Messenger: Colorado's Shared Heritage

Candidate: None

Contest: Amendment 74

Affiliation: U

Date delivered: Oct. 22, 2018

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Message type: mailer

Message tone: positive

About the message:

This mailer from Colorado's Shared Heritage urges a "yes" vote on Amendment 74, citing a Colorado Springs Gazette editorial that has since been reversed. The newspaper published an endorsement in early October that has since been removed, and wrote an Oct. 10 piece strongly opposing the constitutional amendment.

Amendment 74 would require governments at all levels to compensate property owners if regulations devalue their property. Although the Colorado Farm Bureau is cited as the primary backer of the ballot measure, Protect Colorado, an issue committee affiliated with the oil and gas industry, is providing virtually all of Colorado's Shared Heritage.

In addition to the Gazette editorial claim, the mailer says "out-of-state extremists" are funding the opposition to Amendment 74. That is somewhat true, since Save Our Neighborhods has received large donations from the League of Conservation Voters, Conservation Colorado and the Sixteen Thirty Fund, among others.

About the messenger:

Colorado's Shared Heritage is an issue committee supporting Amendment 74. That measure would require governments to compensate private property owners if regulations reduce the value of their property.

The messenger's money:

Thus far, the committee is funded by Protect Colorado, a committee funded by the oil and gas industry. Protect Colorado is also listed on some of the ad contracts for this committee.