Lessons Learned From 2011 Boulder Campaign for Pro-Democracy Amendment

8/2/2019 Lessons Learned From 2011 Boulder Campaign for Pro-Democracy Amendment

1/28

Anti Corporate Personhood Amendment/ Boulder Page 1 of 11

Anti-Corporate Personhood Resolutions:

Lessons Learned from the 2011 Boulder Campaign

Welcome to those of you working to reclaim democracy by passing localresolutions urging passage of a pro-democracy amendment to the US Constitution. This

amendment would re-establish what was originally true, that constitutional rights are forlive human beings, not corporations or other entities. It would also re-establish thatmoney is not free speech so that political contributions and expenditures can be regulated.This article documents some of the lessons learned by citizen activists in Boulder,Colorado who were able to successfully campaign for the passage of just such a measurein our community. Each community is different, but we hope that sharing our lessonslearned will help you tailor strategies and tactics to fit your local needs.

I. Figure Out Your Legal Strategy.There are three possible types of resolutions that can be used locally to support

the passage of a pro-democracy Constitutional amendment, although the use of the lattertwo is dependent upon authorization by the legal rules of your locality. Your groupshould decide which type would be most appropriate given the specific circumstances ofyour locale. (FYI: Resolutions - be they Council-passed, or put on the ballot byreferendum or initiative, are official expressions of opinion of a legislative body, but arenot binding law such as ordinances are.)

A. COUNCIL-PASSED RESOLUTION: Your local City Council or CountyCommission (hereinafter "Council") passes the resolution itself, withoutvoters being asked to approve. This avoids an election, with all the moneyand effort that entails, but carries less weight in influencing public opinionthan a voter-approved effort. The only people you officially have to sway arethe Council members themselves. Be aware that the Council may changeyour proposed language at will as it votes on the issue. This is potentially aweaker option in terms of educating and mobilizing citizens, but can still bevery powerful, as shown by the national publicity given the unanimous LosAngeles City Council passage of such a resolution.

B. REFERENDUM:Your local Council refers the matter to the ballot forvoters to approve. For this method, you have to convince a majority of theCouncil (or more, depending on the local rules) to put your resolution on theballot, and if successful, you then have to run a campaign to convince themajority of voters to approve. As with the prior method, the Council maychange the language in the process of voting to place the language on theballot. A referendum is typically a stronger option in terms of educating andmobilizing the citizens and the weight higher authorities may give it, than aCouncil-passed resolution because the voters themselves pass judgment on it.A referendum can also be a significantly less burdensome effort in terms oftime, money and effort than the initiative strategy below. However, it is not aviable option if the Council is not supportive, in which case the initiative may


2/28


be your only viable strategy. In Boulder, we chose to run a referendumcampaign.

C. INITIATIVE: Citizens alone - without council acquiescence - obtainenough signatures to initiate placing the resolution on the ballot and the

matter is then voted on by voters. In this option, you have to go throughtwo voter outreach campaigns to win, the first to gather the petition signatures,the second to win the publics vote on Election Day. The advantages of thismethod is that it mobilizes the citizens through education, generates a lot ofpublicity and it is undeniable that the results reflect the peoples desires. Inaddition, although there is usually some kind of approval process required toobtain approval for the language, you get to control the language that goes onthe ballot... Further, you don't need Council support to get the issue on theballot. On the other hand, depending on the signature requirements, it is quitea challenge to obtain the number of signatures required to get an initiative onthe ballot. Unless you have a cadre of committed and ready volunteers, you

may want to consider paying contractors to obtain the signatures.

Before choosing to run a referendum or initiative election campaign, you shouldspeak with individuals and organizations that have run such campaigns in yourjurisdiction to obtain a guesstimate of the cost. You'll need to learn the state and localrules governing each type of measure. It is particularly important that you understanddeadlines for getting issues on the ballot, either by referendum or initiative, so you cansuccessfully plan your campaign timeline. If you choose to run an initiative, it isessential to understand petition requirements and to follow these rules scrupulously.

A good place to start to acquire information on ballot requirements is your localjurisdiction's election and voting website and possibly also your state's Secretary ofStates website. Either or both might have instructions on running local ballot measurecampaigns. It is also very useful to speak to your jurisdiction's election staff, asking themfor the rules governing the strategy you are intending to use and where in the local codesthese rules are found. Another official you can ask is the Council attorney or his/herstaff, or a friendly Council member.

As part of your initial research, you will want to review your jurisdictionsguidelines for both lobbyist registration and reporting (if you are considering a resolutionor referendum) and campaign finance disclosure reporting (for referendum and initiativecampaigns). Depending on the jurisdiction, it may have its own transparencyrequirements, or you may be required to register with the state (usually the Secretary ofState).

II. Contact and learn from friendly elected officials and knowledgeable citizen-activists about how things get done in your locality.

There are people in your locality who know how to get resolutions passed and it is usefulto search out such people to learn practical tips from them. As you build your network of


3/28


allies (see III below), the support of your communitys opinion leaders can be a powerful

asset. Reach out to these opinion leaders to gain their support and strategic insight earlyin your effort, to gauge their interest and support and neutralize concerns. Try to contactfriendly Council Members, other elected officials, previous candidates and electedofficials, and/or progressive activists to get practical advice on how to effectively

proceed. For example, in Boulder, help from a long-term local political activist made thework of our campaign tremendously easier.

III. Cultivate Allies - You can't do it alone.

You should begin cultivating allies immediately. The growing awareness andconcern of people over economic inequality and corporate and monetary control overgovernment provide an excellent opportunity to attract a broad coalition to organize andimplement your campaign. Support has a snowball effect - as influential allies come onboard, others want to join too.

Natural allies for this pro-democracy campaign, whose local chapters should be

contacted, include: Democratic Party; Green Party; Common Cause; Move On; Move toAmend; Occupy Movements; Veterans for Peace; Peace and Justice Centers; UnitarianUniversalists; Unity Churches; labor councils; SEIU (Service Employees InternationalUnion) chapters; American Friends Service Committee; student progressive groups;environmental groups such as Sierra Club, 350.org; and community radio stations.Undoubtedly there may be additional local organizations that might play a major role inyour community. It will be much easier to pass the measure, regardless of the strategyyou are pursuing, if an active coalition can be formed of interested people representing avariety of groups. When approaching these groups, you might request that their board orvoting body also pass a resolution in support of, and in partnership with, your campaign.

While we did not do so in Boulder, some of our committee strongly urge reachingout to conservative groups such as the Tea Party.

Finally, it is critical from the very beginning to obtain the contact information,including email and phone numbers, for all of your supporters, and current and futurevolunteers.

IV. Create an Overall Campaign Strategy

Once you decide on the type of measure you will pursue, create a plan forsuccessfully getting (1) your resolution passed by the Council; or (2) your referendum

place on the ballot by the Council; or (3) enough signatures to get your initiative placedon the ballot. If you are pursuing a referendum or initiative strategy you should also bedeveloping a campaign strategy for getting the measure passed by voters once yousucceed in getting it on the ballot.

