Editorial —
Kent Thiry — A pretty face can hide an evil mind.
It is said that money is the mother’s milk of politica. But what if we could make it not only just the most important thing in politics but the “only thing.” Kent Thiry, the former CEO of DaVita, a dialysis provider, who somehow managed to escape two federal charges for labor market collusion, is back with another ballot measure to finally destroy elections in Colorado.
Thiry is well known for pouring millions of dollars into highly effective and unopposed television commercials that push changes to the Colorado electoral system that would benefit “practical politicians” like himself, but what he means is multi-millionaires like himself.
He hates political parties where everyday citizens can have a say and not just the millionaires who fund the parties. His latest scam is Proposition 131 which will abolish partisan primaries and impose rank choice voting for the four top vote getters that go on to the general election.
In Alaska where the system was imposed in 2020 there were over 40 candidates running in the nonpartisan open primary. Four candidates made it to the general election where voters listed their preferences from one to four. As no one got a majority of the number one votes, they dropped off the candidate who got the least number one votes of the four, and saw who those voters’ second choice was and counted them as number one votes. This went on until one candidate received a majority.
This is the system that Thiry wants Colorado voters to adopt under Prop 131. In the nonpartisan primary to make the final four for the general election name recognition is the name of the game. In Alaska one person who named himself “Santa Claus” came in sixth.
To get name recognition, normally candidates must run countless television ads which cost a great deal of money. Either you’re rich or are the candidate of one or more wealthy donors.
Average citizens who participate in politics normally become party precinct committee persons and work their way up the chain. Under Prop 131 all that would become void; only the very rich, like Kent Thiry, will determine who is elected to public office. In back rooms they will also manipulate the final four candidates to see who finally becomes elected to the public office.
Thiry is running endless ads saying that if 131 passes it will get parties out of politics (true) and comically that Prop 131 will even get wealthy donors out of the political process. If he was an honest person (which he is not) Thiry would have said that under Prop 131 only the very rich will have any say in elections.
Alaska was so disgusted by Thiry’s system that voters have placed a proposition to get rid of nonpartisan jungle primaries and rank choice voting on the ballot this year. It is hoped that the latest fool’s gold proposition by Kent Thiry is decisively voted down by the Colorado voters. If not, it may be one of the last votes by Colorado voters that matters.
— Editorial Board