Re: Update on Politics in Colorado

December 22, 2007

Thanks.

I posted this on IPADDU, your Illinois counterpart...

Happy Holidays to all of you in Colorado!

Ellen

Ellen Garber Bronfeld

egskb@...

Update on Politics in Colorado

I thought some of you might be interested in an " Update on Politics in

Colorado "

All the efforts this past summer and fall have culminated in a formal

process to pursue both an initiative and a referendum to end the wait list in

Colorado.

An initiative in Colorado is where citizens gather 76,000 signatures for a

measure to be passed as law, The measure can either be passed as a general

law or as a constitutional amendment. A referendum is where the state

legislature refers a bill to the voters for their vote and approval or

disapproval.

A vote of the people is required because of Colorado's TABOR (Taxpayer's

Bill of Rights) law that allows no increases in taxes without the approval of

the electorate.

Here is a message I sent out to our PAD-CO (Parents of Adults with

Disabilities - COlorado) group.

===========================

Some Exciting News

I met today with the beginnings of the " Issue Committee " designed to

spearhead and support the passage of either a referendum or an initiative for

reducing or eliminating the wait list for services for individuals with

developmental disabilities in Colorado.

We listened to a lawyer explain some of the legalities with respect to how

501 © (3's) can and can't use their funds in a campaign (whew - it is

complex). But in general, they will be fine. As PAD-CO is not a 501©(3) we

don't have this worry - but neither do we have any money!

There are several committees and sub committees being formed, and it is

likely that some of you may want to participate on one of these committees.

The committees being formed are the:

Executive Committee

Steering Committee

Fund Raising Committee

Communications Committee

Outreach/Grassroots Committee

Awareness Committee

I volunteered myself for the Outreach/Grassroots Committee

I have asked that the Agenda be forwarded to me in a form that I can send to

you, where the committees and timelines are described more fully.

In addition, they are asking us to adopt a resolution, which, with a few

minor changes relating to the nature of PAD-CO, I have no problem supporting.

I

have also asked that they send it to me as an attachment so I can forward it

to you for our discussion.

I am very impressed with the leadership of Ellen Brilliant, hired as

coordinator and leader, and Marijo Rymer, the ED of the Colorado Arc.

As of this time, the CCB's are not participating in this effort to get the

referendum/initiative passed.

====================================

And some excerpts from another email

The signature challenge is getting the 76,000 signatures necessary for an

initiative to get on the ballot. In actuality, the plan is to go for 200,000

petition signatures - the most ever - (previous record was 150,000) in order

to " make a statement about who supports this " and to get good press coverage

when the petitions are turned in to the Secretary of State.

SOME THOUGHTS:

It was SO great to see this attempt led by PARENTS ORGANIZATIONS and related

advocates. For too long we have given the reins of leadership in this area

over to others. Since the CCB's have not stepped forward (and even if they

did, IMHO) the fund raising process is going to seek funds from those outside

the CCB system who may eventually benefit financially from this

initiative/referendum. For example, outside management companies and service

providers.

If I was a CCB, I would be just a bit worried, as Rep has already

proposed reducing the CCB's to five, and the parents are exhibiting a desire

to

actually have a say in what is going on. If I were the Alliance and/or the

CCB Partners, I would be getting " on-board " in support of this process instead

of being a passive observer. We are going to ROCK!

THE LANGUAGE OF THE INITIATIVE

I am way out of line here, but I would hope that the initiative will contain

some language to provide supervision of the CCB's, such as by a statewide

" Citizen's Committee. " That would provide an excellent foil against those who

will be criticizing the Initiative/Referendum because of our previously

identified deficits in the current system In other words, we could state to

the

electorate.

" Yes, there are problems. HOWEVER, we have written into the language of the

referendum safeguards to prevent the excesses (salaries, benefits, failure

of boards to provide fiduciary supervision, etc.) previously identified, and

EVERY ADDITIONAL DOLLAR RAISED IS GOING TO GO INTO SERVICES, not admin. "

SOME STRENGTHS:

1. We have wonderful grassroots structures ALREADY IN PLACE. P2P has

hundreds of participants ACROSS THE STATE. The Arc's already have branches in

the

south, west. (east?) and in the north, and several metro units. PAD-CO has

extremely talented folks.

2. MARC has branches throughout the metro area and Colorado Springs, and

actually has some MONEY! It has oodles of trucks traveling through the metro

area daily, each of which could be a rolling billboard. It has many contacts

each day with the public picking up donations, each of which can be a

contact. Each of its stores can serve as a little " political office. "

3. We have a very strong representative (Representative ) totally in

support of this process. We have other senators and representatives (i.e.,

the entire DDIC committee) and others fully aware of our goals and problems

and concerns.

4. The poll results (which I got a 1 minute look at yesterday) in general

were very favorable towards an initiative/referendum process for funding for

our kids. I was quite surprised. Sorry, I have no further information on

that to be shared at this time.

5. There are hundreds (no, thousands) of parents of individuals with

disabilities in schools, pre-schools, etc., to be mobilized. Then there are

their

relatives and friends and teachers and doctors and professional

organizations, and business organizations and businesses - whew!! Perhaps

there are even

some political parties who might be able to support??

I WOULD ENCOURAGE ANYONE WHO HAS AN INTEREST TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS

REFERENDUM/INITIATIVE PROCESS. It will be a fascinating process, you will

learn a

lot, and will meet interesting and dynamic folks. View this as an

OPPORTUNITY!!

Right here on PAD-CO we have some of the MOST TALENTED parents in the state

- truly. Experience, knowledge of issues, previous advocacy.

JOIN US!

http://members.aol.com/dnvrfox

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December 25, 2007

Thanks that was interesting and hopeful. I am one of four sibs in IL that

we want to advocate for policy change in addition to supporting and educating

sibs. Nora

In a message dated 12/22/2007 6:17:53 A.M. Central Standard Time,

DnvrFox@... writes: