Language in the Jefferson County election guide about question 3A, a 4.4 mill levy increase, caused a firestorm this morning as the school district scrambled to deflect blame and point the finger at the man responsible for the sabotage.
The statement, submitted by Thomas Graham, a senior citizen and Arvada resident, said if the mill levy were to pass it would result in six figure salaries for beginning teachers within three or four years. He went on to write: "Senior citizens with fixed incomes are hard-pressed to shoulder increases in property tax. These people should recognize that their reduced productivity calls for them to be replaced by the youth of our nation.”
Excerpt from Jeffco voter guideJefferson County
The Jefferson County Clerk and Recorder is required by law to print whatever comments the district submits for the election guide (PDF). The district solicits citizen opinions for the pro and con sides of the measure. The pro comments appear under the headline, “The following summaries were prepared from the comments filed by persons FOR the proposal.”
Graham’s comments were submitted to Helen Neal, the district's election officer, and she in turn submitted them to County Clerk and Recorder Pam Anderson for the pro section of the voter guide. The comments also stated: "This tax increase furthers the goals of our teacher unions. It is consistent with a presidential candidate's promise for change, and hope for progress toward the Socialist utopia through education. This increase could create a pad until the oppressive TABOR measures can be repealed and the Amendment 23 extra millions for schools be made permanent.”
Jeffco Superintendent Cindy Stevenson called Graham’s claims “outrageous” and “mischievous.” She held an 11:30 a.m. press conference outside the district’s offices, in Golden, to apologize for the remarks and clarify how Graham’s language ended up in the county’s election guide. "We honor our senior citizens, and the language is hurtful and lacking integrity and is cruel," Stevinson said. "We apologize to our senior citizens, and we know that the voters of Jefferson County are smarter than this."
Citing advice from legal counsel, Stevenson admitted that she "knew this was going to be a problem" but said the decision to keep the language was rooted in a fear that the district could end up in court if it didn't. She said if 3A passed, a judge could declare it invalid if Graham's submission was excluded.
Graham called into radio personality Mike Rosen this morning admitting that he is actually against question 3A and his comments were sarcastic, but he defended his actions. “I don’t think it’s misleading because it’s factual,” he told Rosen.