Tag: Amendment 46

Three Division One basketball coaches in Colorado publicly opposed Amendment 46 on Wednesday, saying that the so-called Colorado Civil Rights Initiative will diminish diversity at their institutions. University of Colorado coach Jeff Bzdelik, Colorado State University coach Tim Miles and University of Northern Colorado coach Tad Boyle decried the measure, which will banish public affirmative action programs across the state.

Today at 2 p.m., Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper will speak out against the Colorado Civil Rights Initiative, a ballot measure that will destroy public affirmative action programs statewide.

Last week, Forbes published a love letter to Ward Connerly, the anti-affirmative action activist behind Colorado's Amendment 46. The so-called Colorado Civil Rights Initiative seeks to end discrimination and preferential treatment for minorities in public education, contracting and hiring and will effectively dismantle affirmative action programs across the state.

To figure out where the presidential candidates stand on affirmative action, one need look no further than Colorado's ballot. Amendment 46, dubbed the Colorado Civil Rights Initiative, will destroy preferential treatment for women and minorities in public contracting, hiring and education. That measure, plus an identical one on Nebraska's ballot, is part of a national attempt to dismantle affirmative action state by state. The effort's main backer, a black California businessman named Ward Connerly, has sunk hundreds of thousands of dollars into the Colorado proposal alone. In an interview with the Associated Press, Connerly said that John McCain has tepidly endorsed the measure but "would ideally like to leave [the issue] alone," if elected.

A group that launched a failed attempt to protect affirmative action programs in Colorado will sue Secretary of State Mike Coffman today for throwing away up to 5,300 valid signatures that would have bolstered the initiative's chances to make it onto the ballot.

Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter lambasted Amendment 46 at a press conference this afternoon, saying that the anti-affirmative action ballot measure will hurt our economy. "We are in a time in this country and in this state where we have to keep our economy moving forward," said Ritter, who spoke surrounded by supporters on the west steps of the state Capitol. "Amendment 46 takes us in the wrong direction."

Last week, a TV ad criticizing anti-affirmative action guru Ward Connerly appeared in Colorado and Nebraska.

On Monday, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter will formally oppose Amendment 46, the contentious ballot initiative that will demolish affirmative action in the state should it pass. Ritter will speak on the west steps of the capitol at 2 p.m., and is expected to detail the impact of the amendment. Last week, the No on 46 campaign spelled out a list of programs that could be placed on the chopping block.

With less than six weeks until voters are asked to weigh in on the controversial Amendment 46 to end affirmative action in Colorado, a Washington D.C. group has joined the fray. The Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, a progressive organization that investigates conservative ballot measures, has released a TV ad in Colorado and Nebraska. The spot slams Ward Connerly, the California businessman behind the anti-affirmative action initiatives in both states. Connerly had tried to launch similar projects in three other states this year, but failed to get them onto the ballots.

An administrative law judge has thrown out charges that Amendment 46 petition circulators misled people into signing on to the anti-affirmative action measure. Amendment 46 seeks to end preferential treatment for women and minorities in public employment, education and contracting. The controversially named Colorado Civil Rights Initiative is part of a five-state effort launched by California businessman Ward Connerly to end affirmative action.