Developing Unfair Elections
By Paul Jacob
Governments are supposed to administer elections, with impartiality. Not take sides. Because you can't have a fair election when the referee is playing for one of the teams.
That's why it's illegal in most states for government bodies to come out in support of candidates in an election or for either side in a referendum campaign. In Colorado, the Mountain Village city government sent a letter out to citizens about an upcoming election issue, something called the Silverline Project, a condo and rec center.
Richard Child, a nearby resident, read the letter and kicked up a fuss. As he saw it, the letter was not-so-subtly telling him to vote for the project. And yet the epistle had indeed been mailed at taxpayer expense.
Mr. Child initiated legal action, and a hearing is set for May 31. Was a law broken? Well, in the letter he signed, the town's former mayor wrote that he felt "confident that once you have reviewed the entire project in detail . .. you will once again join me in affirming the integrity of our public process for development in Mountain Village and the exhaustive effort that was undertaken to deliver what we believe is a great project for our town."
This is campaigning using the tax dollars of those who oppose the effort against them. That's plain wrong. And it is destructive to fair elections.And yet another reason for government to stay out of the business of development.
This is Common Sense. I'm Paul Jacob.
