November 02, 2018 09:00 AM UTC

Sorry Renters, Big Oil Thinks You're Stupid

• 2 Comments
• by: Colorado Pols

In an election season loaded to an unprecedented degree with wantonly misleading claims stuffing mailboxes around the state, a mail piece supporting the controversial Amendment 74 constitutional ballot measure forwarded to us this week manages to stand out:

This mail piece’s message targets non-homeowners, extolling the renter recipient’s hard work and savings–and “one day, you even hope to own a place you can call home.” But watch out, because “the government” can take that property you don’t have yet!

We understand the campaign’s obligation to contact renters with some kind of pro-Amendment 74 message, but this mailer is so thoroughly misleading and exploitative that we had to say something. First of all, government cannot “take your property” without fair compensation. Less deceptive pro-Amendment 74 materials refer to “reducing your property’s value,” which acknowledges Amendment 74’s far broader scope and (more importantly) the fact that private property is already protected from being taken without just compensation by the Constitution.

This isn’t merely an oversimplification. It’s a straight-up lie.

And that’s just the beginning. Amendment 74 isn’t about individual homeowners in any practical sense–it’s about enriching owners of mineral rights below homeowners, or the business that wants to open where they’re not zoned, or the gravel pit occupying what used to be your scenic backyard view. In its application, Amendment 74 would encroach on the rights of individual homeowners every time they ran into conflict with somebody’s business idea. Again, this is not a small deception. It’s a total falsification.

As for the renter voters this piece is targeting, sorry! Not only is there nothing in Amendment 74 for you, the Colorado Amendment 74 would create may not be a place you would want to buy property in at all.

For all of these reasons, this mailer is an insult to the intelligence of every voter who receives it.