We petitioners call upon you, our elected representatives, to pass anti-corruption resolutions which will exclude from the governance of our local municipalities the many corrupt practices that are still legal under current law. To ensure your resolutions are on-target and written effectively, we ask that you consider using the anti-corruption language already drafted and available at AntiCorruptionAct.org.

Thank you.

Details

What is the Anti-Corruption Campaign? It’s a package of reforms for our electoral system--with language already drafted by lawyers concerned with the excessive influence of lobbyist and special interests upon our laws and policies. This language is ready for enactment. Represent.Us is a non-profit, public interest group coordinating the nation-wide, grassroots campaign to get this language enacted.

Why should I support the Anti-Corruption Campaign? Because we are winning! Mainstream media may not be highlighting this grassroots movement yet, but we’ve secured over 80 victories already, from coast to coast. We getting ordinances passed not just in progressive areas, but also in states such as Florida and the Carolinas. In fact, activists such as us were able to get an anti-corruption act passed for the entire state of South Dakota.  

What’s the next step for our county?  This grassroots effort is following the city-county-state-nation strategy. Get the major cities in Jeffco to pass anti-corruption resolutions, then our county commissioners will take seriously our request for a resolution at the county level. With Denver, Adams, and Jeffco counties all passing resolutions, we’ll have created the momentum for an anti-corruption statute covering all of Colorado.

Is there really corruption in Colorado?   Yes...both illegal and legal corruption exists in every U.S. locality. Illegal corruption in Jeffco is evident from the a recent report by Public Integrity titled “Colorado gets D+ grade in 2015 State Integrity Investigation:

"Periodic instances of impropriety do occur, largely at the local level. Just last year, Colorado's Independent Ethics Commission fined a sitting statewide public official after [he] had used public money for personal and political gain."

What kind of “legal corruption” occurs? Unfortunately, our city and county commissions listen most to the companies that fund their re-election campaigns. During the 2018 election cycle alone, the top 20 corporations pumped over $6 million into Colorado elections (see OpenSecrets.org), expecting political cooperation and protection from the representatives they backed.

How can the American Anti-Corruption Act prevent legal corruption?  The AACA provides an “end around” on the Citizens United decision, i.e., if we can’t keep corporations from giving politicians money, at least we can still make it illegal for them to accept those funds. This already-drafted initiative has a dozen major provisions including:

·  Corporations can either lobby our representatives or donate to their campaigns, but not both.
·  Slow down the “revolving door” between industry and the statehouse to add a 5-year waiting time.
·  Switch to multi-district representation to counteract gerrymandered districts.
·  Implement rank-choice voting, so politicians can't win using extremists rhetoric.

Don’t give up on democracy. Please sign this electronic petition and join the effort to reform the system from the bottom up.