The leader in the clubhouse for “most outrageous campaign mailer” this election season goes to the Campaign for a Healthy Denver, which supports the sick-pay initiative in Denver.
The group this week sent a full-color mailer with a picture of a cantaloupe next to a bowl of pasta under the headline, “What can you do to make your food safer?” The fine print on the back makes the case that there are types of food contamination that can’t be controlled — such as the listeria outbreak that through Friday had killed 15 people nationwide — but that passing the initiative will make food safer.
That defies logic. First, it’s a health code violation for food-industry employers to allow people to work if they know them to be sick. And, with many illnesses, people are contagious before presenting the symptoms that would make them think of staying home. So how is it that sick pay makes our food safer? We could go on.
The mailer strikes us as a scare tactic that aims to capitalize on serious food-safety issues to fool people into supporting the misguided Initiative 300. And, like a recalled product, the public shouldn’t buy it.
Speaking of the sick-pay vote . . . We noted some weeks ago that we hoped to see Denver City Council members take a cue from Mayor Michael Hancock and oppose Initiative 300. As a result, we were pleased this week to see that a majority of the council followed his lead. Council members Chris Herndon, Albus Brooks, Mary Beth Susman, Charlie Brown, Peggy Lehmann and Jeanne Robb signed a letter outlining their opposition. And Councilwoman Jeanne Faatz opposes it as well.
Take a left at Wyoming, and go south. Someone needs to tell the White House press office that Colorado is no longer flyover country. Actually, someone needs to go back to third-grade geography class.
Credentials handed out as part of President Barack Obama’s tour of the West last week featured a map that was supposed to show the three states where he would stop: Washington, California and Wyoming . . . er, Colorado. Turns out the credential highlighted the Cowboy State rather than Centennial State. Oops.
Short Takes is compiled by Denver Post editorial writers and expresses the view of the newspaper’s editorial board.
