MORE THAN VOTER SUPPRESSION
By Fidel “Butch” Montoya
The first recall election in the
history of the State of Colorado shocked and staggered the two elected Democrat
state legislators who expected to withstand the recall election. Instead, angry
voters in their districts recalled both legislators for their anti-Second
Amendment positions and votes for stricter gun control.
The first ever recall election,
sent shock waves through the Colorado State House. For the first time, the constituents
of their respective districts recalled two Democratic state senators because of
their positions over the controversial issue of gun control legislation.
Colorado Senate President John Morse and State Senator Angela Giron were
defeated, leaving many unanswered questions about voter sentiments.
The recall of Colorado State Senator
Angela Giron from her Pueblo, Colorado district no doubt surprised many
election pundits, and should give Colorado Democrats reason for pause and
concern. The district represented by Senator Giron was heavily weighted toward the
incumbent, where Democrats are a majority of the registered voters. Giron lost
the first ever recall election in Colorado by a 56% to 46% margin, losing by an
unbelievable 12% margin.
Also banished from the Colorado Senate
was Senate President John Morse who was unable to withstand his own recall.
Fifty-one percent of the voters in his district-favored recall, Forty-nine
percent of the voters voted against the recall. In the end, Morse lost
his position as Senate President by a mere 343 votes.
On election night, as Giron tried to
make sense out what happened, Giron was at a loss for words and told her
constituents that she was not sure what happened. President Barack Obama
carried her district by over 20% of the vote. With more registered Democrats in
her district, I am sure Giron and Democrats felt the winning edge was in their
favor. In a district which encompasses Pueblo and Pueblo West, of the 70,719
registered voters, 47% are registered Democrats, whereas, registered Republican
voters are only 23%. Voters registered as independent or unaffiliated are 29%
of the voters.
Clearly, in a district which
historically has been a Democratic voter stronghold, and a district where
statewide Democratic candidates could expect Democrats to rally behind their
campaigns, now are going to have think twice before counting these votes as
their own. Keep in mind, that when Giron ran in 2011, she easily won the
election by 55% of the votes cast. It is understandable why Giron could
not understand what had happened.
The questions that left Giron perplexed
and unsure of what caused her recall and defeat left many other political
experts wondering the same. Even the Public Policy Polling withheld the results
of their last polling before the election, because they too were puzzled and
unsure why their poll showed Giron losing by a 12-point margin. The poll showed
Giron losing by such a large margin, the pollsters felt the poll had to be
wrong.
Tom Jensen of the Public Policy Polling
released a statement explaining why the polling results were withheld. He
wrote, “I figured there was no way that could be right and made a rare
decision not to release the poll. It turns out we should have had more faith in
our numbers because she was indeed recalled by 12 points” The decision to
withhold the results, The Denver Post reported raised the ire of many
local politicians and bloggers.
The same Public Policy Polling
reflected surprising results of how the constituents of Senator Giron felt about
gun issues triggering the recall. 68% favored expanded background checks for
gun buyers, with only 27% not favoring the expanded background checks. On the
more controversial law limiting high capacity ammunition magazines to 15
bullets, the poll had 47% supporting and 47% opposing it. It does not look as
if voters were that upset by the gun laws, which generated the recall.
The questions remain as to why Giron,
who was elected by 55% of the vote, was forced out by almost 12% of voters.
Some of the voter dissatisfaction with
Giron was associated to her initial support of a water bill that would have
sent precious water to Aurora and Colorado Springs from the mighty Arkansas
River. Giron’s support for a renewable energy bill had opponents claiming it would
raise energy rates for resident of Pueblo West. Joey Bunch of The Denver
Post reported that Giron had created a number of enemies of influential
Democrats since her election in 2011, which no doubt could have played a role
in the recall.
The picture drawn from the voter
dissatisfaction complaints may have prompted many voters in her district to
sign on to recall of Giron. There is another perspective, which may have
affected why voters in Giron’s district, perceived her tenure at the State
House with disapproval. Twenty percent of the voters who signed the recall
petition were Democrats. The Denver Post reported that many signers
volunteered that Giron was, “arrogant and difficult to work with.” The
fact that 20% of Democrats signed the recall petition, that statistic alone
should give us the best reason why Giron lost.
Giron protests the fact of her being
difficult to work with or arrogant, “I’m really a grassroots person. I don’t
hang out with the VIPs.”
Still, there were voters speaking out
about their dissatisfaction with her work as the senator from Pueblo. One
of the three plumbers who initiated the recall, Victor Head, president of
Pueblo Freedom and Rights, the group responsible for the recall, issued a
statement, “Giron’s disregard for the majority of her constituents to vote
‘no’ on anti-Second Amendment issues and her general disregard of our
Constitution and the rights of the citizens of Colorado demonstrate she must be
removed from the Senate. This election has been about holding our elected
officials accountable.”
David Zvonek, state director of Americans
for Prosperity proclaimed, “Coloradans…sent a clear message that
politicians who blatantly ignore their constituents will be held accountable.”
The Founder of the Basic Freedom
Defense Fund, Tim Knight felt lack of accountability from Giron played a major
role in the recall. “Tonight is a victory for the people of the state of
Colorado, who have been subject to the overreach of a Democrat agenda on guns,
taxes, and accountability to the people.”
George Rivera, retired Pueblo police
officer who will serve the remainder of Giron’s term, thanked the Pueblo
Freedom and Rights organization, “This election has been about holding
our elected officials accountable. The voters of Pueblo have sent a strong
message. We are the voice of democracy.”
On CNN, Giron tried to raise the
issue of “voter suppression” as the reason for her loss. In a very
argumentative interview with the CNN anchor, Giron ill prepared for the
interview only reinforced the observations of being, “arrogant and difficult
to work with.”
The 2013 session of the Colorado
Legislature called one of the most progressive in Colorado history, but after the
recall of the Senate President and Pueblo Senator; it should give other
Democrats cause for alarm and reevaluation of their liberal agenda.
Voters are watching very carefully their elected officials, their voting records, their ability to communicate and
respond to voter concerns, and whether or not, they too may be perceived
as arrogant and difficult to work with.
~30~
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