Well that didn’t take long. Just months after leaving office, Democratic former State Representative Joe Salazar has drawn a Colorado Open Records Request for possibly violating lobbyist rules by influence peddling at the State Capitol. And this guy wanted to be elected Colorado Attorney General.
One of the most despised aspects of the American political system is the nasty revolving door habit of former lawmakers turning around and selling influence based on the position of public trust that they held. To counteract this, Colorado lawmakers are prohibited from lobbying activities, or supervising lobbying activities, at the State Capitol for two years after leaving office,
In response to Salazar’s actions, which appear to be coordinating lobbying efforts in support of SB 181, the Democrats’ overhaul of Colorado’s energy regulations mauling of the energy industry, Colorado Rising Action submitted a public records request to see if Salazar is indeed in violation of Amendment 41 of the state constitution – the “revolving door” prohibition.
Salazar has not registered as a lobbyist, but he supervises lobbyists in his capacity as executive director of Colorado Rising for Health and Safety (which has its own registered lobbyist). There is a YouTube video of Salazar shamelessly lobbying in favor of SB-181. It appears that he is actually in a state capitol conference room, which makes one wonder if that’s even legal?
To give you just one idea of why this is revolving door activity is so distasteful, and must be prevented, Salazar idiotically tells viewers to call “Mikey” to support the bill. Then he clarifies himself, saying, “I’m sorry, Mike Foote, Senator Mike Foote. I call him Mikey. He’s my homeboy.” Salazar should not be collecting a paycheck to pressure his “homeboy,” who we assume became his “homeboy” through Salazar’s service in the legislature. He goes on to look straight into the camera and forcefully tells people to contact specific Democratic senators to “make sure they stay solid on this bill.” Just watch:
He is accompanied by two unidentified women supporting his broadcast. One announced that “we will give you a list of senators that we have to put extra pressure on right now.” Salazar immediately affirmed her statement. Are either of these women registered lobbyists that he supervises? They certainly look like they are working for him in this video. Stay tuned, PeakNation™.