The Post Editorial Decline to sign recall petitions this summer

This summer we urge Colorado voters to decline to sign recall petitions for three elected officials. These men and women — Gov. Jared Polis, Sen. Brittany Pettersen of Lakewood, and Sen. Pete Lee of Colorado Springs — have done nothing nefarious, or illegal or untoward. Rather, they face recalls for their votes, or in the case of the governor his signature, on issues the petition gatherers disagree with.

These are not matters that should be decided by a special election. These are issues that should be decided by the next regular election. That’s how our Democracy works — someone is elected for a term and barring some exceedingly rare and horrendous action on the part of an elected official, they serve that term until the next election. Then voters can have their say.

Recalls are not meant to be do-over elections.

Voters knew when they cast ballots for Polis, Pettersen, and Lee that they were progressive Democrats. These three individuals won while being honest with their constituents about the positions they held. Furthermore, all three have served in public office for years and had extensive voting records indicative of how they would vote in the future. Nothing has occurred in their recent voting records that should surprise anyone – especially those behind the recalls.

For example, Republican Nancy Pallozzi became very familiar with Pettersen’s policy positions when they ran against each other in the 2016 election. Pettersen won by a healthy margin. Pallozzi is now trying to recall Pettersen for the very types of issues they argued about on the campaign trail.

Arthur Steele Graham and Barbara Ruth Hernandez wrote in their recall petition that Polis should be ousted six months into his term because “he supported and signed” four bills: joining the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact; giving local control to the oil and gas industry; amending the state’s content standards for human sexuality courses; creating an extreme risk protection order to take guns from individuals who pose a threat to themselves or others.

This editorial board supported all four of those bills, and we urge voters to dig into the issues and see if they agree with Polis’ support. These are the issues that will be debated in the November 2022 elections. There is much room for reasonable people to disagree with us and Polis on these issues.

It is unreasonable, however, to paint Polis’ support of these bills as so extreme and unusual that he must be recalled.

Finally, Scott David Fisher is pushing the recall of Sen. Pete Lee. Fisher, according to Colorado Politics, has a history with paramilitary groups that have sent armed members to the border.

Lee is being targeted for his votes on the same issues as Pettersen and Polis. Before joining the Colorado Senate, Lee served in the Colorado House for years.

This summer, if enough people decline to sign these petitions, we can send the message that recalls should be rare and reserved for extreme circumstances, not political disagreements.