Colorado State Ballot Initiative 75, the Right to Local Government, Clears Final Hurdle at Colorado Supreme Court.
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Cliff Willmeng 303 478 6613 willmeng70@gmail.com
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Merrily Mazza 720 556 1286 merrily.mazza@comcast.net
Legal council and organizers from the Colorado Community Rights Network received notice today from the Colorado Supreme Court that ballot initiative # 75, the Right to Local Self Government, has cleared its final legal challenge, and is now headed toward signature gathering to place it onto the 2014 ballot. The ballot initiative, the first of its kind, succeeded in clearing all phases of State approval as well as two corporate legal challenges designed to keep the initiative from a democratic vote of Colorado citizens.
The ballot initiative asserts, “People have an inherent and inalienable right to local self-government.” It goes on to say that the power to enact local laws protecting the health, safety, and welfare of individuals, communities, and nature will not be subject to preemption by higher levels of government, and that local governments will have the power to restrict the ability of corporations to interfere with such laws. Preemption has been used by the Colorado Mining Association to overturn a five-county ban on the industrial use of cyanide in gold mining, and is currently being employed against the communities of Longmont, Lafayette, and Fort Collins in their efforts to protect their people and cities from the harmful effects of modern oil and gas extraction.
The Colorado Community Rights Network will now begin to print petitions and organize volunteer signature gatherers throughout the state. The current volunteer structure spans over 30 Colorado cities and will grow through statewide presentations and ongoing organizing efforts.
The Colorado Community Rights Network supports the view that our fundamental rights are universal, and that the current legal framework that favors corporations over people and communities threatens the essence of democracy. Ballot initiative #75 addresses the inherent problems of corporate-centered law. It is part of the larger national community rights movement to bring full democratic rights and protections to communities across Colorado and the United States.
The Colorado Community Rights Network is the umbrella organization advancing ballot measure #75, the Colorado Community Rights Amendment, and helping local communities create their own protections against corporate activities that interfere with the rights of local communities and of individuals. Founded in January 2014, the Colorado Community Rights Network now is working on both the state and local level.