If you are using the Council-passed resolution or referendum method, whichrequire Council to favorably act - strategize about how best to influence individual


4/28


Council members. Figure out who knows the individual members to try to set up friendlymeetings; what groups should be represented at those meetings; what areas of interestshould be discussed with each member, etc. When meeting with individual members findout about their specific concerns and respond or tell them that you will research how theirspecific concerns will be impacted. Follow up with a letter addressing their specific

concerns. (See

Attachments of letters responding to Boulder City Council concerns).Your work will be much easier if friendly Council members can be enlisted to advocatefor the measure with other members and can give advice about influencing the othermembers. For example, Missoula Montana passed a referendum by almost 75%, withmuch of the success being attributable to the efforts of one councilwoman.

Regardless of your chosen method, public support is critical. Even if Councilrather than the citizens are your primary target, Council members respond to the public.Hence, enlist as many supporters as possible to make favorable comments duringhearings and/or public comment sessions in front of Council; and to write letters to theeditor of local news outlets urging Council to pass the measure, or the public to sign and

then vote for an initiative. You will want supporters to respond to unfavorable letters tothe editor. Its never too early to launch other tactics for getting positive campaignpublicity, as outlined below.

If you choose to pursue an initiative strategy so that you will need to first gathersignatures, a schedule should be set up for signature gathering at favorable places andtimes. Be very sure you know the legal deadlines in which to gather signatures and getthe signatures approved so that the initiative can be successfully included on the ballot.Again, unless you have a lot of volunteers, you might need to think about payingsignature gatherers.

V. Publicity Strategy

Both politicians and the voting public are informed and impacted by publicity. Itis therefore essential to get favorable publicity for your resolution into the media. Informlocal media outlets, including radio stations as well as daily and weekly newspapers,about the resolution and your campaign. Encourage them to publish stories on thecampaign. Meet with editorial boards to solicit endorsements. Seek out your supporterswho have relationships with the media to initiate these media contacts.

You should also send out regular press releases about new aspects of thecampaign, such as when a new Council member or citizens group endorses it; or whenyou are having signature gathering events or presentations; pep rallies, etc. News outlets

need a "hook" - something newsworthy - upon which to build a story, so try to createnewsworthy events. (See Attachments for a sample news release). You can also followwhatever procedures are necessary to get your events placed on local communitycalendars.

You can obtain free publicity by recruiting supporters to write letters to the editorand Op-Ed pieces on a regularly scheduled basis. Offer to provide help to those who need


5/28


it. Find out the maximum number of words and any other requirements of eachnewspaper and have your authors comply with these. You will also want to enlistsupporters to post comments on-line in response to letters to the editor and Op-Ed pieces,regardless of the position the piece takes on the measure. Moreover, comments on themeasure made at public comment sections of Council meetings are often televised and

covered by local media.

Seek opportunities to give talks to other organizations; and to hand out literatureor table events that like-minded people may attend. For example, our campaign tabledand had speakers at numerous local political events; handed out literature at festivals andfarmers markets; had speakers at monthly meetings of progressive organizations; hadinformal "petitions" in favor the resolution signed at various public events; etc.

These days internet publicity is essential to a successful election campaign. Awebpage (see www.yeson2H.org) and Facebook page(http://www.facebook.com/pages/Yes-on-2H/221688887888742) are therefore basics of

an election campaign. We attempted to update our website regularly with recent news andcalendar events. We linked to Annie Leonards short educational video, The Story ofCitizens United. We had a Twitter feed on the home page which we used to drum up

excitement and recruit volunteers for specific events. We created a PayPal account inorder to accept donations through our website.

For the election campaign, we also paid for advertisements. We bought ads in thelocal newspapers and paid for special ads in the Election Guides printed by our localnewspapers. We also paid for a GOTV (Get Out the Vote) flyer to hand out to votersdoor-to-door, and had bumper stickers, buttons and yard signs made. Finally, we paid forinternet advertisements through Face book and Google, which is a new publicity avenuethat can reach many voters, especially younger ones.

VI: Election Campaign Lessons

A. Budget & Campaign PlanOnce you have been successful in getting the initiative or referendum on the

ballot, you will need to run an election campaign directed at the public. This typicallytakes some money. You should research what successful ballot measure campaignstypically cost in your jurisdiction. This is hopefully available under Campaign Financedisclosures on your City or County Clerks Website. You will also want to consult with

local activists about the expenses of running an election campaign with the tactics

necessary for success in your jurisdiction.

For instance, we knew that to run a campaign in Boulder we needed a visiblepresence to be taken seriously. That meant having professionally printed materials, yardsigns and a strong web presence early on. With the strategies that we identified as mostimportant, our campaign budget was $10,000. Other jurisdictions may require more orless. It will be useful to have some of the necessary money raised early, so you can start
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Yes-on-2H/221688887888742http://www.facebook.com/pages/Yes-on-2H/221688887888742http://www.facebook.com/pages/Yes-on-2H/221688887888742http://www.facebook.com/pages/Yes-on-2H/221688887888742


6/28


the campaign with early literature and signs. Successful campaign materials breedsuccessful fundraising. We were very fortunate that a committed volunteer steppedforward almost immediately with a large donation so that our campaign could quickly getoff the ground.

B.

Organizational Structure

You will need to create your election campaign organizational structure. Wechose to designate a Campaign Management Committee (hereinafter the "Committee")rather than one manager. The Committee was composed of representatives from the 4groups that were most involved up to that point: the Boulder Democrats, Rocky MountainPeace & Justice, Boulder County Move to Amend and Colorado Common Cause. Wewere very fortunate to have a highly experienced and well-connected activist to guide usthrough the process. We regularly met weekly, but in the beginning, twice a week.

The Committee management system worked well for us as there was no one who

had the time to manage it all alone. The greatest downside to this model is that decision-making was more arduous than it would have been with a single campaign manager. Thebenefit of this model was that it was very helpful to have 6 peoplewith differentstrengths and skillsdirectly involved in the day-to-day oversight of the campaign. Othercommunities may find that an individual campaign manager (working with a leadershipsteering committee or the full campaign) works better for them.

As important as a viable management structure to ensuring election success, is acadre of dedicated volunteers. The Boulder campaign had a large group of dedicatedactivists (10-20) who came to regular weekly meetings and were highly active in gettingthings done. They routinely took on some of the leadership and activity roles listedbelow.

There were times when the Management Committee had to make hard decisionsthat were necessary for the success of the campaign, but caused some hard feelings withother activists. Our most difficult management challenge was over hurt feelings whenthere were significant delays in fulfillment of crucial job responsibilities, so that the jobresponsibilities had to be transferred. One lesson learned is that it would useful todetermine ahead of time that volunteers performing particularly challenging roles havehad prior experience in fulfilling these roles and that there is a willingness on the part ofvolunteers to fulfill all the fundamentals of the assigned role.


