Common Cause and the League of Women Voters, two reform-minded groups that almost always agree politically, have parted ways over Amendment 41, an initiative on Colorado’s November ballot.
They worked together on the 1972 “sunshine law,” on legislative reform in 1988 and campaign finance reform in 2002 – all successful citizen initiatives. But the Colorado League of Women Voters, regretfully but forcefully, draws the line at Amendment 41.
The “ethics in government” amendment would put too much detail into the constitution and too much power into the hands of a five-member commission, says Flodie Anderson, president of the state league.
Pete Maysmith, national director of state campaigns for Common Cause, says it’s best to amend the constitution because a statutory change is “inviting mischief,” giving the legislature an opening to weaken the law’s provisions.
“The legislature doesn’t have a great track record of addressing ethical concerns,” he said. One reason for going ahead with the initiative was that the Colorado House didn’t take action before it adjourned last May on recommendations of its special ethics committee, appointed by leaders of the two parties.
But Anderson, who served on that committee, has more faith in the legislature’s ability to police itself. Its “few instances” of ethical problems “have been satisfactorily dealt with,” she said. “If you compare our state with other states, we are very, very clean.”
Common Cause and the league do agree on at least one other 2006 ballot issue. Although they have been major users of the initiative process over the years, they are opposed to Amendment 38, which opens up the initiative process even further – too far, say the old allies. They’re also opposing term limits for judges, Amendment 40.
In a position statement, the league says it “strongly supports holding our elected officials and public servants to high ethical standards,” but it can’t support Amendment 41.
Yes, it says, former legislators should have to wait two years before they become lobbyists, and gifts to legislators should be restricted. But those restrictions should be enforced by statutes, not constitutional provisions. It’s the league’s position that the state constitution should be “a concise, understandable and integrated state of basic law, free from statutory detail … .”
It’s opposed, too, to the idea that that the state commission would take power from local ethics commissions, such as Denver’s, duplicating efforts and raising overall costs. And it argues that the proposed commission, with its “combined powers of investigation, judgment and punishment,” is too far-reaching and “jeopardizes important checks and balances.”
Kathie Finger, a Republican political consultant, has been collecting examples of individual problems it could cause. A city file clerk invited on a date would be well-advised to “skip the second glass of wine and dessert,” to avoid the amendment’s $50 limit. “That’s better for your health anyway.”
And it applies to independent contractors, too – such as the education lobbyist who wrote Finger. “I lobby for eight school districts, so my child could not accept a scholarship to a school in Colorado, as I read it,” the lobbyist said.
That’s right, said Finger. “But don’t worry. If Amendment 41 passes, no business or non-profit charity will offer a scholarship to a government employee.” Their lawyers wouldn’t let them. She says she hasn’t been hired to fight the amendment but is working voluntarily because “it is badly written and it hurts every public employee.”
Maysmith says Common Cause is supporting similar laws in other states, but the Colorado amendment is the only one on the ballot this year.
Anderson says that “there wasn’t much consultation with us beforehand” about the need for Amendment 41. She calls it “taking it a sledgehammer to a fly,” but concedes it will be difficult to fight. “I don’t know how to get this across to the public, because the title is so appealing.”
Fred Brown (punditfwb@aol.com), retired Capitol Bureau chief for The Denver Post, is also a political analyst for 9News.
