and Janet nods her head in agreement.

Leaving Andy to write up his comments for the evening news, Chuck and Janet head for home.

During the drive to Greenwood Village, Janet says, We know that all of the other candidates have hair trigger tempers. They have demonstrated that on more than one occasion. However, I don’t consider any of them to be stupid. The attack on Waters was stupid, very blatant and not the smartest way to eliminate a competitor. It would have drawn much less attention if the attack had been something more subtle.

So?

So maybe it was someone in one of the campaign camps that did the deed without running their intentions by the candidate.

Hmmm. It’s definitely a possibility. Let’s hope the police can get to the bottom of this quickly. This is not something any candidate wants hanging over his or her head when he/she is trying to convince the electorate they are the flower amongst the weeds.

Oh, I like that. We’ve got to work that into the campaign hype somehow.

Laughing Chuck says, You’re really getting into this campaign stuff, aren’t you?

Also laughing she responds with, I guess. I think it’s because it’s something new and challenging and I’m a fan of the guy who it’s all about for me.

The man with a gift for gab has no come back for that. I’m just glad you’re by my side.

Well, this might have led to something interesting, but, alas, I promised to take our daughter to the mall to buy her some summer clothes.

The trials and tribulations of being a parent.

This sets them off on another laughing spell.

Chapter 3

With Sheldon Waters down for the count, his injuries making it impossible for him to remain in the race, Wendy Vallance is now on an even keel with Chuck, not having to deal with winning a primary election.

She wastes no time in getting her platform out to the public and apparently has some big money backing as numerous ads are already beginning to appear on TV, on billboards, on buses and in mailers that are being distributed via the USPS.

Andy Barner appearing on the evening news on a daily basis, some advertising appearing in mailers, on billboards and bus benches, all of this being bolstered by campaign workers engaging in some telemarketing efforts have enabled Chuck to keep pace with Vallance in the public eye.

However, the Crosby fund raising efforts aren’t keeping up with the competition. Andy has managed to generate a lot of interest in Chuck and the campaign’s coffers is steadily growing, but the average size of the donations is less than a hundred dollars. They need some big money folks if they are to keep pace with the competition.

The Democrat rivals, Perry Bianchi and Dayna Nowak, haven’t been entirely ignoring their competition although most of their efforts have been aimed at each other. At the end of May, on Memorial Day, the polls are showing them neck and neck and the rhetoric is getting rougher and tougher. The latest indicator that tensions and tempers are rapidly rising within both of their campaigns appears in the form of a riot that breaks out at a debate on the campus of the University of Colorado. It is not a pretty scene as flying fists and debris mess up quite a few attendees and it takes the Denver police hours to quell the melee.

On the day of reckoning, June 30, Perry Bianchi barely edges out Dayna Nowak for the primary victory. She is not a graceful loser and says she will be seriously considering throwing her support to Vallance or Crosby. Anyone would be better than that blowhard Bianchi.

Discussing the outcome of the Democrat primary in their new campaign office on Colfax Avenue in downtown Denver Chuck says, Well, well. If I were a misogynist, I could now describe the next stage of our campaign as a new version of the Battle of the Sexes. Dealing with these dragon ladies is not going to be a piece of cake. If Nowak opts to throw her support to me, that could portend to be a lot of bad news for us. It would be like someone throwing a stick of dynamite into a pool of gelatin. I seriously doubt she would be a team player. We’ve got to come up with something to dissuade her from going that route.

Janet joins in with, Andy, what do you know about these women that we can exploit?

I never heard of them before their declaration as candidates. These are behind the scenes people. If they’re burying any dirty laundry, I’ll have to do a lot of digging to find anything.

I think you should start digging.

Nodding his head Chuck says, Meanwhile, I’ll concentrate on being proactive, bringing the fight to them. That way I can obtain a modicum of control of the campaign rhetoric going forward.

Janet says, So, we now know who the final players are, Wendy Vallance, Perry Bianchi and Chuck.

Chuck says, "Don’t forget Nowak. She’s going to be a player somewhere and I believe I can manipulate her into choosing Vallance over me by clearly and repeatedly saying that I don’t like the way she campaigns, her crass, rude, abrasive ways of communicating with people, whether they be for her or against her. I’ll also try to think of some other uncomplimentary things I can say about her. In short, I don’t like her and I don’t want her support. However, I would quickly add that I would welcome the vote of those folks who voted for her in the Democrat primary.

It needs some work, but that’s the gist of how I’m thinking we can steer her away from us toward Vallance.

Andy says, We’re just about ready to set off on the stump. I’ll spend the next two or three days on vetting the competition. Chuck, you and Janet can spend that time on a final review of the topics in your speeches, on how you will address them along with how you will respond to the anticipated questions reporters will be tossing at you during Q and A sessions.

Janet says, Chuck doesn’t need me to help him do that. My time will be better spent if I continue to focus on how we can get the biggest bang for our buck. Colorado’s population is 5.759 million as of 2019. Four cities make up 30.5% of that number or 1.755 million. There are 4,581,483 registered voters in the entire state and its reasonable to assume that a large percentage of those voters are located in those four cities. I think it would be prudent to start arranging for appearances in those four cities ASAP. They are Denver, Colorado Springs, Aurora and Fort Collins. After that, we can focus on other cities for appearances. At the moment, our appearance calendar is looking rather anemic so this should be a priority.

I can’t argue with that reasoning. Okay, we all have things to do so let’s get to them.

As the next few weeks unfold, the gloves come off as the campaigns degenerate into an ongoing verbal brawl. Chuck’s strategy of voicing uncomplimentary things about Dayna Nowak has apparently worked as she has unleashed her verbal venom on him and his campaign manager.

Chuck is beginning to draw large audiences as his appearance calendar fleshes out which he attributes to the fact that he is doing his utmost to engage with the attendees on their level, talking about things that they are concerned about and avoiding the usual politicalese.

After making appearances in Denver, Colorado Springs, Aurora and Fort Collins they start to focus on Lakewood, Thornton, Arvada, Westminster, Pueblo and Centennial whose combined population is circa 765,000 plus which should contain another big piece of the registered voters.

After an appearance in Arvada, an elderly gent approaches Chuck and says, It’s so refreshing to not have to listen to assholes spouting nothing but a torrent of political bullshit. Keep on doing what you’re doing and you’ll flush your opposition down the toilet.

This causes Chuck to burst out laughing and then he says, Well I’m going to need folks like you to keep your plungers handy, your votes, so we can keep those toilets working.

This gets the old timer laughing and the encounter makes Chuck’s day.

Sharing this with Andy and Janet at a local eatery in Arvada, Andy responds with, "Reactions like this and the growing size of the crowds coming to hear what you have to say are signs that you’re getting through to the voters. You being a newcomer and somewhat of an enigma is arousing people’s curiosity and that’s a big plus for us. The larger the audience the better.

The big surprise for me in all of this is the lack of any concern being shown by the incumbents. Very little advertising is being done by them, few interviews are being granted and no personal appearances are being scheduled. Their seemingly blasé attitude is not setting right with me.

Janet says, Maybe they’re thinking it’s smarter to save their energy and let the newbies do a lot of their work for them, to verbally eviscerate each other and strengthen their chances of being re-elected.

Chuck says, Maybe, but these guys are not rookies and are not averse to playing dirty. I’m thinking there’s something else that they’ve got up their sleeves.

Andy says, Well, I see no reason to change our game plan. It’s working despite all of the verbal jousting of Vallance and Nowak. As for Arthur Bigelow and Gene Hurley, the longer they stay out of the limelight, the easier it will be for us.

As fall approaches and the leaves begin to change color and fall to the ground, the senatorial scene begins to change as well. Vallance and Nowak are focusing more on the incumbents and less on Crosby. For some reason they believe Bigelow and Hurley are bigger threats than Crosby.

Chuck’s thinking, "The incumbents are veteran campaigners, have deep pockets and have raised skullduggery to an art form. They are scarier than I am. I should pay attention."

On a rainy Saturday afternoon, after running some errands in her hometown of Boulder, Dayna Nowak is pulling into her attached garage, planning to do nothing more than watch some tv and read Nora Roberts latest novel, Hideaway. She never makes it into the house. Someone pulls into the driveway, gets out of the car, points an odd-looking gun at her, pulls the trigger, gets back into the car, backs out of the driveway and drives away with no witnesses to what has gone down.

There is no noise except for a soft pfft, but a sharp pain in her thigh causes her to buckle over and drop to the floor of the garage. Within minutes she is dead. A couple of hours later a neighbor finds her lying in a heap on the garage floor and calls the police.

It doesn’t take a Sherlock Holmes to determine she was killed with a poison dart as the dart is sticking out of her leg but a crime lab will go through the motions to verify the cause of death.

It also doesn’t take a genius to tie Nowak’s death to what happened to Sheldon Waters. The FBI interviewed everyone involved in the senatorial campaigns soon after Waters was attacked, but then they were never heard from again. There were no new leads and therefore no progress in their investigation.

The Boulder detective assigned to the Nowak case, Fred Borman, wastes no time in informing the FBI on what has happened, hoping to get their assistance with his investigation.

When Chuck hears about what has happened, he quickly calls a meeting of his campaign team to discuss their mode of conduct moving forward.

Gathered around their conference room table in their campaign office sipping on some coffee and munching on some pastries Janet picked up at a local bakery, Chuck starts things off by saying, "There was an outside chance that what happened to Sheldon Waters might have been brought about by someone with a personal grudge against the man having nothing to do with politics. However, as far as I’m concerned, what has now happened to Dayna Nowak removes any possibility that it was not political in nature. These two incidents are tied together somehow and there very well could be more in the near future.

To be on the safe side, from now on, all of us must be on high alert. Anyone of us could be the next target of whomever is behind these attacks.

Marsha Kramer, the head of the campaign’s telemarketing operation asks, Can we ask the Secret Service for protection?

Chuck answers with, "They exist solely to provide protection for the current president, vice president, their children and the grandparents as well as any siblings. This protection also is provided for former presidents and vice presidents and their families. One exception involves visiting foreign dignitaries. That’s it and it’s a monumental responsibility.

Andy, Janet and myself are the principal characters in our campaign and our faces are constantly being foisted on the public. That makes us the primary targets in our campaign. I will be contacting a personal protection firm to arrange for bodyguards to be assigned to us.

Andy says, That could get expensive. If you want 24/7 protection for each one of us, the hourly rate is circa $150 per hour per bodyguard. That $3,600 per day, $25,200 per week times 3 = $75,600.

Chuck shakes his head and says, I’m not thinking of 24/7 protection. I’m thinking only of stomp appearances. When we’re home, in our offices or conducting personal business, we’ll be on our own. We all have sophisticated alarm systems in our homes and I’ll have ADT install one in this office. The three of us are licensed to carry concealed handguns although we seldom do, so we have the means to protect ourselves if the need arises. All of this combined is far better than what we have now.

Janet asks, How about using some of your drones to surveille the places where you will be appearing?

That’s a thought. I could pre-program one or more of them to conduct searches, but I’d need someone to monitor what’s being seen and to make adjustments when needed. I just don’t have the time to train anyone and I can’t be flying a drone and doing my best to convince voters to vote for me with a mike in my hand at the same time.

You wouldn’t have to train anyone. You already have two who can fly them as good as or better than you.

Who in blazes are you talking abo…, Charlie and Shelly?

Yeah, our kids. They know those drones as well as you do.

I don’t know Janet. They’re kind of young to be out on the campaign trail. Besides, I wouldn’t want to put them in any danger.

They’re already in some danger when we’re not around to keep an eye on them and you know little scares them and they don’t back down easily. What makes it bearable for me to leave them alone with what’s going on is they know when to call 911 and they both know how to use those shot guns you keep in the cellar.

Hmmm. My drones have an operating range from the controller of almost 5 miles. It’s one of the things that makes them stand out from the crowd. The kids wouldn’t have to be out in the open. They could be out of sight somewhere. And we could communicate with each other via our cell phones. Do you think they’d want to get involved?

Are you kidding. From day one they’ve been bugging me to get you to let them help you get elected. They’d jump at the chance, this chance with the drones especially.

Okay, we’ll talk with them tonight.

Andy jumps back in again with, Okay we all have our marching orders which haven’t changed that much other than for all of us to be extremely alert about our surroundings and if we have any doubt about anything, avoid it like a plague. As of now, there will be no more door-to-door solicitation for votes. It’s too risky. Everything else is a go but with caution. As old Roy and Dale Rogers used to sing, ‘Happy Trails.’

Chapter 4

By the middle of July, the Crosby campaign has store front offices in the ten largest cities in Colorado in addition to the headquarters office on Colfax Avenue in downtown Denver. By the middle of August, Chuck is beginning to pass Perry Bianchi and is nipping at the heels of Arthur Bigelow and Gene Hurley in the early polls. He’s making more than a splash in the Colorado political waters. He’s beginning to make waves.

State power brokers are beginning to take notice and this is making Chuck uncomfortable because they represent everything he doesn’t like about politics. He has no gripe with wheeling and dealing, as long as it’s above board and out in the open. When the chips are down, he’s pretty good at it himself, but a lot of these people don’t just bend the rules, they break them.

On a Wednesday night sitting in the campaign headquarters conference room, Chuck, Janet and Jesse are discussing these latest developments.

Andy starts the ball rolling with, Our campaign strategy is working just like we hoped it would. Chuck, you’re no longer an unknown entity. You are becoming a magnet, attracting not only potential voters, but also folks with deep pockets and a lot of influence.

Chuck quickly responds with, It’s that last part that worries me. I don’t want to be owing anybody anything but my gratitude for their vote. I’ll work my ass off for everyone in this state, but I’ll be damned if I’ll extend to these ‘people of influence’ any special favors no matter how much they contribute to my campaign.

Andy has a quick rebuttal. It wouldn’t be smart to shut the door in their faces, Chuck. They can help you get things done and you won’t have to do anything illegal or unethical. All you’d have to do is lay out the rules up front and make it worthwhile for them to play by your rules.

Well, I’m going to need a lot more convincing, but I’ll keep an open mind for now.

Janet brings up Wendy Vallance. I’d like to know what’s going on with the Wendy Vallance investigation. Nobody from the Denver police has been around. Nothing is being mentioned about it on tv. Nothing seems to be happening with the Sheldon Waters shooting either.

Chuck says, I’m sure these are still open cases and I’m sure everyone participating in a campaign is on a suspect list. That’s a lot of suspects and narrowing that list down is going to take a lot of time and effort not to mention luck. The detectives assigned to these cases also have feelers out to all of their informants, hoping to generate any kind of a lead that will get them off the starting line. They are doing everything possible to find out who the culprits are and they have a lot of people on their backs pressuring them to solve the cases. I know what they’re dealing with, believe me. I’ve been there and done that.

"I’m not implying they’re slackers. I’m just surprised that no progress is being made