The Colorado Times Recorder has obtained a copy of an Oct. 5 email from Jack Damioli, the president and CEO of the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, directing employees to reference the Gazette’s voter guide when voting this year. Both the Gazette and the Broadmoor are owned by conservative billionaire Phil Anschutz.
First reported by the Facebook page Jefferson County Dispatch News, the email was posted to Facebook by an anonymous employee. “There are a record number of issues on the ballot this year, and we think they are unusually complicated and confusing,” read the email from Damioli. “And this ballot reflects a wide range of points of view. So, we want to share with you a voters’s guide that was published by the Colorado Springs Gazette which we believe cuts through the advocacy and presents a balanced view of the issues and what is at stake. We are pleased to share this with you and hope that you find it helpful as you decide how you wish to vote.”
The voting guide is from the Gazette’s notoriously conservative editorial board, which includes Anschutz’s son, Christian. The guide recommends voting “yes” on all eight of the initiatives backed by Advance Colorado, the conservative dark money group backed by Anschutz. The guide recommends a “no” vote for the majority of the tax measures, including Amendment 87, the progressive income tax, which has been opposed by much of Colorado’s wealthy elite, including ostensibly Democratic Governor Jared Polis. The guide also opposes Proposition NN, which would use TABOR refund money for public school funding, and Proposition 137, which would use TABOR money for conservation, and Ballot Issue 7A, passenger rail. The guide does support Colorado Springs Question 4A, Colorado Springs School District 11’s $775 million bond request…