Tag: Ward Connerly

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.

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.

A Colorado ballot initiative, Amendment 46, seeks to destroy affirmative action programs throughout the state. Brought forward by California businessman Ward Connerly, the so-called Colorado Civil Rights Initiative does not specify exactly which programs will disappear should it pass. And until yesterday, opponents of the measure were also loath to identify the programs that might be targeted, citing concerns that Connerly and his team would single out those very programs for demolition.

A campaign seeking to quash Colorado's anti-affirmative action ballot measure faces an onerous battle in the weeks ahead as the Nov. 4 election nears. The group hopes to convince voters to reject the initiative that will dismantle affirmative action programs if passed. But a series of failed legal challenges have left organizers with little cash as they scramble to put together a cogent counter-campaign.

Did we mention that Colorado's 18 issue ballot this year is long? As in, the longest in the country? And the longest in Colorado since 1912? We did? Well, here's something new to chew on. The two states pulling in second and third places -- Oregon and California -- don't even come close to touching our massive, large-and-in-charge ballot. Those states count a meager 12 questions on each of their ballots. Hell, Colorado beat that back in 1992, when voters weighed in on a record 13 questions. That was the longest ballot in recent memory. But now, Colorado has unearthed this leviathan ballot. In fact, the ballot is so big that it's impossible for us to continue our ballot run-down in neatly themed packages.

Initiative 82, which sought to preserve the state's affirmative action programs, fell flat yesterday when the Colorado Secretary of State announced that the measure did not have enough valid signatures to make the November ballot.