News Clips

Advocates for government accountability were alarmed to learn Gov. Jared Polis was undecided on whether to veto a bill to expand police transparency in Colorado. But Polis spokeswoman Maria De Cambra set the record straight late Wednesday. “We’re not going to veto the bill,” she said. “It will be signed.” The signing is slated for 10:50 a.m. Friday at the Capitol, and it will be open to media, De Cambra said. The bill — HB-1119, sponsored by Democratic Denver Rep. James Coleman — would require Colorado law enforcement agencies to open the files on completed internal investigations into a wide range of police interactions with citizens, including alleged incidents of excessive force.

A Denver legislator's bill would make closed internal investigation files subject to open-records requests. The effort has an array of supporters, including the ACLU and Colorado Common Cause, the libertarian Independence Institute and media groups such as the Colorado Broadcasters Association, the Colorado Press Association and the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition.

Patrick Potyondy, policy manager for Colorado Common Cause, outlined five key areas that Census data affects: how many seats each state receives in the House of Representatives, legislative and congressional redistricting, the allocation of federal funds to states, legislative decision-making, and civil rights enforcement. “Unless we have really good data, we can’t make good decisions,” he said.

"Government should reflect the interests of the average Coloradans, not special interests, and that, of course, is the concern around the influence of money in politics and the effects that Citizens United had," said Amanda Gonzalez, Executive Director at Colorado Common Cause.

The Colorado Sun highlights the work of Just Vote! Colorado, which assists thousands of voters in Colorado during the election.

"Our bigger picture that we worry about is those special interests coming in and spending lots and lots of money. We want them [elected officials] to listen to their constituents and listen to the people that voted for them, or maybe didn’t vote for them"