Face The State Staff Report
Your local elementary school isn't alone in holding a mock election to make a point about our representative democracy. In an effort to educate business owners and their employees about state and national politics, the South Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce is hosting a mock election in conjunction with a speaker series featuring local elected officials.
According to SMDCC President John Brackney, the goal is to educate members on the relationship between the public and private sectors, and the significant impact government has on business. The election is sponsored by a committee within SMDCC, Business Leaders for Responsible Government.
"There is absolutely a free market, capitalist agenda," Brackney told Face the State. "Chamber members thought it would be fun to get business people involved in the political process. Most business people don't concentrate on politics as much as we might think."
The chamber represents 1,600 businesses and about 100,000 employees. Any current dues-paid member is an eligible voter in November's mock election. Candidates and voters will register on the group's site on Meetup.com.
Organizers are also hoping to elevate the tone of debate in the mock election by setting aside some of the more divisive aspects of traditional campaigns. Political parties have been replaced with sound-alikes that encourage participants to consider the role of partisan affiliation in the political process. The Republicrat, Democan and Librarian parties will vie for votes and although people are still likely to align themselves with one group or another, Brackney explained that business people tend to be most concerned with promoting themselves and their products, not agendas set by outside groups.
"We really didn't want to get everyone all riled up around Republicans or Democrats," said Brackney. "Part of a party's job description is to make the other side look bad, and that doesn't usually happen in business. We don't worry as much about attacking opponents as promoting our own products."
Despite the group's free market agenda, SMDCC doesn't have a political action committee to support specific candidates or causes. Brackney says the election is really just an attempt to help business owners bridge the gap between the private sector and government before the 2010 election.
"Most organizations and chambers of our size absolutely have a PAC," said Brackney. "There is a purpose for PACs, but there is a better way to do it, and that is to motivate individual business people to understand how much influence they can have in our process. It's a signal the business community will be involved in a big way in 2010 elections."
Already, three people have declared their intentions to run for governor in the mock election. Just like in a real election, candidates will have to make proper announcements and file correct paperwork with proper officials. Primary elections will be held in August ahead of a November 3 general election.