Jumping Ship
During the last election cycle, I received a letter from Michelle Priola, the wife of Kevin Priola, in the mail. I imagine it was a mass mailing to all Republican voters in the area. The letter highlighted her husband’s love for the rural areas of Colorado, her excitement about the conservative values that he would return to our state if her husband won the seat in the Colorado State Assembly, and a great deal of talk about God and Country. I was actually impressed. It seemed like a good political move.
As he moved into office as the State Senator in this area, I was optimistic that Senator Priola would represent the values that many conservatives hold dear. He has served on both the committee for education, as well as the finance committee for Colorado. However, it seems that his campaign promises and his track record don’t match up. As a Republican candidate, he said that he was concerned about the rural areas of his district (MOST of his district is rural). However, the majority of the bills that he worked on, and ideas that he supported, centered around reducing greenhouse gasses, increased security for elected officials, and drug/liquor regulations. The only bill he has been connected with in 2 years that has any connection to our part of the state is about pollinators. He does want to protect the bees…so that they can help with climate change.
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In August of this year, Priola held a press conference announcing that he was going to change his affiliation from the Republican to the Democrat Party. His main reasons were that the Republicans were not serious enough about climate change, and that the events of January 6th were being dismissed by the party. His decision came roughly 3 months before the midterm elections (he still has 2 years to serve). This changes the balance of power in the state Senate and has muddied the waters of bipartisanship in the chamber.
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That announcement sent the Republicans in the state into a frenzy and they immediately moved forward with a motion to have Priola’s seat recalled. The recall will require 18,291 valid signatures in order to hold a special election, based on 25% of votes cast for the 2020 election for Senate District 25.
But that’s not all folks! In November, the state's new district boundaries will come into play. Senator Kevin Priola will be redistricted to the 13th district. The 24th District will be up for grabs (see Local Politics for candidates). As one might guess, that is an added layer of confusion.
Constituents from both District 25, and now District 13, will be able to sign the petition to have him recalled, and District 13 will vote on whether or not he is removed. Petitioners have until Nov. 8 to collect enough signatures to force an eventual recall vote. Michael Fields, who heads the recall committee and is president of the conservative group Advance Colorado Institute, gave an interview about the situation. He cited Priola's past votes with Democrats, especially on state tax policy, as well as what he called Priola's betrayal of the Republican voters who elected him to office. The recall, if approved, can happen as early as January of 2023. |
You can see Priola’s response to the petition that would recall his seat in the Senate. He is quoted on this site to say:
“Political insiders and wealthy special interests are wasting hundreds of thousands of taxpayer money on a special election to punish me for serving as an independent voice. I'm proud to be one of the most bipartisan legislators in our state.”
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News flash Senator! You don’t have to change parties to be a legislator who is bipartisan. You WERE bipartisan when you were a Republican, and worked alongside Democrats. NOW you are nothing close to having an independent voice. This is the move of a traitor. When times get tough, you take the people for a ride by changing parties. Senator Priola, you got into office with the support of Republicans and changed your affiliation, and you wonder why they are recalling you?