October 22, 2008 2:22 PM
Amendment 49 campaign files complaint
Supporters of Amendment 49 filed a campaign finance complaint over $2,800 of "in-kind" contributions a teachers union committee made to a group fighting the ballot measure.
The complaint alleges the Colorado Springs Education Association's issue committee made contributions to a group created to address statewide ballot issues when the teachers' committee was created to promote issues in its own district.
"I find it disturbing to see the teachers union funnel resources earmarked for local education issues into a fight against statewide political issues they don't happen to like," said
Colorado Springs resident and former school board candidate Reginald Perry, who was named on the complaint filed with the Secretary of State's office.But a spokeswoman for the Colorado Education Association said the law allows the teachers union committee to support or oppose both state and local ballot issues.
"The (teachers) committee has the same purpose as Protect Colorado's Future," said Deborah Fallin of the Colorado Education Association.
Fallin called the complaint a "stunt" to draw attention to an amendment that seeks to "take away our ability to collect dues."
Amendment 49 would prohibit governments from deducting union dues or other "special interest" group money from employee paychecks. The initiative was authored and backed in part by the Independence Institute, a conservative group based in Golden.
Protect Colorado's Future has raised about $13 million so far to fight Amendment 49 and two other ballot measures viewed as anti-union.
October 23, 2008
9:27 AM
goldfinger writes:
Notice the flood of money flowing from the "poor union" bosses to kill amendments 47, 49, 54. Paid for by some shlub who has no choice but to anti up the milk money..... Seems obvious that "the lady dost protest too much"