By

Dan Pilcher

CACI Senior Vice President

& Chief Operating Officer

Phone: 303.866-9600

E-Mail: dpilcher@COchamber.com

October 30, 2008

Colorado Prosperity Project Web Site to Provide Live Federal Election Results

As election results pour in next Tuesday night, the Web site of CACI’s Colorado Prosperity Project will have up-to-the-minute tracking on all Federal races.  Beginning Election Day, a countdown clock for live election results will appear on the Colorado Prosperity Project Web site.

Beginning at 5:00 p.m. MST, election data will be displayed and continuously updated throughout the evening.  The chart will depict the current status of the Electoral College as well as the number of seats won by each political party in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. 

For election results, more information on the Colorado Prosperity Project and to learn how your company can participate, visit:

or call Jenn Penn at 720.937.2148 or e-mail her at:

jenn@jenn-penn.com

CACI Plays Active Role in Supporting 54 Pro-Business State Legislative Candidates

Because of term limits, the Colorado General Assembly faces a 25 percent turnover in seats this election.  The results of the Nov. 4^th election of state legislative candidates will affect CACI’s efforts to lobby its pro-business agenda when the 2009 session is convened in January.

CACI has long played a leading role for the statewide business community in identifying and supporting pro-business candidates, and 2008 has been an especially busy one for CACI in this regard.  This year, CACI has endorsed and financially supported 55 pro-business legislative candidates, who are listed below.

To financially support pro-business candidates, CACI this year has relied on its two political action committees (PACs), one old and one new: the Colorado Business PAC and the CACI Prosperity Fund.

CACI’s Colorado Business PAC

The “old” PAC is the Colorado Business PAC, which has long provided financial support for pro-business candidates after receiving contributions from CACI member companies and individuals.

Following the end of the legislative session in May, the CACI lobbying team embarked on an extensive and thorough process of evaluating candidates.  The team fist scored incumbent legislators on their 2007 and 2008 session votes on key business issues.  The team next interviewed new candidates with the assistance of CACI members.

CACI’s lobbying team then recommended those candidates whom the team believes will best represent Colorado’s businesses community at the State Capitol to the CACI Board of Directors and its Executive Committee for endorsements and financial support from the Colorado Business PAC.

In 2002, voters approved Amendment 27, a ballot initiative advocated by organized labor and Common Cause that amended Colorado’s campaign finance laws to prohibit corporations from contributing directly to candidates.

Corporations and individuals are permitted to give to PACs but are limited to no more than $500 for every two-year election cycle (2007 and 2008, in this case).  PACs are limited, in turn, to contributing no more than $400 to a legislative candidate during a two-year election cycle.

In this election cycle, 2007-2008, CACI members and individuals contributed a total of $27,855 to the Colorado Business PAC.

CACI’s Small-Donor Committee; The CACI Prosperity Fund

To expand its support of pro-business state legislative candidates, CACI earlier this year formed a small-donor committee called the CACI Prosperity Fund.

The creation of small-donor committees was an important part of the 2002’s Amendment 27, which—as mentioned above—was advocated by Common Cause and organized labor.  The use of the payroll-deduction mechanism for workers who are union members provides organized labor with a powerful competitive advantage in funding their small-donor committees.

Last year, according to The Rocky Mountain News, small-donor committees linked to organized labor collected $1.2 million, which was four times more than that collected by all other small-donor committees.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/mar/10/political-groups-loading-for-battle/

Small-donor committees can receive only individual contributions of $50 per year.  A small-donor committee may give, however, up to $4,000 to a candidate during the two-year election cycle.  The advantage of a small-donor committee is that it allows an organization to provide substantial, extra resources to targeted, hotly contested races where the funds may be able to make a difference in the outcome.

CACI members and CACI staff contributed $3,995 this year to the CACI Prosperity Fund.

The CACI lobbying team decided that the CACI Prosperity Fund would contribute $600 to the following candidates (who had already been endorsed by CACI and had received $400 from the Colorado Business PAC):

Representative Bernie Buescher (D), HD-55, Mesa County

Bob McCluskey (R), HD-52, Larimer County

Holly Hansen (R), HD-31, Adams County

Sue Schafer (D), HD-24, Jefferson County

Senator Shawn Mitchell (R), SD-23, Adams, Broomfield and Weld Counties

Libby Szabo (R), SD-19, Jefferson County

One Last Time: CACI’s Slate of Endorsed Candidates for Election to the Colorado General Assembly

Incumbents—Colorado House of Representatives

David Balmer (R), HD-39, Arapahoe County

Bernie Buescher (D), HD-55, Mesa County

Terrance Carroll (D), HD-7, Denver)

Bob Gardner (R), HD-21, El Paso and Fremont Counties

Cory Gardner (R), HD-63, Adams, Cheyenne, Crowley, Kiowa, Kit Carson, Lincoln, Morgan, Washington and Yuma Counties

