Golden, CO – Voters turned out in record numbers for the coordinated election in Jefferson County, and in the process, torched the Ballot Issue 1A tax hike.
The 194,917 ballots cast is up from 134,203 in the last coordinated election in 2017. The over 45 percent voter turnout is high for an off-year election but hardly compares to a general election, especially in presidential years.
Of the nearly 195,000 ballots cast, 104,594 (54.74 percent) were cast in opposition to Ballot Issue 1A.
Voters in Jefferson County also turned down the statewide tax increase, Proposition CC. The electorate did, however, approve sports betting Proposition DD, by 54.13 percent. All election results in this article are reported by the Jefferson County Clerk and Recorder as of November 6, 2019, at 6:00 pm.
The county swung decisively blue in the 2018 election. But in 2019, voters made it clear they still want responsible spending. The “spend everything and demand more” strategy will not fly.
Republican Support and Non-opposition
Support for the tax increase by Republican officials also created plenty of voter animosity and may cause problems for the politicians in the future.
For example, voter denial of the 1A tax hike may cause future problems for leaders in the Jefferson County GOP. By not condemning 1A, GOP leadership refused to uphold state party resolutions to defend the Taxpayer Bill of Rights.
Republican Sheriff Jeff Shrader even supported the tax increase, claiming the money was needed for public safety. Sole Republican County Commissioner Libby Szabo and DA Pete Weir also endorsed the tax hike.
The biggest blunder, claiming the county needed the money or criminals would be released on the streets, borders on threatening the electorate.
The county, particularly Sheriff Jeff Shrader, says that level of budget cutbacks would be disastrous for all of Jeffco, affecting our safety and security. Shrader says the cuts would force the closure of part of the jail and force him to release people from custody whom he does not want running free.
We trust Jefferson County enough to say yes to 1A, by Colorado Community Media editorial board
For some reason, voters do not like being blackmailed by their elected officials.
The next meeting of the Board of County Commissioners takes place on Tuesday, November 12, 2019. Commissioners will likely discuss the alleged budget shortage at the meeting.
We are curious to see if the “lack of funds” will actually result in the release of criminals. If officials find a way to fund public safety, previous statements regarding public safety will look a lot like extortion of taxpayers.
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Extortion by politicians is wearing thin as baby diarrhea.
Skating on thin ice is risky business.
RINOs proliferate cheap imitations of value when esteem for quality is substituted by mere quantitative estimation isn’t worth anything positive.
By allowing libertines to set false agendas emphasizing lame alibis for bare greed and naked aggression, about all these so-called voter “representatives” accomplish is betrayal of conservatives.