7/28


C. Job Roles and Responsibilities

Below are the job responsibilities we identified when developing our electioncampaign plan. For the most part, these campaign functions were led by members of ourcore volunteer group. With few exceptions, the division of labor was not rigidly fixed.

Also, depending upon the size of the job, one person could have several jobresponsibilities and more than one person might share a job responsibility. Finally,members of the management team assumed responsibility for specific role supervision.

Our campaign recruited people to fulfill these roles by sending out the job descriptionsthrough our own organizational email lists and that of our partners.

(1) Outreach: (events, tabling, etc, including maintaining events calendar);(2) Blogs and Letters to the Editor;(3) Field work: with 4 sub-categories:

Get out the Vote;

Yard Signs;Lit Drop;Phone Banking;

(4) Media cultivation (articles and endorsements);(5) Web Master;(6) Email content;(7) Fund raising;(8) Treasurer and all things budgetary;(9) Communications (slogan/brochure/flyer/yard sign design/fund-raising letter/donationenvelope, press advertisements (everything but web));

a. Content Developmentb. Graphic Design/ Layout

(10) Responsibilities List-keeping and Deadlines;(11) Secretary for meeting minutes;(l2) Face book and Twitter networking;(13) Web content including web calendar;(14) Management of email list;(15) Face book and Google paid advertisements;(16) Internal communications.

D. Checklist of Some Useful Election Campaign Components

1. Internal Communications: You will need communication tools such asemail lists, Google groups and Googledocs to keep everyone on the same page.You may want to create separate communication groups, such as a leadershipgroup, a campaign team group, and a general supporter group.

2. Slogan and Logo: To be used repeatedly and consistently throughout thecampaign. At the beginning of our campaign, we had a meeting solely to addressour slogan. After brainstorming and considering numerous ideas, we voted on


8/28


Stand Up for Democracy, primarily because it forcefully advocated a simple

task for voters to do. We had a wonderful activist who designed numerousversions of the following logo which we used on all of our materials:

Some folks were concerned that Stand Up for Democracy was too vague in thatit did not express specify the issue we were supporting. However, most peopleseemed happy with our logo. It instructed people as to exactly what we wantedthem to do on election day. It was easily recognizable and stood out well. It wasalso only 2 colors which made printing more affordable than if we had used morecolors.

3. Printed campaign materials: You will need to invest in printed campaignmaterials. Depending on the scope of your campaign and your outreach plans,these types of materials will vary.

All of your printed materialsand the websiteshould be used to reinforce yourcampaigns message. The content should be consistent across media, and includeyour logo. In the Boulder campaign, we felt it was important to use a unionprinter. As noted in the job descriptions, the campaign will need someone todevelop the content and do the graphic design.

Given the cost (and environmental footprint) of these materials, think carefully

about what will be most useful. In Boulder, we used:

Flyers and Brochures: We had a bi-fold brochure that we shared atcommunity presentations, tabling events, etc. We also produced a smaller flyer toinclude in the coordinated literature drop. Be sure to budget for postage ifmailings are to be used.

Yard Signs: Expensive, and not necessarily very green (though there

are more environmentally friendly options to consider), yard signs are importantin many locales as a way of increasing the campaigns visibility. If you are

working in a community where yard signs are standard, you should plan to

include these in your campaign budget. We had a volunteer in charge of recruitinga team to distribute and after the election, pick up yard signs.

Buttons/ Bumper Stickers: If you can afford buttons and bumper

stickers, they are a good way to build ongoing visibility for your campaign.

4. Fundraising: It is important to have your supporters belly-up, not only withsweat equity but with money, since some money, unfortunately, is typically


9/28


needed to present your message to the voters. Ask your endorsing groups to gettheir boards and supporters to contribute. You might want to send out fundraisingappeal letters or emails - if letters, money for postage and printing is needed. It isuseful to ask supportive local officials and other opinion leaders for money too (inaddition to direct contributions, these people may be willing to fundraise on your

behalf and/or fundraise for the campaign from their lists). Organizational alliesmay be able to make direct contributions, donate in-kind contributions (e.g.printing or supplies), or contribute staff time to the campaign.

5. Kick-off party: This is important not only as a major fundraiser but also as apep rally to get folks revved up for working hard in getting out the message andthe vote. This can also be a good way to convert your supporters into activevolunteers.

6. Website: Your website should be up and running quickly, not only to spreadthe word about the campaign but also to obtain donations; it should be well-doneand professional looking, if possible, to show that this is a serious, legitimate

effort.

7. Treasurer work: There are campaign finance rules that need to be compliedwith, and the books need to be balanced. You will need to open a bank accountand may decide to employ a method of obtaining internet donations, such asPayPal.

8. Outreach: To generate support for the campaign, loads of outreach should bescheduled at as many important events as possible, i.e., other campaign parties orrallies, your own parties or rallies, public events such as Farmer's Markets, orother events where large amounts of voters are expected. If you havent worked

on a local campaign before, ask your allies and supporters who run campaignswhich local events are best for outreach.

9. Earned Media/ Publicity: Solicit as much free positive media coverage aspossible, through personal outreach to media outlets as well as scheduling regularletters to the editor and Op-ed pieces. Many communities now have local politicalwebsites and/or blogs, which can be another effective way to generate mediacoverage. And at no cost, dont forget to tweet often and post often on Facebook!We learned, late in the game, that we should have asked our organizational andindividual supporters to like us on Facebook from the beginning so we would be

able to expand our online presence and reach.

10. Paid Media: Depending on the size of your community and media market,you may want to consider running newspaper and/or radio ads. We ran ads in thelocal newspapers (both the citys daily newspaper and free weekly) in the finalmonth before the election. Some newspapers also do a dedicated voter guide,which is a good way to reach voters. We also ran ads on Google and Facebook.


10/28


10. Field/ Get Out The Vote (GOTV): You will need to educate voters aboutyour measure and make sure they turn out to vote. Traditional field/ GOTVactivities are: walking neighborhoods, sending mail (expensive), and/or phonecalling. We primarily walked neighborhoods but did some phone-banking as well.Field efforts are volunteer-intensive and can be challenging if you are competing

with many other candidate and issue campaigns for volunteers. In Boulder, wewere able to share some of the GOTV with other like-minded campaigns thatwere also on the ballot. Twelve different issue and candidate campaigns joinedforces in Boulder to jointly inform voters through a literature drop. We combinedall of our literature and divided the chores of collation and dropping off theliterature. We thus reached all of the likely voters in Boulder, while without theshared effort, each individual campaign would have reached but a small fraction.

11. Office Space: You will need space to meet and collate literature in; you willalso need access to phones and computers. Except for our GOTV phone calling,for which we rented some phones, we just used our private phones and computers.