Joel Judd (D), HD-5, Denver

Andy Kerr (D), HD-26, Jefferson County

Jim Kerr (R), HD-28, Jefferson County

Steve King (R), HD-54, Mesa County

Jeanne Labuda (D), HD-1, Arapahoe and Jefferson Counties and Denver

Kent Lambert (R), HD-14, El Paso County

Larry Liston (R), HD-16, El Paso County

Marsha Looper (R), HD-19, El Paso County

Kevin Lundberg (R), HD-49, Larimer and Weld Counties

Don Marostica (R), HD-51, Larimer County

Tom Massey (R), HD-60, Chaffee, Custer, Fremont, Park, Pueblo and Saguache Counties

Mike May (R), HD-44, Douglas County

Buffie McFayden (D), HD-47, Fremont and Pueblo Counties

Wes McKinley (D), HD-64, Baca, Bent, Huerfano, Las Animas, Otero and Prowers Counties

Frank McNulty (R), HD-43, Douglas County

Karen Middleton (D), HD-42, Arapahoe County

Jack Pommer (D), HD-11, Boulder County

Jim Riesberg (D), HD-50, Weld County

Ellen Roberts (R), HD-59, Archuleta, La Plata, Montezuma and San Juan Counties

Jerry Sonnenberg (R), HD-65   , Logan, Phillips, Sedgwick and Weld Counties

Amy Stephens (R), HD-20, El Paso County

Ken Summers (R), HD-22, Jefferson County

Spencer Swalm (R), HD-37, Arapahoe County

Nancy Todd (D), HD-41, Arapahoe County

Glenn Vaad (R), HD-48, Weld County

Incumbents—Colorado State Senate

Betty Boyd (D), SD-21, Larimer County

Bill Cadman (R), SD-10, El Paso County

Peter Groff (D), SD-33, Adams County and Denver)

Mike Kopp (R), SD-22, Jefferson County

Shawn Mitchell (R), SD-23, Adams, Broomfield and Weld County

Nancy Spence (R), SD-27, Arapahoe County

Jennifer Veiga (D), SD-31, Adams County and Denver

New Candidates--Colorado State House of Representatives

Cynthia Acree (R), HD-40, Elbert and Arapahoe Counties

John Bodnar (R), HD-27, Jefferson County

Cheri Gerou (R), HD-25, Jefferson County

Holly Hansen (R), HD 31, Adams County

Carole Murray (R), HD-45, Douglas and Teller Counties 

Bob McCluskey (R), HD-52, Larimer County   

Kevin Priola (R), HD-30, Adams County

“Kit” Roupe (R), HD-17, El Paso County

Sue Schafer (D), HD-24, Jefferson County

Scott Tipton (R), HD-58, Delta, Dolores, Montezuma, Montrose, Ouray and San Miguel Counties

Mark Waller (R), HD-15, El Paso County

New Candidates—Colorado State Senate

Joyce Foster (D). SD-35, Arapaho County and Denver

Keith King (R), SD-12, El Paso County

Mark Scheffel (R), SD-4, Douglas, El Paso, Lake, Teller and Park Counties

Libby Szabo (R), SD-19, Jefferson County

Mary Hodge (D), SD-25, Adams County

Lauri Clapp (R), SD-26, Arapahoe and Jefferson Counties

Al White (R), SD-8, Garfield, Grand, Moffat, Jackson, Rio Blanco and Routt Counties

Summarizing CACI’s Positions on Ballot Initiatives

• Support: Amendment 47, “Prohibition on Mandatory Labor Union Membership & Dues”

• Oppose: Amendment 58, “Severance Taxes on the Oil & Natural Gas Industry”

• Support: Referendum “O”, Citizen-Initiated State Laws”

CACI Board Chair Peter O’Connor Interviews by The Denver Business Journal

Newly-Elected CACI Board Chair Peter O’Connor, Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel, AngloGold Ashanti North America, Inc., was recently interviewed by a reporter with The Denver Business Journal about his perspective on the economy, challenges facing the statewide business community, and CACI’s role as the state chamber of commerce.  The article can be found at:

http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2008/10/27/story12.html

Will the “Son of HB-1072” Arise in the 2009 Session of the Colorado General Assembly?

By next Wednesday, the business community will know the fate of Amendment 47, “Prohibition on Mandatory Labor Union Membership & Dues.”  Should it be defeated, CACI is concerned that organized labor will be emboldened to make another run at weakening or destroying the Colorado Labor Peace Act.

In 2007, CACI led the charge for a united business community with its opposition to HB-1072, a fast-tracked bill advocated by the unions that would have torpedoed the Colorado Labor Peace Act.  Although the surprise veto of the bill by Governor Bill Ritter ended the furious legislative battle between business and labor, the veto set the stage for the well-known developments in the labor-business arena that were to come.

Several weeks ago, Reporter Bob Mook at The Denver Business Journal took a hard look at what may await the Colorado Labor Peace Act next legislative session.  Among those he interviewed was CACI President Chuck Berry:

http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2008/10/13/story5.html