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Now, I’m no election law attorney, but isn’t it illegal in Colorado to use public employees in their official capacity for campaigning purposes? I’ll let others handle the misleading claims, but if the ad inappropriately uses a public official, hasn’t PCF’s political posturing  placed the officer in an awkward position?

Shameful.

Tom Lucero of Clean Government Colorado is not happy about this ad, and has challenged Jess Knox of Protect Colorado’s Future to a debate on the contents of the PCF’s ad:

Many supporters of Amendment 54 called the office complaining of a grotesquely misleading mail piece. Many of the supporters are registered Unaffiliated and Democrat. When the office received a copy of the mail piece, Campaign Chair Tom Lucero was so taken aback that he immediately challenged spokesman for Protect Colorado’s Future to a debate to answer for his campaign’s disgusting mail piece. “Our opponents have taken politics in Colorado to a new low. To suggest that Amendment 54 would prevent law enforcement from advocating for the equipment that they need is absolutely shameful,” said Lucero. “Jess Knox needs to explain to real Coloradans how Amendment 54 will prevent law enforcement from advocating for equipment. In fact, our opponents have been completely unresponsive when approached by the media about the details relating to Amendment 54. Now is their opportunity to stand with me and answer to the citizens of Colorado. I will meet any time, any place, with an agreed upon moderator under any format. Let’s have a real debate about why our opponents insist on protecting a culture of corruption in Colorado.”

As originally reported by Face the State this AM…

Amendment 54 (Clean Government Colorado) was attacked over the weekend by Jess Knox, spokesman for Protect Colorado’s Future, for accepting out-of-state money.  Here’s what Knox said in his Channel 7 interview with Tyler Lopez, “When you have these out-of-state, or narrow corporate interests trying to divide Coloradans, it’s bad for all Colorado,” said Jess Knox, wearing a pin that says, “No on 47, 49 and 54.”

That’s cute.  Really it is.  First I’d like to know what, exactly, this guy knows about us Coloradans.  According to Face the State’s investigation, he’s worked on campaigns in Maine for more than 10 years.  He also worked for Gore in the 2000 New Hampshire primary.  And furthermore, he worked for John Edwards for President until the campaign went bust in January and he moved here to fill the executive director position with Protect Colorado’s Future.  Swing states seem to attract the weirdest people in an election year.  This guy knows nothing about our interests as Coloradans. 

And that’s not Jess Knox’s only dirty little secret.  His organization receives more than 67% of their funding from out-of-state donors.  In fact, of the $3.3 MILLION dollars they’ve raised, over $630,000 has been contributed by the Service Employees’ International Union.  I know what you’re thinking.  Local chapter, right?  Uh uh… records show  –wait for it–  from Washington, DC!  Since you’re from out that direction Jess, maybe you can tell all of us Coloradans how Washington, DC knows what our interests are?  

So what exactly is this Jess Knox guy trying to pull over on us Coloradans?  Well, he’s trying to make Amendment 54 out to be a bad thing.  He’s right it is a bad idea… that is, if you’re a corrupt contractor who is awarded more than $100,000 in no-bid contracts from your favorite corrupt, dirty politician.  If you’re one of those scumbags who gets politicians to give you bags of money in no-bid contracts, then yeah, Amendment 54 sucks because it is going to prevent you (the scumbag corrupt contractor) from contributing to corrupt political campaigns – in Chicago, they call this bribery.  I also like that Amendment 54 would set up a database of no-bid contracts the government awards so that we Coloradans could see exactly which companies are given our tax dollars that we work hard to earn.  As a Colorado taxpayer, I want honest businesses to have the opportunity to compete for big government contracts that our taxes pay for and I want the government transparency to be able to see where our money goes.