12. Victory Party Celebration/DebriefingBe prepared to celebrate yourcampaign on election night, and afterward, you might want to debrief to discusswhat worked and what didnt work. Think of sharing your acquired knowledgewith others as we are doing here. You might consider editing and adding to thisdocument to pass along to others.

VII. Overall Campaign Resources

You can visit our website for ideas in setting up your own website:www.yeson2h.orgor request to use ours as a template. Contact Laura Spicer atemail below for more information.

Annie Leonards YouTube video The Story of Citizens UnitedA greateducational piece thats only 8 minutes long. It explains the issues very well. Itseasy to watch and understand. It is on thewww.yeson2h.org website.

Graphics on the POCLAD website and Move to Amend website - (Specifically,Matt Wuerker cartoons about this issue.) We used these images on our GOTVflyer and handouts. There is a lot of other useful anti-corporate personhoodinformation and tools on these websites.

YouTube videos of Richard Grossman - founder of Program on Corporations,

Law & Democracy (POCLAD).
http://www.yeson2h.org/http://www.yeson2h.org/http://www.yeson2h.org/http://www.yeson2h.org/http://www.yeson2h.org/http://www.yeson2h.org/http://www.yeson2h.org/


11/28


VIII: Attachments identified below are found in a separate document entitled

"Anti-Corporate Personhood Resolution: Attachments":

Attachment A: May 16, 2011 Proposal by Boulder Move to Amend sent to theBoulder City Council requesting the pro-democracy resolution be put onCouncil's agenda;

Attachment B: Abolish Corporate Personhood and Regulate Money in Politics,Op-Ed, Dan Gould, Laura Spicer and Judy Lubow; Boulder Daily Camera

Attachment C: The People of Boulder Should Have the Chance to Vote onCorporate Constitutional Rights, Op-Ed, Carolyn Bninski

Attachment D: Move to Amend Letter to Boulder City Council, August 3, 2011,addressing legal concerns of Boulder Council members;

Attachment E: Colorado Common Cause Letter to Boulder City Council, August1, 2011, addressing legal concerns of Boulder Council members;

Attachment F: Boulder Campaign Press Release.

IX. Yes on 2H Boulder Contacts

Do not hesitate to contact members of Boulder's Yes on 2H Campaign ManagementTeam for further help: Elena Nunez ([email protected]), Gina Hardin([email protected]) and Judy Lubow ([email protected]) at Colorado CommonCause (303) 292-2163; Regina Cowles,[email protected],Activist

Extraordinaire; Carolyn Bninski ([email protected] ) Rocky Mountain Peace &Justice; Laura Spicer ([email protected]), Boulder County Democrats. We are alleager to facilitate your work to grow this movement.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


12/28

Boulder Anti-Corporate Personhood

Resolution:

Lessons Learned from the 2011 Boulder

Campaign

Attachments A-F


13/28

Attachment A

Attachment A to Anti-Corporate Personhood Resolutions: Lessons Learned P. 1 of 3

City of Boulder Ballot Initiative Proposal

May 16, 2011

As concerned citizens and members of Boulder Move to Amend, we are proposing that theBoulder City Council put on the November 2011 ballot an initiative for the citizens to vote on.

This initiative would give Boulder voters the civic ability to proclaim their sense of thecommunity support foror rejection ofan amendment to the US Constitution.

The specified Constitutional amendment would counter the effects of Supreme Court decisionssuch as the recent Citizens United v FECdecision, which granted human Constitutional rights tocorporations and which precludes reasonable regulation of the expenditure of money to influenceelections.

In April 2011, a similar ballot initiative was overwhelmingly approved by the citizens ofMadison, WI (84% passage rate) and the surrounding Dane County (78%).

We are proposing the following language for the ballot initiative, with the understanding that thelanguage ultimately to appear in an actual Constitutional amendment might evolve somewhatdifferently:

RESOLVED, the City of Boulder, Colorado, calls for reclaiming democracy from

the corrupting effects of undue corporate and monetary influence by amending the

United States Constitution to:

1. abolish corporate personhood and prohibit the granting of Constitutional rights

to any entity other than a human being; and to

2. clarify that the expenditure of money is not Constitutionally protected free speech

so that money spent to influence elections can be subject to reasonable regulation topromote equal protection under the law for all human citizens.

We are not proposing this ballot initiative lightly. We are doing so because we believe that ourdemocracy is in danger of being corrupted by the unlimited expenditure of money by powerfulcorporations and individuals to control our government and dominate our elections. The amountof money actually spent on federal elections has exploded to astronomical heights, as shown bythis graph from the Center for Responsive Politics:

Cycle Total Cost of Election

2008* $5,285,680,8832006 $2,852,658,140

2004* $4,147,304,003

2002 $2,181,682,066

2000* $3,082,340,937

1998 $1,618,936,265

*Presidential election cycle


14/28

Attachment A


(http://www.opensecrets.org/bigpicture/index.php)

Things are only going to get much worse with the Citizens Uniteddecision. According to USNews and World Report, the 2010 midterm elections were the most expensive midterm electionsin history, with a total cost of approximately $4 billion dollars.

(http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2010/11/09/4-billion-in-election-spending-a-drop-in-the-bucket)

These astronomical election expenses makes it impossible for ordinary Americanswithordinary incomesto effectively get their needs across to their politicians, who have to spendmuch of their time requesting campaigns contributions from wealthy corporate and individualdonors.

In addition, the granting of Constitutional rights to corporations have given large

corporations the ability to stifle the will of the people, as expressed through their

governments, in many spheres of economic and political life. For example, between 1905 and

the 1930s, the Supreme Court invalidated approximately 200 economic regulations thatinterfered with corporations, usually under the due process clause of the 14th Amendment.(http://reclaimdemocracy.org/personhood/personhood_timeline.pdf )

There is a growing national movement to curb the power of corporations and the unrestrainedexpenditure of money in politics. Examples include:

The Boulder County Democratic Party, on April 13, 2011, passed a resolution supportingthe passage of a Constitutional amendment along the lines advocated in this proposal.(See Attachment 1.)

On April 6, 2011, voters in the City of Madison and Dane County, WI, passed a similarinitiative. (See Attachment 2.)

In addition, many municipalities, including Berkeley, CA and Pittsburgh, PA, havepassed resolutions to curb corporate power. To read about Berkeleys resolution, go to

http://www.duhc.org/profiles/blogs/berkeley-passes-resolution

To read about Pittsburghs ordinance that challenges corporate personhood and bansfracking, go to http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brendan-demelle/pittsburgh-bans-natural-g_b_784489.html

To see a map of resolutions nationwide, go tohttp://movetoamend.org/resolutions-map

Placing this initiative on the ballot will give the voters of Boulder a chance to weigh in on thisimportant issue affecting all Americans, and place Boulder in the forefront of the movement toreclaim American democracy.
http://movetoamend.org/resolutions-maphttp://movetoamend.org/resolutions-maphttp://movetoamend.org/resolutions-maphttp://movetoamend.org/resolutions-map


15/28

Attachment A


Boulder Initiative Proposal - ATTACHMENT 1

The Boulder County Democratic Party passed the following resolution supporting an anti-

corporate personhood amendment on April 13, 2011:

Be it resolved that the Boulder County Democratic Party (BCDP) calls on our electedofficials in the City of Boulder and County of Boulder, other communities within theCounty of Boulder, and our elected state and national officials, to join citizens, grassrootsorganizations and governments across the country in calling for an amendment to theU.S. Constitution to abolish corporate personhood and to prohibit the granting ofConstitutional rights to any entity other than a human being, and to clarify that theexpenditure of money is not Constitutionally protected free speech and that money spentto influence elections can be subject to reasonable regulation to promote equalprotection under the law for all human citizens.

Be it further resolved that the BCDP supports the call to other communities,jurisdictions and organizations to join with us by passing similar resolutions.

Be it further resolved that the BCDP supports the call for education to increase publicawareness of the threats to our democracy posed by corporate personhood and thegranting of Constitutional rights to corporations, as well as by the granting of free speechprotection to the expenditure of money to influence elections. The BCDP encourageslively discussion to build understanding and consensus to take appropriate communityand municipal actions to democratically respond to these threats.

Boulder Initiative Proposal - Attachment 2

The text of the City of Madison ballot referendum (April 6, 2011) reads:

RESOLVED, the City of Madison, Wisconsin, calls for reclaiming democracy from thecorrupting effects of undue corporate influence by amending the United StatesConstitution to establish that:

1. Only human beings, not corporations, are entitled to constitutional rights, and

2. Money is not speech, and therefore regulating political contributions and spending is

not equivalent to limiting political speech.

(http://reclaimdemocracy.org/articles/2011/resolutions_ftbragg_wisconsin.php)


16/28

Attachment B

Attachment B to Anti-Corporate Personhood Resolutions: Lessons Learned P. 1 of 2

Abolish Corporate Personhood and Regulate Money in Politics

Op-Ed by Dan Gould, Laura Spicer and Judy Lubow; Boulder Daily Camera

Corporations and other collections of human beings for a common purpose are an integral part of

our society and economy. They often advance our purposes and our prosperity. That being said,

they are not human beings, and shouldnt be treated as such.

The Supremes got it wrong. In 2010, when the U. S. Supreme Court, in Citizens United vs.

Federal Election Commission, affirmed its bizarre proposition that corporations have the same

Constitutional right of freedom of speech as human beings and that unlimited corporate spendingto influence elections is protected free speech, they got it wrong! It is so wrong that we human

beings have got to fix it.

This is why the Boulder County Democratic Party and Boulder Move to Amend are calling on

the Boulder City Council to put the following referendum on the November City Ballot.

RESOLVED, the people of the City of Boulder, Colorado call for reclaiming democracy from thecorrupting effects of undue corporate influence by amending the United States Constitution to

establish that:1. Only human beings, not corporations, are entitled to constitutional rights, and2. Money is not speech, and therefore regulating political contributions and spending is not

equivalent to limiting political speech.

This statement of principle says, in effect, that corporations and unions and clubs and other such

entities arent and shouldnt be treated as human beings. They are fundamentally different:

human beings can be drafted, fight and die in wars, marry, have children, need medicaltreatment, healthy food, clean air and water, and the list goes on. Corporations, on the other

hand, are lifeless artificial beings that can form, dissolve, change names and locations, and canaccumulate the financial assets of countless human beings.

How did we get into this mess? Thom Hartmanns bookUnequal Justice says it began with a

mistake by a law clerk when summarizing a Supreme Court ruling in 1886. The Court had notruled that Corporations were persons, but the summary written by the clerk said as much. This

summary has been relied upon by later Courts to make further decisions. So, while the crafters

of our Constitution did not see corporations as equal to humans, Supreme Court case law has

made them so.

Would the amendment cause corporations and similar groupings to lose all their rights and

protections? No, this amendment would simply say that the Constitutional rights like freedomof speech apply only to human beings. There are rights and protections in federal and state lawsnow for corporations and similar entities. These could continue and even be expanded, but they

would not be inalienable rights such as exist for people under the Constitution - they would be

changeable by legislatures based on evolving needs of society. Also, other countries (Canada,England, Germany, Japan, etc.) have corporations and economies that thrive without having

constitutional rights equal to human beings.


17/28

Attachment B

Attachment B to Anti-Corporate Personhood Resolutions: Lessons Learned P. 2 of 2

Why here? The problem of corporations and their money being treated like humans is not just a

state or national concern. Local governments make decisions every day-- zoning, tax breaks,utility ownership-- that corporations spend lots of money trying to influence. They have a right

to protect their interests, but this right should not be the same as that which exist for humans.

The citizens of Boulder should be given the opportunity to say No, we dont want big money

and corporate power swaying the government decisions that affect our lives.

Why Now? Tritely put,a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. The process to get

the Constitution amended will take a while, but it will not be finished if it doesnt start.November 2011 is optimal timing. This issue can get the exposure and debate it deserveswithout being overshadowed by the Presidential and other races in 2012.

Join Us. On Tuesday, August 16th, the Boulder City Council will be voting on whether to

include the proposed referendum on the November ballot, after holding a Public Hearing on the

issue. We hope you will join the Boulder County Democratic Party, Boulder Move to Amend

and other members of our coalition at 6:00 PM in City Council chambers, to show support for

this referendum. If you choose, you can also speak at that time. Council Chambers are on thesecond floor of the Boulder Municipal Building at Broadway and Canyon. Some of us will be

arriving earlier, between 5:30 and 6 pm, to show support for the municipalization issue which isalso on the Council Agenda.

Learn more. There is more information about this issue at movetoamend.org and more

information about the Boulder Democrats' position on this and other issues at

bouldercountydems.org. Look us up, learn more and help protect the unique rights ofWe thePeople.


18/28

Attachment C

Attachment C to Anti-Corporate Personhood Resolutions: Lessons Learned P. 1 of 2

The People of Boulder Should Have the Chance to Vote on

Corporate Constitutional RightsOp-Ed by Carolyn Bninski

Large multi-national corporations today wield enormous power. They determine whether our

oceans are filled with oil, whether we get more floods, droughts, hurricanes, tornadoes and othersigns of an accelerating climate crisis, whether Americans have jobs or our jobs are outsourced

to low-wage countries, whether our military budget keeps expanding, and whether our economyimplodes, to name a few of the thousands of ways that mega corporations impact us on a daily

basis.

The fundamental question here is, who is in charge of our country-- the big corporations or thepeople and their elected officials? Who should make the decisions about our well being, our

future, our environment and our jobs?

