Represent.Us: Fighting the Corrupting Influence of Money in CO Politics

image
Published: 20 Jul, 2017
Updated: 17 Oct, 2022
2 min read

Wouldn’t it be nice if politicians engaged with their constituents in order to get their vote and their donations? One-on-one? Knocking on doors in neighborhoods? Speaking with them individually? Learning about the issues and concerns that they have, rather than listening to lobbyists and special interests?

Wouldn't it also be nice if we could return as much of the legislative and voting process to one person casting a single vote? If we could get the corrupting influence of money out of politics in general?

Here in Colorado, multiple groups have been trying to make that vision a reality. Last year, in Denver, a coalition of election reform groups drafted an ethics bill for the city of Denver. And despite the biggest lobbyist in the city bringing a lawsuit against it, the city council took up large portions of that bill and continued to promote them.

A summary of the changes passed by the city council:

  • All gifts from anyone who does or wishes to do business with the city must be reported, no matter how small.
  • The limit for gifts is now $300, instead of the former limit which was based on the number of gifts instead of dollar amount.

One of the major players in that reform work was Represent.Us. Represent.Us is the nation’s largest grassroots anti-corruption campaign. They bring together conservatives, progressives, and everyone in between to fix America’s corrupt political system.

The Denver chapter of Represent.Us is currently working with local partners to build a grassroots, bipartisan anti-corruption network to pass laws that fix Colorado's corrupt political system and broken elections. Ballot petitions for 2018 are currently circulating, and they plan to start collecting signatures within the coming weeks.

Represent.Us is a founding partner of the coalition of reform organizations behind "Unrig the System," an event aimed at reforming Colorado politics. Find out more by watching the video below or by visiting unrig.it.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock/Carlos Yudica

Latest articles

CA capitol building dome with flags.
Why is CA Senator Mike McGuire Trying to Kill the Legal Cannabis Industry?
California’s legal cannabis industry is under mounting pressure, and in early June, state lawmakers and the governor appeared poised to help. A bill to freeze the state’s cannabis excise tax at 15% sailed through the State Assembly with a unanimous 74-0 vote. The governor’s office backed the plan. And legal cannabis businesses, still struggling to compete with unregulated sellers and mounting operating costs, saw a glimmer of hope....
03 Jul, 2025
-
7 min read
I voted buttons
After First RCV Election, Charlottesville Voters Back the Reform: 'They Get It, They Like It, They Want to Do It Again'
A new survey out of Charlottesville, Virginia, shows overwhelming support for ranked choice voting (RCV) following the city’s first use of the system in its June Democratic primary for City Council. Conducted one week after the election, the results found that nearly 90% of respondents support continued use of RCV....
03 Jul, 2025
-
3 min read
Crowd in Time Square.
NYC Exit Survey: 96% of Voters Understood Their Ranked Choice Ballots
An exit poll conducted by SurveyUSA on behalf of the nonprofit better elections group FairVote finds that ranked choice voting (RCV) continues to be supported by a vast majority of voters who find it simple, fair, and easy to use. The findings come in the wake of the city’s third use of RCV in its June 2025 primary elections....
01 Jul, 2025
-
6 min read