KNOW THE SCORE!
Welcome to the 2008 Conservation Scorecard for the Colorado Legislature, created by Colorado Conservation Voters (CCV). Colorado Conservation Voters serves as the independent political voice of Colorado’s conservation community. This marks the twelfth year CCV has published the scorecard.
CCV fights to protect Colorado’s water, wildlife, and majestic mountain landscapes. We believe that electing strong conservation leaders, from both parties, is essential to winning lasting protections for our environment and setting a course for a more sustainable future. We also believe that we must hold all of our elected leaders accountable. Every year Colorado legislators make decisions that impact the quality of our lives and the conservation legacy we pass on to our children. It is sometimes difficult to know where your representatives stand on conservation issues. The scorecard is one tool to help you learn if your representatives are in step with your conservation values or not. Scorecards for every year since 1997 are available here.
The CCV Scorecard provides nonpartisan, factual information about how each member of the legislature voted on a range of conservation issues. To compile the scorecard, CCV asked the respected experts listed here to select the most important conservation votes of the year. The scorecard includes only those House and Senate votes on which the conservation community clearly communicated its position to legislators, and, except in rare circumstances, excludes non-controversial consensus votes. Scored votes cover a range of policy issues on energy, water, wildlife, and open space protection.
While useful, the scores included here provide only one component of each legislator’s conservation record. For example, a lawmaker’s score doesn’t capture the work that is done in committee and doesn’t reflect leadership taken to urge colleagues to support a pro-environment position. The issue overviews highlight some of the most important committee actions and recognize sponsors and champions.
To use the scorecard, read the short description of each vote that was scored, as well as the overview of the session that begins on the next page. Then see how individual lawmakers stack up in the House and Senate charts. Members are listed alphabetically, with their district numbers next to their names. To determine your member of the House and Senate, check the maps here or go to www.vote-smart.org for help.
We encourage you to examine the scores of your representative and your senator and match your values with your legislators’ votes. If your legislators scored high, it’s important to thank and support them. If your legislators scored low, it’s important to hold them accountable by letting them know what you think about their votes. We encourage you to call or write your legislators and let them know you follow their environmental scores. Should you wish to contact your legislators, you may click on their names here to find their campaign addresses or write them at 200 E. Colfax Ave., Denver, CO 80203. Phone numbers and email addresses can also be found at http://www.leg.state.co.us/.
CCV greatly appreciates all of the lawmakers who work so hard for the people of Colorado.
Special thanks go to Carrie Curtiss, Pam Kiely, Elise Jones, Susan LeFever, Becky Long, Stephanie Thomas and especially Christina Sanchez Werner for their hard work preparing this document.
Carrie Doyle
Executive Director