As a result of decisions of appointed-for-life Supreme Court justices over the past 125 years,

corporations have been given a broad range of Constitutional Rights, including many of thosecontained in the Bill of Rights. Large multinational corporations have almost exclusively

benefitted from these rights in courts of law. Local and small businesses, nonprofits and laborunions lose out from the granting of corporate constitutional rights because they cannot begin to

complete in courts, or with money spent in elections, with these mega corporations.

Here are some of the rights Supreme Courts have been given to corporations:

1st

Amendment Free Speech rights, which corporations use to influence elections through

political contributions, and to advertise for guns, tobacco and other dangerous products;

4th Amendment Search and Seizure rights, which corporations have used to avoid subpoenas toinvestigate illegal price fixing and to continue corporate pollution in spite of community

opposition;

5th

Amendment Takings and Due Process rights, under which communities have had to pay

corporations for lost property value after the communities passed laws to protect themselvesfrom corporate harm; and

14th

Amendment Due Process and Equal Protection Rights, passed to free slaves, whichcorporations have instead used to build chain stores and erect cell towers against community

desires and to oppose public policies that protected local businesses.

In addition, mega corporations have used the Commerce Clause and the Contract Clause of theConstitution to further their goal of making larger profits at the expense of communities. For

more info on the rights that corporation have used as a result of being granted Constitutional

rights, seehttp://movetoamend.organdwww.poclad.org.

This judicial distortion of rights and the Constitution has resulted in the destruction of

communities, our economy, our politics and the natural world. The Supreme Court, by granting
http://movetoamend.org/http://movetoamend.org/http://movetoamend.org/http://www.poclad.org/http://www.poclad.org/http://www.poclad.org/http://www.poclad.org/http://movetoamend.org/


19/28

Attachment C

Attachment C to Anti-Corporate Personhood Resolutions: Lessons Learned P. 2 of 2

Constitutional rights to corporations and defining corporations as persons, has destroyed our

democratic right to rule ourselves. Since the people are the legitimate source of power, we havethe power to determine the role and limits of power of corporations in our society and to prevent

them from destroying the quality of our lives and environment in their headlong pursuit of profit.

To do this, we need to amend the U.S. Constitution so that the constitutional rights granted tocorporations by Supreme Courts are ended. This is essential so that we can restore our

democracy and the primacy of real persons, to make the decisions essential for our survival, andto protect the earth.

A national movement of citizens (www.movetoamend.org) is organizing to pass a constitutional

amendment to abolish constitutional rights for corporations and the equating of money withspeech. In Boulder, the Boulder Coalition for Democracy, spearheaded by the Boulder

Democratic Party, Boulder County Move to Amend, and the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice

Center, has asked the City Council to put a referendum on the Boulder ballot which would allow

the people of Boulder to vote on these two propositions.

The ballot referendum would say:

"Shall the People of Boulder adopt the following resolution: RESOLVED, the People of Boulder

CO call for reclaiming democracy from the corrupting effects of undue corporate influence by

amending the United States Constitution to establish that:


2. Money is not speech, and therefore regulating political contributions and spending is not

equivalent to limiting political speech."

On Tuesday, August 16, the Boulder City Council will hold a public hearing on this proposal at

the Municipal Building at Broadway and Canyon. Your presence is needed. You can just showup and support the resolution with your presence or you can sign up to speak. Please be part of

this historic moment in restoring our democracy.
http://www.movetoamend.org/http://www.movetoamend.org/http://www.movetoamend.org/http://www.movetoamend.org/


20/28

Attachment D

National SteeringCommitteeAlliance forDemocracyAmericanFriendsServiceCommittee NEOhioBlack Agenda ReportCenter forMedia andDemocracyDemocracyUnlimitedIndependentProgressivePoliticsNetworkLibertyTree Foundationfor theDemocraticRevolutionNationalLawyersGuildNo MoreStolenElections!Programon

CorporationsLaw and DemocracyProgressiveDemocratsof AmericaReclaim Democracy

UltimateCivics

Women's InternationalLeague for Peace andFreedom

KeyPartnersA New Way Forward

AfterDowning Street

Backbone Campaign

Family Farm Defenders

Green Partyof the U.S

VelvetRevolutionWisconsinDemocracyCampaign

August 3, 2011

Dear Honorable Councilmembers:

We are writing to provide legal and historical information to inform your

decision on the proposed ballot measure dealing with corporate constitutional

rights.

It is important to emphasize that this is a proposed resolution. There are nolegal ramifications for the City of Boulder in placing this on the ballot or havingthe voters approve it. Placing this measure on the ballot is a straightforward

way to give the people of Boulder a voice in one of the most pressing political

debates of our time. We strongly encourage you to do this.

The legal doctrine commonly known as corporate personhood is the creation

of case law over the last 125 years. It is shorthand for the idea that a

corporation has inherent constitutional rights that cannot be infringed upon by

the democratic process. Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission (2010)

represents one of the most recent rulings on the grounds of this doctrine, but

the problems of corporate constitutional rights are far more expansive.

The word corporation does not appear anywhere in the U. S. Constitution

not even in the later amendments. The framers never intended for

corporations to receive the same protections as natural persons. Thomas

Jefferson warned against the power of large corporations when he wrote: "I

hope we shall... crush in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations,

which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and to

bid defiance to the laws of their country." (Letter to George Logan, November

12, 1816).

The origins of this doctrine can be traced back to Santa Clara County v.

Southern Pacific Railroad, an 1886 Supreme Court case in which a court

reporter with ties to the railroad industry included a head note deeming

corporations persons under the Fourteenth Amendment. Three years later in

Minneapolis & St. Louis Railroad v. Beckwith (1889), the Supreme Court

formally ruled that a corporation is a person entitled to both due process and

equal protection. This was the Robber Baron era when the ruling elite

(especially railroad corporations) wielded enormous political power.


21/28

Attachment D

Justice Hugo Black, one of the foremost opponents of corporate constitutional rights in the

history of the Court, would later point out that the decision to grant Fourteenth Amendment

rights to corporations had no basis in law or history:

The judicial inclusion of the word corporation in the Fourteenth Amendment has had arevolutionary effect on our form of government. The states did not adopt the

amendment with knowledge of its sweeping meaning under its present construction.Nosection of the amendment gave notice to the people that, if adopted, it would subject

every state law and municipal ordinance, affecting corporations, (and all

administrative actions under them) to censorship of the United States courts. No word

in all this amendment gave any hint that its adoption would deprive the states of their

long---recognized power to regulate corporations. (Connecticut General Life Insurance

Company v. Johnson, 1938)

The Fourteenth Amendment was clearly intended to protect the life, liberty, and property of

former slaves. It is illogical and outrageous that it has become a way for corporations to avoid

and overturn business regulation efforts at every level of government. Famed historian Howard

Zinn observes that of the Fourteenth Amendment cases brought before the Supreme Court

between 1890 and 1910, nineteen dealt with the Negro, 288 dealt with corporations. (A

Peoples History of the United States, Chapter 11).

In contemporary times, former Vice President Al Gore notes in his book The Assault on Reason,

that the granting of Fourteenth Amendment protections to corporations marked the

ascendancy of corporate power in both the economic and political spheres of American Life.

Gore argues that imbuing corporations with the same rights as human beings contributed to

the concentration of wealth with an ever---smaller group of private business interests:

By the end of the nineteenth century, the monopolies in commerce that Jefferson had

wanted to prohibit in the Bill of Rights were full---blown monsters, crushing competition

from smaller businesses, bleeding farmers with extortionate shipping costs, and buying

politicians at every level of government.

The Court later illegitimately granted corporations additional rights: Fourth Amendment

protections (Hale v. Henkel, 1906), Sixth Amendment protections (Armour Packing Co. v. U.S.,

1908), Fifth Amendment protections (Pennsylvania Coal Co. v. Mahon, 1922), and Seventh

Amendment protections (Ross v. Bernhard, 1970). They were also granted expansive First

Amendment protections (First National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti, 1977), allowing for corporate

spending in elections (made possible by the Supreme Courts earlier ruling that money is equal

to speech; Buckley v. Valeo, 1976).

In the nearly 100 years between Santa Clara and Bellotti, corporations had gained enormous

political power, but there were still limits. Decades of jurisprudence had allowed for legislative

limitations on corporate election spending. The Supreme Court even affirmed certain types of

limitations on corporate spending (Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce, 1990). Modest


22/28

Attachment D

limitations, like those in the McCain---Feingold Act were deemed legal because the

government has a compelling interest in curtailing corruption. The Supreme Courts recent

ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission delivered a huge blow to those

efforts. Both for---profit and nonprofit Corporations may now spend unlimited amounts of

money in our elections.

All these profound changes to how our society and government operate were handled in the

Courts. We believe it is important to have a political debate on these issues, which is what a

non---binding resolution creates.

It is our understanding that concerns have been raised by city councilmembers about how

rolling back corporate constitutional rights might affect nonprofit corporations. We understand

these concerns and we want to make sure they are addressed. But it is important to reiterate

that the proposed resolution would be a statement of position, not a law.

As attorneys and democracy advocates who operate non---profits, we believe that both

individuals and corporations deserve legal protections, but that only human beings deserve

constitutional protections. Corporations are chartered by We thePeople through our

government. Therefore their powers and protections should be statutory, not constitutional.

The rights of natural persons, which the Constitution is designed to protect, have long been

recognized as natural, inalienable rights given by god or inherent in nature. The Constitution

does not create rights; it recognizes rights that pre---exist the Constitution itself.

The Court's ruling in Citizens Unitedis the reason that this issue has recently gained so much

attention. The actions of Citizens United, a nonprofit corporation, led to the court's ruling and

the subsequent public outrage. If it weren't for nonprofit campaign spending, this itemprobably wouldnt even be on the Citys agenda. Clearly the problem is not limited to for-

--profit corporations. Nonprofits on both sides of the political spectrum pour money into our

elections

in a seemingly endless and constantly escalating spending war that is unhealthy for democracy.

It is no wonder that citizens are losing confidence in the integrity of elections and of our own

government.

It has also come to our attention that specific concerns were raised about the privacy rights of

Planned Parenthood and its patients. Personal privacy rights, including those affirmed and

protected by Roe v. Wade (1973), would still apply in the absence of corporate constitutional

rights. Government investigators would need to obtain a warrant in order to gain access to the

medical records of patients, just as they do now. Health providers would still have a legal

responsibility to protect personal medical information.

Move to Amend is a coalition of more than 100 organizations, including many prominent

nonprofits such as the National Lawyers Guild, Friends of the Earth, Womens International

League for Peace and Freedom, Alliance for Democracy, and the Organic Consumers

Association. We all agree that our organizations are fundamentally different from human

beings and should be treated as such under law.


23/28

Attachment D

Without First Amendment protections for corporations, government could regulate or prohibit

corporate campaign spending and lobbying (as they did for years). Without constitutional

protections for commercial speech, it would become easier to put limitations on advertising

for dangerous products like tobacco. Without the right of corporations notto speak,

government could require additional product labeling laws to inform and protect the public.

Without Fourth Amendment protections for corporations, government could inspect for

environmental, health, or worker safety violations without a warrant or prior notice. The

Occupational Safety and Health Administration would regain the level of investigative authority

it had up until 1978, when the Supreme Court ruled that checking for safety violations requires

a warrant (Marshall v. Barlow's, Inc.). The same goes for other federal, state, and local agencies.

If the due process protections of the Fourteenth Amendment were not applied to corporations,

government would have discretion to prevent corporate mergers and prohibit corporations

from owning stock in other corporations. Without equal protection for corporations,government could levy differential taxes, regulate or prohibit chain stores according to

community desires, and restrict the size of corporations.

Eliminating the court---created doctrine of corporate constitutional rights would open a

number of new opportunities for meaningful regulations to protect democracy and restore

public trust.

We have no doubt that such powers would be put to good use in progressive cities like Boulder.

Yet this movement is larger than any one agenda or ideology. Indeed, one of the most

outspoken critics of corporate constitutional rights was Justice William Rehnquist, a

conservative appointed by President Richard Nixon:

It cannot be so readily concluded that the right of political expression is equally

necessary to carry out the functions of a corporation organized for commercial purposes.

A State grants to a business corporation the blessings of potentially perpetual life and

limited liability to enhance its efficiency as an economic entity. It might reasonably be

concluded that those properties, so beneficial in the economic sphere, pose special

dangers in the political sphere. (Bellotti)

Principled people from across the political spectrum are concerned about the power that

corporations have in our government and our society. Move to Amend is leading an effort tochange the balance of power by amending the Constitution to clarify that corporations are not

entitled to constitutional rights and that money is not speech. This is a struggle to make real the

promise of American democracy.

We know this will be a long, difficult effort, which is why we are starting at the local level,

where citizens are concerned about corporate power in their own communities. By organizing,

educating, and passing local resolutions, we can build grassroots momentum to drive our


24/28

Attachment D

demands to state legislatures and ultimately to Congress. Please give the people of Boulder an

opportunity to join this effort by placing this measure on the ballot.

If you have any questions regarding the content of this letter, please contact us at 707---269---

0984. We would welcome the opportunity to continue this conversation.

Sincerely,

The Executive Committee of the Move To Amend Coalition

Laura Bonham

David Cobb, Esq.

George Friday

Lisa Graves, Esq.

Ben Manski, Esq.

Matt Nelson

Nancy Price

Kaitlin Sopoci---Belknap


25/28

Attachment E

Attachment E to Anti-Corporate Personhood Resolutions: Lessons Learned P. 1 of 3

August 1, 2011

Dear Members of Boulder City Council,

We applaud your serious consideration of a ballot measure that would allow Boulder

voters the opportunity to express support for a constitutional amendment that would

establish that unlimited campaign spending is not equivalent to free speech and that the

constitution was never intended to extend extra rights to corporations above and beyond

the rights held by their individual shareholders and members.

