Messenger: Senate Majority Fund
Candidate: Jessie Danielson
Contest: Senate District 20
Affiliation: D
Date delivered: Sept. 26, 2018
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Message type: mailer
Message tone: negative
About the message:
Read the two words that start this mailer, "Seems like," because they're key in understanding that the rest of the allegations against Democratic state Rep. Jessie Danielson. The super PAC Senate Majority Fund mailer begins with "Seems like" Danielson signed a pledge to raise taxes, then proceeds as if this actually happened.
Not only is there no pledge to raise taxes, Danielson and other lawmakers wouldn't be able to raise taxes without a vote of the people as required in the state Constitution.
The mailer cites:
- Her vote for a measure to improve family leave by charging an insurance premium of less than 1 percent of wages for all employees in Colorado. Because the program would have been considered an enterprise under state law, it wouldn't have qualified as a tax; higher taxes requirevoter approval. The program would not have cost a family $25,000 a year, but might cost that much over, say, 25 years. A fiscal analysis suggested the highest cost would be $990 for someone earning $100,000 a year. The bill died in the Senate.
- Her vote for a budget that would allegedly put the state in debt. Colorado's Constitution requires a balanced budget.
- Her votes on numerous other measures the mailer says would make it difficult to do business. Like other allegations, these likely should be taken with a grain of salt.
About the messenger: The Senate Majority Fund is a state-level super PAC that supports Republican candidates for Colorado's state Senate and opposes Democratic candidates.
The messenger's money: The group has raised about $2 million since Jan. 1, 2017, including $200,000 from Noble Energy, $77,200 from Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America, $64,000 from the Colorado Apartment Association, $45,000 from The Anschutz Corp. and $35,000 from Encana Oil & Gas,
