DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. — The Douglas County Schools superintendent is calling attention to the county voter guide, or what’s commonly referred to as a blue book.
Superintendent Erin Kane says the argument against a bond measure that would raise taxes is nonfactual and inappropriate because it refers to the district as being “woke.”
Inside the guide, the argument against a $450 million bond measure reads in part, ”While DCSD has many amazing teachers, parents are concerned about ‘woke’ ideology indoctrination in the curriculum.”
Experts tell Denver7 voter guides are often imperfect.
“I think the blue books really are a great starting point for voters to really get an idea of where opposition and supporters are coming from, what the financial impacts are.” said Ean Thomas Tafoya, who has spearheaded multiple campaigns and initiatives. He is now a mayoral candidate in Denver.
“Maybe in this case, in Douglas County, there was just one person writing against. I’m not so sure, but that does happen,” Tafoya said. “When you’re hearing two very different ideas of how the money’s going to be spent, how much it’s going to raise and what the impact is on you, that should raise a red flag that you should really go do more research.”
Critics have argued for years that blue books often provide inaccurate, misleading or even missing viewpoints.
“The City and County of Denver reported that they do not seek opposition,” said Dennis Royer, former public works manager who has worked on countless bond issues throughout his career. “You shouldn’t just sit back and look at a voter guide and say, ‘Oh, nobody’s opposed to it. It must be a good thing to do.' That’s how many bond issues simply slide on through.”
Denver’s Office of the Clerk and Recorder admits that it does not seek comment from either side, and it never edits arguments submitted for the guide.
“We really just try to administer getting this information to the voters,” said Lucille Wenegieme, strategic advisor to the Office of the Clerk and Recorder. “We don’t want to try to siphon the pros or the cons, we just collect them for folks. So, we have that open portal where they can submit arguments.”
Wenegieme says altering arguments could tip the scales one way or the other.
“Our role in that process is to just give voters what has been presented by other voters,” Wenegieme said.
Tafoya suggests doing your own research online, going to the library, watching debates on TV and online and talking to friends and family about the issues.
“Most of the campaigns that I’ve worked on have a phone number that you can call to get more information,” Tafoya said. “And we can’t forget – talk to your neighbors. All politics is local. All politics is based in community.”
DCSD told Denver7 Kane is traveling and unavailable for comment until next week.