Dear Friends:

A couple years ago I got a call asking me to speak at a rally for a group called “Democracy for Colorado.” They called on my cell phone and the connection wasn’t the best. All that I heard was, “Democracy for Colorado.”

I said, “I’m for it.”

American democracy, the first in the modern era, was achieved at great sacrifice.

Now, however, in most elections considerably less than half of the people who are eligible to vote go to the polls. The biggest predictor of whether a candidate is going to win is the amount of money they spend on the election, and campaign advertisements bear so little relation to the truth that elections frequently turn on outright lies.

Many people feel that they do not have an equal voice in the political discussion. They feel that special interest groups have disproportionate power.

They are right.

This disproportion in power has real effects.

• Following Columbine a bill to require background checks for purchasers of handguns at gun shows died in the Colorado General Assembly, although it had the support of 67% of the people in the state as shown in the subsequent initiative election.
• Bills to create bulk purchasing of pharmaceuticals to reduce costs, die under the lobbying pressure of pharmaceutical companies.
• Efforts to require industry to release less pollution into the air and water fail at the national level because those who are supposed to regulate an industry are chosen from people in the industry, who have every intention of going back when there time in government is over.

Democracy does not just happen. It has to be fought for by every generation, every year, every day. It can be lost by complacency.

It is easy to be critical of greedy or ideological special interests. But to a great extent they fill a vacuum created by the lack of interest and involvement of the general population.

I was complaining about this problem once in a small group at the Capitol and a lobbyist spoke up and said, “Senator Gordon, if there weren’t special interests, there would be no interest.” There is truth in that comment.

I am running for Secretary of State because I want to get in the fight to preserve and protect our democracy. I have a good record.

• I have carried campaign finance reform legislation and I have collected signatures for initiatives when the legislation failed.
• I have successfully carried legislation that requires lobbyists to disclose who their employers are and how much they are paid.
• Last year my Senate Bill 198 required that each voting machine contain a verifiable paper record so that election results can be checked when there is a dispute. This bill also required a post election audit which in 2005 found errors in ten counties and changed the result in two elections.
• I have never taken a campaign contribution from the political action committee of a special interest group.

I would like your support. In fact it will be impossible for me to be successful without it. Even if I were to win the election, nothing will change until people feel their own power and act for themselves, their families and their communities.

In this campaign, as in the past, I will not take contributions from political action committees. I will accept the voluntary campaign spending limit and I will make no personal attacks against any opponent. In fact I’ll start by saying that, in my view, both of the people who have been mentioned as possible Republican nominees for Secretary of State are honorable public servants with good records. I look forward to debating the issues with them.

If you would like to help, you can sign up on this website to volunteer, display a yard sign, make a contribution or host a fundraiser. I am also interested in ideas for how we can make this effort succeed. I know something about political campaigns, I have had seven of them, but many of you will have ideas as well that will help immeasurably if you share them.

Thanks for your help. This campaign is going to be a fun challenge. JOIN US!

Sincerely,

Ken Gordon