Upcoming Tele-Town Hall Meeting

On Thursday, May 1 at 7:00 pm Bentley and retired Generals Billy Thomas and Mark Volcheff, along with astronaut Brian Duffy will host a tele-town hall with voters in the 5th Congressional District on the subject of national security and the threat of radical Islam. Anyone interested in participating may call the Rayburn campaign headquarters at 719 884-7457.

Military and Defense Leaders Endorsements

Today Bentley Rayburn released a partial list of military and defense leaders who have endorsed his candidacy for the U.S. Congress. “According to the Constitution, the primary function of the Congress is to provide for the common defense of our citizens. With that in mind, I am very honored to receive the endorsement of so many of our military and defense leaders listed below,” Rayburn said. “The fact is that there are fewer members of Congress with any kind of military experience now than there has been since World War II. Statistics show that less than 20% of our Congress has any military experience. When I am elected I plan to call upon many of these key leaders to provide me with guidance, recommendations and technical expertise. Understanding that the largest sector of our local economy is based on military and defense spending, I also intend to work diligently to bridge the gap that often exists between the military and business community in order to provide greater economic opportunities for our Fifth District communities.”

“I believe that fostering this relationship will lead to a stronger military by encouraging new ideas and technologies found in the business world to be brought into military and defense organizations,” Rayburn explained, “and will provide important job creation in a time in which our economy could benefit from new and innovative approaches.”

“I’ve worked with Bentley Rayburn for many years. He has the background, experience and vision that we badly need in Washington as our country faces some of the biggest challenges and threats that we have seen since World War II,” said retired U.S. Army Major General Robert Mixon, immediate past commander of Fort Carson.

Today’s endorsements include:

The Honorable Peter Teets, Former Undersecretary of the Air Force
General John Lorber, USAF (Ret)
General Lance Lord, USAF (Ret)
General John “Pete” Piotrowski, USAF (Ret)
General Ron Yates, USAF (Ret)
Lieutenant General A.P. Clark, USAF (Ret)
Lieutenant General Bruce Fister, USAF (Ret)
Lieutenant General Billy Thomas, USA (Ret)
Lieutenant General Thad Wolfe, USAF (Ret)
Major General George Douglas, USAF (Ret)
Major General Felix Dupre, USAF (Ret)
Major General Larry Fortner, USAF (Ret)
Major General John Hawley, USAF (Ret)
Major General John Mitchell, USA (Ret)
Major General Robert Mixon, USA (Ret)
Major General Frank Willis, USAF (Ret)
Brigadier General Dick Abel, USAF (Ret), Former President Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Former U.S. Olympic Committee Public Affairs
Brigadier General Teddy E. Rinebarger, USAF (Ret)
Brigadier General Malham “Mal” Wakin, USAF (Ret)
Colonel Bob Carlone, USAF (Ret), Co-Founder, The Home Front Cares
Colonel Vic Fernandez, USA (Ret), Past President, Military Officers Association of America; Past Chairman, Southern Colorado National Veterans’ Cemetery Committee
Colonel Joe Henjum, USAF (Ret), Co-Founder The Home Front Cares
Chaplain Bill Leonard, USN (Ret)
Colonel Stephen Leonard, USA (Ret)
Colonel Jim Mundt, USA (Ret)
Colonel Jim Palmer, USAF (Ret), Former Peterson AFB Base Commander, Former Senior VP for Government and Military Affairs, Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce
Chief Master Sergeant Ed Bell, USAF (Ret)
Chief Master Sergeant “Joe” Joseph, USAF (Ret)
Chief Master Sergeant Bill Legere, USAF (Ret)
Chief Master Sergeant Ron Miller, USAF (Ret)
Master Sergeant Wally Jones, USAF (Ret), President, The Retired Enlisted Association (TREA), Chapter One
Mr. Paul Darrow, USMC ’53-’55, President, Korean War Veterans Association, 2nd VP Pikes Peak Veterans’ Council
Mr. John Eck, Pearl Harbor Survivor

YouTube Endorsement Video Series

Today we released the first in a series of YouTube endorsement videos. These videos will feature a wide spectrum of individuals from throughout the district explaining in their own words why they support Bentley Rayburn for congress.

The first endorsement video features former Congressman Joel Hefley’s Chief of Staff, Connie Scott Solomon. Solomon served as Hefley’s Chief of Staff for six years ending in 2004.

Former Colorado Springs Mayor Bob Isaac Endorses Bentley Rayburn

Former longtime Colorado Springs mayor Bob Isaac announced today that he is endorsing my candidacy in Colorado’s Fifth Congressional District race. Mayor Isaac is the first popularly elected mayor of Colorado Springs. He was first elected in April of 1979 and reelected to five consecutive terms. I am honored that this great leader has joined the team and I look forward to learning from his experience.

“I believe this is a critical time for our country and Bentley Rayburn will provide our community the leadership it desperately needs. His ability to bring people together to solve problems will benefit our community for many years," Isaac said.

Endorsements

Today I released a partial list of endorsements for my campaign. I am humbled to have the support of so many prominent leaders who have demonstrated their commitment and dedication to Colorado and this great nation through years of public service. I look forward to working together and tapping into their experience to bring an even higher level of expertise and credibility to the table.

A partial listing of elected officials, past and present, as well as community leaders includes the following:

Scott McInnis, Former U.S. Congressman, CD-3

Steve Largent, Former U.S. Congressman

Natalie Meyer, Former Colorado Secretary of State

Ron May, Former State Senator, District 10

Carl Williams, Former State Senator

Marsha Looper, State Representative, District 19

Tom Grimshaw, Former State Representative

Bill Sinclair, Former State Representative

Scott Hente, Colorado Springs City Council

Jerry Heimlicher, Colorado Springs City Council

Cara Russell, Mayor of Buena Vista

Ed Libby, Former Mayor of Cripple Creek

Harry Hoth, Former Mayor of Colorado Springs

Dennis Peck, Former City Councilman and Mayor Pro tem, Cripple Creek

COL Bill McPherson, USA (Ret), City Administrator, City of Cripple Creek

Don Bain, Former Colorado State Republican Party Chairman

Tom Ready, Former Chairman, Pueblo County Republican Party

Connie Solomon, Former Chief of Staff to Congressman Joel Hefley

Martin Fox, Former Legislative Assistant for Military Affairs to Congressman
Joel Hefley

Ruth Eck, Former District Director, Congressman Joel Hefley

Leah DeLay, Former Staffer, U.S. Congressmen Tom Tancredo and Scott
McInnis

Jack Gloriod, Gloriod & Associates Real Estate

Jay Cimino, President/CEO, Phil Long Ford

Ron DeLay, DeLay Development Company

Lois Landgraf, Fountain City Council At-Large

Darin Anstine, Fountain

Chuck Asay, Political Cartoonist

Don Moon, Red Herring Productions

Henry “Hank” Walter, Retired Publisher, Woodmen Edition and Cheyenne Edition
newspapers

Dr. and Mrs. Milton Dewhirst, Family Practice Physician

David Jenkins, Nor’wood Development

Joan Joseph, St. Francis Health Care System

Rural Listening Tour Announcement

Today I announced that I am undertaking a series of listening tours that will concentrate on the key issues and challenges that face rural 5th district residents. The first listening tour will focus on rural health care and will begin on February 13 in Salida and conclude on February 15 in Canon City.

Tour details:

Wednesday, February 13:
9:30am Heart of the Rockies Medical Center, Salida
Briefing/Tour Led by Ken Leisher, CEO

5:30pm St. Vincent General Hospital District, Leadville
Meeting with Board and Hospital CEO, David Zaitz
Tour

Friday, February 15:
2:30pm St Thomas More Hospital
Briefing/Tour Led by Vice President Mark Hartman

Should the citizens of the 5th Congressional District elect me to Congress, I am committed to representing the entire District. These listening tours will be a valuable resource to me in that effort. I look forward to sitting down with doctors, nurses, patients and other health care professionals to explore ways that we might to work together to meet the challenges rural communities face.

Subsequent tours will focus on a number of issues including, but not limited to, education, public lands, and the economy.

Our Strategy

Over the past several weeks, Debbi and I have been fortunate enough to visit with many of you to discuss the issues and challenges that currently face our district, our state, and our nation. The response that we have received to our candidacy and campaign has been truly electric. I have found that people are hungry for new, positive, and strong leadership in Washington . Throughout my career, I have been proud to serve our country and am looking forward to working with each of you to bring about a positive vision for America ’s future.



During my travels across the Fifth District many Republicans have voiced concerns over the tone and tenor of the last primary campaign for this office. Many felt discouraged and disillusioned by the lack of vision and negative tactics used by two of the campaigns. This negative residue continues to divide us! Unfortunately, both of those campaigns chose the caucus system in which to gain access to the ballot. With that in mind, my campaign has been seeking your advice the last couple of months for suggestions on how to strategically advance our message, recognizing that people are desperate for something to believe in. Overwhelmingly, the feedback we received is that we need to build our party and our message, that we must stop allowing others to define who we are and what we stand for, and that we must expand the reach of that message.



Determined to establish a fair and inclusive process, the framers of our system of government provided for two methods by which a candidate can get on the ballot. The first method is through the party caucus system, and the other is through petition. Both honor the spirit of democracy, ensuring that citizens like you are engaged in the process at a fundamental level.



As you know from my background, I am not a professional politician. While I have great respect for the caucus process, I feel I need to run a different campaign. With my opponents likely to return to the negative tactics they succumbed to in the previous race, I worry that if everyone’s energy is focused on a small percentage of Republican voters that the campaign will likely become mired in a counter-productive race that will further damage our party.



Therefore, based upon your advice I plan to petition onto the ballot for the August primary. I plan to run a strong grassroots effort and, therefore, I ask for your support and active involvement in our campaign. I cannot express how greatly I appreciate your involvement in our party and the democratic process. I look forward to working with you in the coming years. I pledge to run a campaign that you can be proud of as a Republican. I also commit to running a strong effort not only through the August primary, but all the way through the November general election. We must have a strong turn out in the Fifth Congressional District in order for the eventual Republican Presidential candidate and Bob Schaffer to be successful. To that end I will work very hard not only to get out the Republican base, but to attract as many unaffiliated voters to the polls as possible in November.



This effort is really about building our country, our state, and our party. With your help I am convinced we will be successful! In order to facilitate involvement in my campaign, I have enclosed a volunteer card. Please return it to Debbi and me so that we may all begin working together as quickly as possible on this important mission.