August 08, 2013 08:17 PM UTC

Colorado Gun Owners, Inc Runs Stealth Candidate for Recall Ballot in Pueblo

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• by: kwtree

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

Richard Anglund, a Democrat from Pueblo, and Gordon Butt from El Paso County, a Libertarian, have filed suit  to be included on the September 10 recall elections in Pueblo and El Paso Counties. The basis for the plaintiffs asking to be included is a conflict between the State petition filing deadline, which was July 29, set by Sec. State Gessler, and the Colorado Constitutional deadline, which would have been 15 days before September 10, or August 26. The two say that they met the Constitutional deadline; Secretary of State Gessler refused their petitions, saying that they did not meet the July 29 deadline.  A Denver District Court judge will likely rule on the case Monday morning, August 12.

At issue are thousands of ballots which need to be mailed out (or have already been mailed)  to military voters overseas, and the printing of ballots for local recall elections. Until the judge decides on the validity of Anglund and Butt’s lawsuit, and resolves the issue of whether Anglund and Butt can be included on the ballots, the recall election can’t go forward.

Richard Anglund, Senior, is listed on the  Secretary of State's website as the registered agent for the Colorado Gun Owners Association. His home address is listed as the  corporate address for Colorado Gun Owners, Incorporated. 

The 73 year old Democrat was interviewed for the KOAA video, advocating for Colorado Gun Owners in a townhall to discuss gun legislation on Feb 16, 2013. In the KOAA story, Mr. Anglund angrily asks:

"Do you believe in the Constitution? Do you believe in the Bill of Rights? If so, what part of the second amendment do people not understand?"

Mr. Anglund is obviously a passionate second amendment advocate, and strongly critical of the background check and magazine size limit legislation signed into law this year. If Mr. Anglund is successful in getting onto the recall ballot, Pueblo voters deserve transparency on who he is and what he stands for.  Listing him as just a "Pueblo Democrat" does not tell the entire story.

So, in Pueblo, we may find ourselves with a recall election stymied, or at least postponed, by a gun-rights advocate, Mr. Richard Anglund.  He has not been vetted by local media or community groups,  and is presumably known mostly to the gun fancier community. In order to be more than the Colorado Gun Owner "stealth candidate", Mr. Anglund owes it to Pueblo voters to publicize his gun issue advocacy.

 I did reach out to Mr. Anglund for confirmation, but he has yet to return my call.

Anglund’s organization, Colorado Gun Owners, Inc does not appear to have any corporate association with Rocky Mountain Gun Owners.

The press release and link to the plaintiff's complaint is on the Election Law Blog here.