Blake: Dennis attacked for new rules aimed mostly at unions

Published August 19, 2006 at midnight

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You don't even have to be a candidate to be singled out for attack ads this year.

Secretary of State Gigi Dennis, who chose not to run for a full term this fall, is under fire in radio ads paid for by Clear Peak Colorado, a Democratic "527" organization.

What prompted them was her recent ruling that "membership organizations" must get permission from members annually before their dues can be used in political campaigns.

Under previous rules, members could choose to opt out from giving to politics, but that's not easy to do and they may not even know about that option. Reversing the burden - making the organization get permission from members in advance - could cut small-donor contributions.

This cramps the style of many unions, whose small-donor groups helped the Democrats take over in 2004.

The ad proclaims Dennis to be "arrogant, arbitrary, unaccountable," accuses her of "stifling Colorado voices," says she takes her orders from "party bosses" and claims she's turned her office into "a partisan snake pit."

Dennis defends her rules as a reasonable interpretation of Amendment 27, a campaign-finance overhaul pushed to passage by Common Cause in 2002.

It's not just unions that would need to get permission from all their members, Dennis says, but any membership group.

"Getting a member's permission to use his or her dues for such political purposes seems reasonable and consistent with the purposes of Amendment 27," argues Dennis.

If the Democrats are upset, the Independence Institute and its allies are delighted by the new rules.

The rule "is a victory for individual rights," said Jon Caldara, head of the institute. "These organizations now need your written permission every year before they can give your dime to candidates or political parties."

The institute has been encouraging union members, especially teachers, to opt out of small-donor groups.

Another rule issued by Dennis says that membership organizations must certify, under penalty of law, that all contributions are from legal sources - i.e., not from foreigners. That's aimed at aliens, legal or not, who belong to unions. Amendment 27 forbids political money from foreigners, but since small-donor groups can collect up to $20 from various individuals without identifying them, it's been hard to enforce until now.

JBC maneuverings: Rep. Al White, R-Winter Park, was awarded a spot on the legislature's Joint Budget Committee this week - a spot that state Sen. Dave Owen of Greeley had hoped to get.

Owen is running for the House this fall since he's term-limited in the Senate.

White's appointment was made by House Minority Leader Mike May, R-Parker. May noted that the party needs someone who can attend interim JBC meetings, and White has the time since he's a shoo-in for re-election. Owen, on the other hand, will have to work hard to unseat Rep. Jim Riesberg, D-Greeley.

But May noted that Owen, who served on the JBC during all eight years in the Senate, still has another shot.

"We're going to have two people when we're in the majority," said May.

If the GOP retakes the House this fall, it will get a second House representative on the six-member body. And that would be Owen, said May.

White succeeds the term-limited Rep. Dale Hall, R-Greeley, on the JBC. Hall had hoped to move to the Senate but was ousted in a primary.

A double standard: A Libertarian candidate for Arapahoe County sheriff is suing to get back on the Nov. 7 ballot after having been kicked off by County Clerk Nancy Doty.

Because the Democrats have no candidate, Libertarian Ken Waters would be the only challenger to Republican incumbent Grayson Robinson. Doty removed him because he hadn't been affiliated with the Libertarian Party for at least 12 months prior to his nomination last spring, as state law requires.

The law also requires Democrats and Republicans to be affiliated for 12 months, but specifies that the affiliation can be shorter if party rules permit it. And in the past, they have.

In other words, major parties have privileges that minor parties don't under Colorado law.

Libertarian Party rules require affiliation for only 60 days prior to candidacy. Waters, who had been a Republican, re-registered as a Libertarian last Dec. 27, in plenty of time for nomination by the Libertarian convention in the spring.

Attorney Rick Daily, an expert in elections law, is representing Waters. He said his suit has "eerie echoes" of the Martha Ezzard case 18 years ago.

Ezzard was a GOP state senator who resigned her seat and switched parties in 1988. The Democrats were eager to have her challenge U.S. Rep. Dan Schaefer, R-Colo., in the 6th District that fall, but of course she hadn't been a Democrat one year. So the party changed its rules, at least temporarily, to permit candidacy after 60 days.

Republican Secretary of State Natalie Meyer declared her ineligible but the Democrats sued in District Court. And they won, citing a 1986 U.S. Supreme Court decision which held that political party rules supersede state law unless the state can demonstrate a compelling interest in regulating the internal affairs of the party.

Ezzard lost to Schaefer, but the legislature adjusted state law to account for the high court decision - at least as it applied to major parties. Waters and Daily will try to extend the same principle to Libertarians and other minor parties.

blakep@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5119.

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