At least for a day, Grand Junction will be the center of Colorado’s political universe.

Club 20, a Western Slope advocacy organization, is hosting its annual fall meeting Saturday at Two Rivers Convention Center. And this being an election year, the organization has built a schedule boasting debates between some of Colorado’s best-known leaders alongside debates between Western Slope candidates for state office.

Here is The Daily Sentinel’s cheat sheet for the top five events to see this weekend:

• 7:30 p.m. to 8:25 p.m.: The headline debate between U.S. Senate candidates Bob Schaffer, R-Fort Collins, and Mark Udall, D-Eldorado Springs, is expected to cover regional and national issues, ranging from water to energy development. Schaffer and Udall have debated numerous times, but this will be the first time they focus on Western Slope issues.

• 3 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.: State Rep. Bernie Buescher, D-Grand Junction, will face off with his opponent Laura Bradford, R-Collbran, in their first debate open to the public. The Club 20 debates have provided pivotal moments in Buescher’s 2004 and 2006 contests.

• 1:15 p.m. to 1:45 p.m.: Two of Colorado’s best spoken and politically agile pols, state Sen. Josh Penry, R-Grand Junction, and Speaker of the House Andrew Romanoff, D-Denver, are slated to debate a plan to nix parts of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights and Amendment 23.

• 8:35 a.m. to 8:55 a.m.: State Reps. Al White, R-Hayden, and Ellen Roberts, R-Durango, are scheduled to discuss their plan to make it harder to amend the Colorado Constitution, Referendum O. The ballot measure creates incentives for citizens to pursue statutory amendments at the polls instead of constitutional fare, which are quite difficult to remove.

• 1:45 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.: A group of political leaders, including state Reps. Kathleen Curry, D-Gunnison, and Frank McNulty, R-Highlands Ranch, will participate in respective debates on two ballot questions that could fundamentally rewrite how Colorado collects and spends the taxes it collects from oil and gas production.

Beyond the debates, U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., is scheduled to address the conference at 10:10 a.m., and Denver-based pollster and political consultant Floyd Ciruli will address the club’s luncheon at 11:40 a.m.

For a complete schedule of the day’s events, visit www.club20.org.

Tickets to sit in on all of Saturday’s events, including lunch, can be purchased for $140 at the door.

Tickets for the morning events or afternoon events only are $35. Tickets for the evening debates are $10.

Club 20’s schedule
Friday
1:30 — Independence Institute Director Jon Caldara, Carmen Rhodes of Protect Colorado’s Future and Tim Pollard will discuss five ballot questions dealing with ethics and unions/workers rights.
5:30 p.m. — VIP steak fry at Cross Orchards (advance registration required).

Saturday
8 a.m. — Opening: Rikki Santarelli, chairman of Club 20.
8:05 a.m. — Senate District 8: Al White, R-Hayden.
8:15 a.m. — House District 58: Noelle Hagan, D-Montrose.
8:25 a.m. — Senate District 16: Don Ytterberg, R-Evergreen.
8:35 a.m. — Referendum O: state Reps. Al White, R-Hayden, and Ellen Roberts, R-Durango.
8:55 a.m. — Bill Bishop, author of “The Big Sort.”
9:40 a.m. — Break.
10:10 a.m. — U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo.
10:30 a.m. — State Board of Education: Jill Brake, D-Pueblo, and Marcia Neal, R-Grand Junction.
11 a.m. — House District 57: Randy Baumgardner, R-Hot Sulphur Springs, and Todd Hagenbuch, D-Phippsburg.
11:40 a.m. — Lunch speaker: Floyd Ciruli, political consultant and pollster.
1:15 p.m. — Amendment 59: Sen. Josh Penry, R-Grand Junction, and Speaker of the House Andrew Romanoff, D-Denver.
1:45 p.m. — Amendment 58: Rep. Kathleen Curry, D-Gunnison, and Rick Reiter.
 2:15 p.m. — Amendment 52: Rep. Frank McNulty, R-Highlands Ranch, and Jim Lochhead.
2:45 p.m. — Break.
3 p.m. — House District 55: Rep. Bernie Buescher, D-Grand Junction, and Laura Bradford, R-Collbran.
3:30 p.m. — Closing: Rikki Santarelli, chairman of Club 20.
6 p.m. — Comments from presidential candidates’ surrogates.
6:20 p.m. — 2nd Congressional District: Scott Starin, R-Lafayette.
6:35 p.m. — 3rd Congressional District: Wayne Wolf, R-Delta.
7:30 p.m. — U.S. Senate: Bob Schaffer, R-Fort Collins, and Mark Udall, D-Eldorado Springs.