Union Goons' Alleged Intimidation At Event Attended By Sen. Michael Bennet Caught On Tape

"You gotta delete that."


Michael Ramirez

From CompleteColorado.com, an update on the event attended by Sen. Michael Bennet where a GOP operative alleged intimidation by union members who forced him to delete the contents of a video shot at the event as a condition for leaving:

CompleteColorado.com is first to obtain and publish the full 911 calls made by GOP operative Matt Milner at a union event featuring Senator Michael Bennet.

On April 25th, Milner went to a meeting at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers' Local 68 union hall on North Logan Street. Milner admits he was being paid by the Colorado Republican Party to video tape remarks by Democrat U.S. Senator Michael Bennet. However, Milner claims he was prevented from leaving the union hall of his own accord for a period of time after some union officials became interested in how much information Milner had recorded. Milner called 911 to report that he felt as though he was being intimidated.

The story was originally reported by Jessica Fender of the Denver Post.
. . .
"You gotta delete that." Milner responds, "I'm taking my camera with me," to which the unidentified voice apparently responds, "Well, just delete what you...taped."

The event appears to have been open to the public, and by all accounts, Milner had taped the event without incident until confronted as he tried to exit the venue.

From Fender's Post report:

State GOP aide Matt Milner dialed 911 because he said union organizers blocked his exit and demanded he erase a video recording of Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet on Saturday afternoon following a townhall meeting sponsored by the AFL-CIO.

Mike Cerbo, executive director of Colorado AFL-CIO, said Milner came looking for trouble, but he wasn't forced to erase the tape or barred from leaving. It's now a matter for the Adams County Sheriff's Office, where authorities Sunday confirmed that they received a complaint from Milner. Police also confirmed his Saturday emergency call.

"I feared for my safety. Period," the 25-year-old Milner said Sunday.

Neither Bennet nor his staff was present at the altercation, said both Milner and a representative for the senator.

Milner has been a familiar face at about a dozen official Bennet events. The state Republican Party confirmed that it pays him to shadow and videotape the freshman senator in a practice known as "tracking."

There was no reason to think Saturday's gathering at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers' Local 68 union hall — billed as an "everyone's welcome" affair on the invitation — would vary from the typically uneventful routine. And for several hours it didn't, Milner said.

But Milner, with his tripod and video camera, garnered the attention of event organizers just as Bennet bid his adieu to hundreds of audience members, some of whom had grown passionate over politically tricky labor issues, such as the Employee Free Choice Act.

CompleteColorado.com also has audio of Milner's interview with local radio hosts, relating his impression of events, some of which appears to be clearly corroborated by the 9-11 audio.

This story should be considered "in development" as the investigation is still "active." Colorado law requires only one party give consent (no illegal wiretapping) in order to tape conversations, and appears to give new organizations the ability to record at "public," "newsworthy" events:

However, nothing in these statutes "shall be interpreted to prevent a news agency, or an employee thereof, from using the accepted tools and equipment of that news medium in the course of reporting or investigating a public and newsworthy event." Colo. Rev. Stat. § 18-9-305.

Should Milner's recording be in the clear (the event was touted as open--"everyone's welcome"), anyone demanding that he erase video as a condition of release can be considered "false imprisonment."

Sen. Bennet faced a tough crowd at the event. Are these thuggish tactics--employed by a Democrat constituency, big labor--indicative of what we as Coloradans should expect to influence a vote on EFCW, and a window into things to come with a Democrat win in 2010?

Colorado Education Association Political Refunds

Jefferson County teacher and fellow Rocky Mountain Alliance blogger Michael Alcorn helped the Independence Institute create this 2-minute video explaining the December 15 deadline for Colorado Education Association members to request their political refunds.



Go to independentteachers.org for more information.

Jon Caldara Offers To Withdraw Amendment 49 If Gov. Ritter Repeals Executive Order

Rumors were swirling this morning, but this is from a press release from the Ethical Standards campaign:

Amendment 49's leading proponent has formally offered to remove the initiative from the ballot if Colorado's governor will work to stop the unionization of state government.

Jon Caldara today submitted a letter to Gov. Bill Ritter offering to pull Amendment 49 from the ballot, "contingent upon your repeal of Executive Order D 028 07 and your word to oppose any effort to bring it forward via legislation." The proposal is made in hopes of restoring "a measure of peace to Colorado's political landscape."

Gov. Ritter issued the executive order to introduce collective bargaining to state government in November 2007. The Denver Post published a rare, front-page editorial chiding the governor as "a bag man for unions and special interests."

"The governor wants everyone to 'holster their weapons,'" Caldara said. "Let's be clear: with his executive order, Governor Ritter was the first to draw his weapon."

What is Amendment 49, and who is supporting it?

Amendment 49 is designed to prohibit governments from bundling money from public employees' paychecks and delivering the funds to special interest groups. These special interests use the money to lobby the same politicians who just delivered the cash to them. Local governments across Colorado have set the pattern for the Ethical Standards Initiative. Twelve counties representing more than half the state's population (including Arapahoe, Douglas, El Paso, Jefferson, Larimer, Mesa, and Weld) have implemented this reform since 2007.

Amendment 49 additionally has been endorsed by former Gov. Bill Owens and former U.S. Senator Hank Brown; major newspapers, including the Rocky Mountain News, Pueblo Chieftain, and Grand Junction Daily Sentinel; and numerous business and civic organizations, including the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, National Federation of Independent Business, Colorado Contractors Association, Colorado Health Care Association, Colorado Homebuilders Association, Colorado Farm Bureau, Colorado Realtors Association Issue Committee, Southeast Business Partnership, Association of Builders and Contractors, and the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce.