Our two-faced governor: CO Open Meetings law is important ... for some. Updates on Ranked Choice Voting. And, because it's Friday, Robert Frost's The Exposed Nest.
Our two-faced governor.
Let me start with a quote from Gov Polis (which comes from the first link below):
"'Colorado Open Meetings Law is clear and local public bodies have a responsibility to comply and meet certain requirements that ensure all Coloradans have access throughout the public process. While I appreciate the bipartisan nature of this work and the thoughtful amendments towards the end of the legislative process, we should strive for increased transparency and accountability, not less transparency and accountability, throughout our democratic institutions,' the governor added."
This quote comes from a letter Polis penned after vetoing a bill back in June 2023. This bill (linked second below) would have allowed local boards such as school boards the chance to "cure" a mistake they made in Colorado Open Meetings law. That is, instead of having to pay, a district could have fixed what is likely an error in protocol if someone called them on a violation.
It was not specifically mentioned, but it's not too big a jump to arrive at the conclusion that the law was an effort to curb people such as the self-appointed "private attorney general" Matt Roane from Pagosa Springs (see the third link below). He keeps himself busy suing small districts across the state (representing himself), and pocketing settlement money as recompense for his "injury".
Golly, you'd think that as someone standing up for freedom and truth and justice, he'd simply be satisfied with having the mistake acknowledged and systems put in place to fix them. But I digress.
Our governor vetoed this bill, saying the above in the letter explaining his action.
Now I want you to consider Polis' pretty rhetoric from 2023 next to his quick signature on SB24-157 (linked fourth below). This was the law that the Democrats passed quickly at the start of the legislative session this year which exempts them from many of the same provisions of the Open Meetings Law.
You know, the law that Polis said local boards have a responsibility to uphold.
The law where Polis said we should "..strive for increased transparency and accountability".
The law where Polis said we don't want "... less transparency and accountability, throughout our democratic institutions".
One law gets a veto and a lecture on the importance of transparency.
The other, limiting said transparency, gets a quick signature with no lecture.
Our two-faced governor ladies and gents.
https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb23-1259
https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb24-157
Related:
Despite living 300 miles away, a Colorado Appeals court recently ruled that the "gentleman" who has made a cottage industry of suing small rural boards (representing himself and pocketing settlements as he goes) does indeed having standing for said lawsuits.
This is the same lawyer I mention in the post above.
The judge's ruled that nothing in Colorado Open Meetings Law says that a plaintiff bringing an action must be injured in some way or, you know, even live anywhere in the vicinity where the violation occurred.
More in the article.
I cannot adequately describe to you how infuriating this is to me: this lawyer's actions on top the governor's veto on top of this ruling. The whole thing.
I know what the law says, but what the end result here is that this man is taking money out of small rural districts and putting it in his pocket. This is NOT about justice.
https://coloradofoic.org/court-of-appeals-all-coloradans-have-legal-standing-to-sue-over-open-meetings-law-violations-no-matter-where-they-live/
Ranked Choice Voting
Colorado, seen as fertile ground for all kinds of zany ideas, has got some folks pushing Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) on the whole state.*
If you want to read up on RCV and get some context (my thoughts on it at any rate), the three links RC1 - 3 below are to older newsletters I wrote on the topic.
RCV 1
RCV 2
RCV 3
Back to the present, the two Complete Colorado news stories below are updates on the effort to rewrite how elections are done here.
The first gives a rundown on Initiative 197 which would make it so that Colorado state legislators are elected via RCV. It also covers Initiative 201 which would outlaw the use of RCV in any election in Colorado.
As of this writing, a check on the Secretary of State's Initiative Tracker shows 201 approved for signature gathering, and 197 as having its title set (the step prior to getting out for signatures).
In case you wondered, that sound you hear from over in my direction is my cheering for 201 to get on the ballot and pass and for 197 to fail miserably. Fingers crossed.
The second link below details two more measures that are working their way through the initiative process, but are hung up waiting for Colorado Supreme Court rulings.**
These measures, rather than affecting a general election like 197 above, would change the way primaries happen in this state. The initiatives waiting on Supreme Court decision are duplicates of each other and would make all primaries open and make the decision based on RCV.
I know that there are fans of this sort of thing (see, for example, the RCV3 link above for Kyle Clark's love letter to same). I'm not one of them. I hope these don't make the ballot.
I fear, too, that failure this year will only be temporary. That is, that backers of this sort of thing will keep pumping money into this state to drive what they see as progress.
Haven't we had enough of that?
Couldn't another state take the lead on Obama-style hope and change and let us just live our lives here?
If you share my concern about both the effort and its being repeated, I urge you to cheer on Initiative 201 with me. Vote for it if it makes the ballot.
A strong signal such as 201's passage would, I hope, discourage future efforts to play around with elections.
*As of right now, it's an allowed option for local governments.
**Part of the title setting process for an initiative, the steps prior to getting out for signature gathering, allows for challenges and appeals to what the Title Board says. The ultimate step here is something going to the state supreme court for a ruling.
https://pagetwo.completecolorado.com/2024/05/19/proposed-ballot-measure-expands-ranked-choice-voting-another-outlaws-practice/
https://pagetwo.completecolorado.com/2024/05/25/initiatives-open-primaries-ranked-choice-voting-in-colorado-supreme-court/
Related:
Free State Colorado did an interview with one of the people who is working on initiatives to STOP Ranked Choice Voting.
Interesting watch. Linked below.
Robert Frost's The Exposed Nest
That time of the week again, last post til Sunday and you know what that means: something for fun and not related to politics.
I was poking around on the internet a while back and came across this poem. I enjoyed it (I like birds and am a father) and thought you might too.
Quick read and a chance to have a bit of non-damaging Frost in late Spring.
Have a good rest of the day and back at it Sunday!