While Colorado Common Cause supports the language introduced by Councilor Cowles thatgives voters a chance to urge Congress to propose a constitutional amendment, we would

encourage you to adopt a practice known as voter instructions that was used by voters to

bring about passage of the 17th Amendment for direct election of senators. The tradition of

constituent instructions dates back prior to the Revolutionary War. For example, colonists

sent delegates to the Continental Congress on a number of matters, even with explicit

instructions to support the Declaration of Independence. The practice continued under the

Articles of Confederation during the Philadelphia Constitutional Convention of 1787.

While constituent instructions have never been considered legally binding, they have

historically carried great force. Some of our Founding Fathers, including John Quincy

Adams, resigned their offices rather than disobey instructions from their constituents.

Voter Instructions Language

A minor modification of Councilor Cowless proposal would embrace this long tradition ofvoter instructions if it read:

Shall the City of Boulder adopt the following resolution: RESOLVED, the City of

Boulder, Colorado instructs our state and federal legislators to propose and ratify a

specific amendment to reclaim democracy from the corrupting effects of undue

corporate influence by amending the United States Constitution to establish that:


2. Money is not speech, and therefore regulating political contributions andspending is not equivalent to limiting political speech."

Corporations do not have inalienable rights of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness

Our Constitution recognizes certain rights of all human beings the right to form a

corporation is not among them. Rather, We the People have concluded that we want to

encourage people to form economic associations above and beyond what they might do


26/28

Attachment E


naturally. In order to encourage that, our governments have created corporations that

have even greater privileges than we do as individuals such as the right of limited liability.

As conservative Chief Justice John Marshall said in the case Dartmouth College v Woodward

(1819) A corporation is an artificial being, invisible, intangible, and existing only in

contemplation of law. Being the mere creature of law, it possesses only those properties

which the charter of creation confers upon it.

Money is not speech

We agree with Justice John Paul Stevens that money is property, it is not speech. While

money can indeed be used to disseminate speech, a system which bases the ability to be

heard upon ones economic wealth ensures that speech will only be available to a wealthy

few.

Expressing Boulders Values does not risk Unintended Consequences

We appreciate that as elected officials, councilors want to give great thought prior to

making changes to our cherished Constitution. This is a topic which deserves our countrys

thorough consideration. This is why we are not urging you to support a specific

amendment to the Constitution; rather you are giving voters a chance to formally instruct

state and federal legislators to begin a very thorough and deliberative process by which

amendment language could be finalized.

Moreover, we suggest you keep three important factors in mind:

1) The Constitution existed for more than a century before the Supreme Courtchanged it to include constitutional rights for corporations beginning in 1886. It

is not an unknown world that we seek to return to, but rather a time tested onethat existed in our country.

2) The Constitution existed for nearly 200 years before the Supreme Court changedit to declare that unlimited campaign spending deserved protection as free

speech. Many states had mandatory limits on campaign expenditures prior to

the 1976 Buckley v. Valeo ruling and democracy flourished.

3) An amendment to restore the Constitution to its previous state before the courtsaltered it would not remove any of the existing protections that individuals have

in the Constitution. Indeed, in the 1958 NAACP v. Alabama ruling, the Supreme

Court found that immunity from state scrutiny of petitioner's membership listsis here so related to the right of petitioner's members to pursue their lawful

private interests privately and to associate freely with others in doing so as to

come within the protection of the Fourteenth Amendment (emphasis added).

The constitutional rights of individuals involved with non-profit corporations

such as Planned Parenthood, the NAACP, churches, or other political entitieswould not be impacted by this amendment.


27/28

Attachment E


We have attached a Frequently Asked Questions page that addresses in more detail some of

the issues that have been raised around non-profit corporations.

Local Legislative Branches are Crucial to Restoring our Constitution

As far back as 1912, Teddy Roosevelt noted that the courts had grown to occupy a position

unknown in any other country, a position of superiority over both the legislature and the

executive. Worse, privilege has entrenched itself in many courts just as it formerly

entrenched itself in many legislative bodies and in many executive offices.

The five members of the current Supreme Court who reversed the Courts own precedent

in the Citizens Unitedruling have abandoned any pretense of judicial modesty and are

instead acting like an un-elected legislature by making rules of their own belief rather than

simply interpreting the Constitution. Our system of checks and balances demands a

response from the legislative branch.

As unlimited corporate spending holds more and more influence over our federal elections,

we will find less leadership among federal legislators willing to change the system that

elected them. This is the same dilemma that reformers faced when working to give women

the right to vote and to create direct election of U.S. Senators.

As we did then, citizens must use state and local leadership to overcome the self-interest of

entrenched federal incumbents. This is why local resolutions such as what you are now

considering, are not only appropriate but indeed indispensible toward upholding the

Constitution and the potential for a representative republic in America.

Thank you for your consideration,

Elena Nunez

Program Director, Colorado Common [email protected]

(303) 292-2163 office
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


28/28

Attachment F

For Immediate Release:

INSERT DATE

Press Contacts:

YES on 2H Coalition Gathers to Stand Up for Democracy

Supporters Invited to Kickoff Event on September 26

BoulderThe YES on 2H Coalition will be gathering for a campaign kickoff event onSeptember 26.

A growing number of organizations and Boulder citizens are coming together in support of

Ballot Issue 2H. Referred by the Boulder City Council for the November ballot, Ballot Issue 2H

allows Boulder voters to declare that corporations should not have the same rights as human

beings, and that spending money should not be considered a form of free speech.

What: YES on 2H Campaign Kickoff Party

Where: Carellis Restaurant, 645 30th Street, Boulder 80303

When: Monday September 26

Time: 5:30pm- 7:30pm

At the kickoff, supporters will be updated on YES on 2Hs progress and have an opportunity to

get involved. Yard signs will also be available. Representatives of endorsing organizations will

also be available for interviews.

To learn more about YES on 2H or volunteer, visitwww.YesOn2H.org.

###

Endorsed by:

Boulder County Move To Amend, Boulder County Democratic Party, Rocky Mountain

Peace and Justice Center, Colorado Common Cause, Boulder Area Labor Council-AFLCIO,

Boulder County Peace Group, Boulder Veterans for Peace, Democratic Women of

Boulder County, Earth Guardians, Greater Boulder Green Party, PLANBoulder County,

Power Past Coal, Sierra Club-Indian Peaks Group, Student Humans Ending Legal Fiction

(SHELF), 350.org
http://www.yeson2h.org/http://www.yeson2h.org/http://www.yeson2h.org/http://www.yeson2h.org/

Lessons Learned From 2011 Boulder Campaign for Pro-Democracy Amendment

Documents

Transcript of Lessons Learned From 2011 Boulder Campaign for Pro-Democracy Amendment