Pub 8 2018-2019 Issue 1

4 O V E R A C E N T U R Y : B U I L D I N G B E T T E R B A N K S - H E L P I N G C O L O R A D A N S R E A L I Z E D R E A M S Chairman’s Message Politics is Not a Spectator Sport A s the summer heats up, so will efforts on candidates and issue campaigns in the state. In just two months, voters across Colorado will step up to the ballot box and elect new leaders, ranging from governor, treasurer and at- torney general, to a slew of candidates for the state legislature. Additionally, voters will be asked to decide a number of ballot initiatives,many of which are expected to focus on limiting growth, oil and gas setbacks, severance taxes, funding education and transporta- tion. Signatures for those won’t be tallied until August, so we do not yet know what issues will indeed appear on the ballot. In June, Colorado voters cast ballots to narrow the slate of political candidates in a landmark election during which unaffil - iated voters could participate in primary elections, thanks to a change in law that saw strong support from CBA president and CEO Don Childears. Prior to the passage of Proposition 108, voters registered as independent were barred fromvoting in party primary elections. Colorado lawnowallows themto temporarily register with one of themajor parties – republican or democrat- to cast votes for who will represent each party in the November general election. As of publication time, the results of the primary election hadn’t been deter- mined. Aside from casting votes, some might believe that politics is a spectator sport, and that couldn’t be farther fromthe truth. It is imperative that bankers get involved in the process to ensure that candidates who are friendly and understand our industry are not only elected, but have bankers on-hand to provide industry insight and expertise when they make decisions as lawmakers. But, for the latter to take place, we must start building those relationships early. I have included some tips on how to get involved, below. I encourage you to take advantage of the opportunity to get involved in the process. Additionally, CBA has developed a white paper that is being distributed to candidates to help educate themon issues of importance inour industry. You canfind it here: https://www.coloradobankers. org/resource/resmgr/state_issue_files/ CBA_White_Paper.pdf CBA is planning candidate forums for later this fall, to allowbankers tomeet the frontrunners in the race to the statehouse. We will keep you updated when those are scheduled, and I urge you to attend. • Volunteer with candidates’ campaigns o Knock on doors o Walk their district with them o Serve as campaign finance chairperson o Offer yourself as a subject mat - ter expert – become a trusted resource • Make financial contribu - tions o Donate directly to the candidate o Donate to banking-related po- litical action committees (PAC) n Brendan Zahl