Jeff Crank, Republican candidate for the 5th Congressional District, has opened an online public forum for voters to offer ideas on cutting government.”We must cut the size of government and get Washington under control,” Crank said.To make a suggestion, go to http://jeffcrank.ideascale.com/. Some posts will be highlighted on the Crank Web site http://www.jeffcrank.com/ next week.

Ready to debate

Another 5th District candidate, Bentley Rayburn, is urging Rep. Doug Lamborn to debate his primary election opponents.In a recent letter, Rayburn told Lamborn, “Certainly the fact that our nation will have a new President in January will dramatically change how business is done in Washington. Certainly, if the Congress remains under Democrat control your position of merely voting against Nancy Pelosi 99.7% of the time is not going to provide the leadership necessary to meet the many challenges we face as a nation. Clearly fighting the Democrat majorities will be important. However, in order to return to the majority in either House of Congress we must provide a vision for the future.”He goes on to suggest holding three to five debates to give voters a chance to see how each candidate will serve and what their views are on health care, the Iraq war and other issues.A spokeswoman for Lamborn’s campaign said, “Now that the assemblies are over, the campaign will start thinking about this topic.”

Moving onSen. Ken Salazar’s communications director Cody Wertz will leave to work for GBSM, a Denver-based management consulting, strategic communications and public affairs firm. His last day in Salazar’s office will be Friday.Wertz was one of the three people hired after Salazar announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate in March 2004.Send items to pam.zubeck@gazettedev.gazette.com

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