Amendment 49

From today’s Delta County Independent:

Dear Editor:
A lot of us may be looking around and scratching our heads when our ballots arrived. There’s all these ballot amendments and referenda to decide. Some have received more attention than others. One you may not have heard of, but need to know about, is Amendment 49.
Amendment 49 is called [...]

In a published letter to the Summit Daily News, Breckenridge business leader Steve Collins refuted the absurd attacks against Amendment 49, the Ethical Standards initiative, and stated his support for the good-government measure:
Amendment 49 prohibits our government payroll systems from being used to collect funds for private organizations (including union dues). Accounting for deductions and [...]

A letter from former Governor Bill Owens supporting Amendment 49 was published in today’s Grand Junction Sentinel. After explaining how the initiative promotes government ethics and efficiency, Owens concludes:

This payroll reform is already working. Some county governments in Colorado, along with a handful of municipalities, have implemented this idea. But with an ethical loophole this [...]

A letter writer in today’s Denver Post:

I agree with The Denver Post’s endorsement of Amendment 49. The practice of automatically deducting union dues from an employee’s paycheck to fund political campaigns should not be allowed to continue.
Political donations must remain voluntary for our electoral system to maintain its integrity. Informed individuals voluntarily donating a portion [...]

A letter writer in the Greeley Tribune today spoke out on behalf of Amendment 49:

Last year governments in Colorado collected millions of dollars for delivery to political special interest groups.
Coloradans can fix that with Amendment 49. The “Ethical Standards” initiative ends the shenanigans that transfer money through the public payroll system to labor unions, [...]

Another letter to the editor in support of Amendment 49, the Ethical Standards initiative, appeared today, this time in the Rocky Mountain News:

A level political playing field is the American way. As such, Amendment 49 quite simply seems like the American thing to do.
No group deserves a leg up by getting special perks from government, [...]

A letter writer in today’s Greeley Tribune colorfully makes a case for Amendment 49:

Why are many Colorado governments acting as banker and collections for special interest groups? Why? Who cares!
It’s not the business of government. It’s a recipe for corruption.
Governments collect money through their payroll systems, bundle it up, and hand it off to nefarious [...]

Another letter to the editor appeared today in favor of Amendment 49, this time in the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel:

It’s kind of sad to see Colorado still has a problem with lobbyist ethics (or the lack thereof). But if the problem is there, we ought to plug the loophole. That’s why I think Amendment 49 [...]

The first two letters to the editor in support of Amendment 49 have appeared in Colorado newspapers this week:
Colorado Springs Gazette, August 20
With a full ballot this year, there are quite a few proposals that are going to sharply divide people based on party affiliation or worldview. But Amendment 49 isn’t one of them.
This common-sense [...]