Tag: Amendment 49

Colorado's gargantuan ballot includes more than 14 constitutional amendments and referenda even after four measures were withdrawn on Oct. 2 by proponents after a surprise alliance of labor and business interests joined forces to oppose three anti-union amendments that remain. The Colorado Independent is putting the press to the test — we're compiling newspaper endorsements, analyzing them and then tracking the persuasive talents of editorial boards statewide.

There are good robocalls and there are bad robocalls. And then there are robocalls that pretend not to be robocalls.

Faced with three state ballot initiatives targeting labor unions, public servants in Colorado — most notably firefighters and law enforcement personnel — are using their free time to work as community organizers against the measures.

Unions and business groups in the state announced today the formation of a massive joint campaign against three anti-union initiatives on the state ballot, following an agreement by labor to pull four other ballot questions that would have strictly regulated business practices in the state.

Look out environmental activists, union members and their supporters may now be hot on your tail for the “terrorist” label if one Colorado politico has anything to say about it.

Seems like this year's political messaging is all about who's going to do what in the middle of the night. First, Hillary Clinton capitalized on our fear of things that go bump in the night with her primary commercial. "It's 3:00 a.m and your children are safe and asleep," a narrator says while images of sleeping babies flash across the screen. "But there's a phone in the White House and it's ringing. Something is happening in the world. Your vote will decide who will answer that call."

Colorado's 18 issue Herculean ballot this year — the longest in the nation, wouldn't you know — can be credited, in part, to people who love and hate unions. There are a total of seven labor-related ballot issues that will be put to beleaguered voters this November. We'll top off our ballot round up Monday with three of them.

Colorado voters haven't faced a ballot this long since 1912, the first year citizens were able to initiate laws in the state. After striking a pro-affirmative action measure for insufficient signatures Wednesday night, the Secretary of State's office drew a line under a total 18 statewide questions for the November ballot -- 14 initiated by citizens and four referred by the State Legislature.