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DENVER — State Rep. Kathleen Curry, who recently changed her party affiliation from Democrat to independent, is pinning some of her political hopes on a lawsuit aimed at overturning what she and some others see as an unfair bias toward partisan political candidates.
The lawsuit, challenging the constitutionality of the election law, was filed last November in federal court by La Plata County Commissioner Joelle Riddle of Durango, who in August 2009 changed her party affiliation from Democrat to independent.
It was a short time afterward that she learned she could not get her name on the ballot because of a missed deadline, and would be forced to run as a write-in unless she reaffiliated with the Democrats or another party.
Curry's own decision to leave the Democrats, announced in late December 2009, has thrown party leaders into a scramble to find candidates to run against her in this year, to keep her Colorado House District 61 seat in the Democratic fold.
Curry, who has run successful unopposed re-election campaigns twice, has said that she plans to run for a third term as an independent. Riddle has planned to run for re-election next year, also as an independent.
But their bids for re-election are complicated by the fact that both Curry and Riddle missed the state's deadline for registering as unaffiliated candidates and getting their names printed on the Nov. 2, 2010, ballot.
That deadline was June 15, 2009, a year and a half prior to the election date, and well before Democrats, Republicans and those affiliated with other parties must register their party ties.
Missing that deadline, according to state election rules, means an independent candidate must run a write-in campaign, which is seen by observers as much more of a long shot than a campaign by a candidate listed on the ballot.
Curry, reportedly after a request from Riddle late last year — before Curry made her own decision to go independent — agreed to sponsor legislation to make it easier for unaffiliated candidates to get on the ballot. That legislation is still in draft form, Curry said on Tuesday.
Riddle said that the disparity in deadlines is not fair to nonparty candidates and helps lock the state political landscape into an endless partisan battle.
“I feel like, with our partisan politics, and this ... inequity, there's a potential way for us to break down the partisan barriers,” she declared in a telephone conversation on Tuesday.
She lamented “having such partisan politics and opinions playing such a big part in my own small community,” as well as on the state and national level. “We're not able to sit down and talk to each other.”
Curry noted that Colorado is one of a number of states where such election rules are being challenged, and added, “I think it's good that Colorado is one of the states looking into this issue. I think it's going to be good for a whole class of people who may be contemplating whether they should run” for elective office.
Riddle's suit, according to attorney Bill Zimsky, names the Colorado Secretary of State and the LaPlata County Clerk and Recorder as defendants, in their capacities as enforcers of Colorado's election laws.
“It's basically an equal-protection argument,” Zimsky said, based on the idea that political parties get to “name their own affiliation rules” that permit party candidates to file formal registration forms a year before the election or less, instead of a year and a half as required of the unaffiliated.
“Our main argument is that she's being discriminated against,” Zimsky said. “She is being denied access to the ballot.”
He said he is hoping to get a decision from a federal judge in Denver by March, which would give Riddle and Curry time to gather the required petition signatures by June 15 to get on the ballot.
jcolson@postindependent.com
The lawsuit, challenging the constitutionality of the election law, was filed last November in federal court by La Plata County Commissioner Joelle Riddle of Durango, who in August 2009 changed her party affiliation from Democrat to independent.
It was a short time afterward that she learned she could not get her name on the ballot because of a missed deadline, and would be forced to run as a write-in unless she reaffiliated with the Democrats or another party.
Curry's own decision to leave the Democrats, announced in late December 2009, has thrown party leaders into a scramble to find candidates to run against her in this year, to keep her Colorado House District 61 seat in the Democratic fold.
Curry, who has run successful unopposed re-election campaigns twice, has said that she plans to run for a third term as an independent. Riddle has planned to run for re-election next year, also as an independent.
But their bids for re-election are complicated by the fact that both Curry and Riddle missed the state's deadline for registering as unaffiliated candidates and getting their names printed on the Nov. 2, 2010, ballot.
That deadline was June 15, 2009, a year and a half prior to the election date, and well before Democrats, Republicans and those affiliated with other parties must register their party ties.
Missing that deadline, according to state election rules, means an independent candidate must run a write-in campaign, which is seen by observers as much more of a long shot than a campaign by a candidate listed on the ballot.
Curry, reportedly after a request from Riddle late last year — before Curry made her own decision to go independent — agreed to sponsor legislation to make it easier for unaffiliated candidates to get on the ballot. That legislation is still in draft form, Curry said on Tuesday.
Riddle said that the disparity in deadlines is not fair to nonparty candidates and helps lock the state political landscape into an endless partisan battle.
“I feel like, with our partisan politics, and this ... inequity, there's a potential way for us to break down the partisan barriers,” she declared in a telephone conversation on Tuesday.
She lamented “having such partisan politics and opinions playing such a big part in my own small community,” as well as on the state and national level. “We're not able to sit down and talk to each other.”
Curry noted that Colorado is one of a number of states where such election rules are being challenged, and added, “I think it's good that Colorado is one of the states looking into this issue. I think it's going to be good for a whole class of people who may be contemplating whether they should run” for elective office.
Riddle's suit, according to attorney Bill Zimsky, names the Colorado Secretary of State and the LaPlata County Clerk and Recorder as defendants, in their capacities as enforcers of Colorado's election laws.
“It's basically an equal-protection argument,” Zimsky said, based on the idea that political parties get to “name their own affiliation rules” that permit party candidates to file formal registration forms a year before the election or less, instead of a year and a half as required of the unaffiliated.
“Our main argument is that she's being discriminated against,” Zimsky said. “She is being denied access to the ballot.”
He said he is hoping to get a decision from a federal judge in Denver by March, which would give Riddle and Curry time to gather the required petition signatures by June 15 to get on the ballot.
jcolson@postindependent.com
