Marijuana: Amendment 64 opponents turn to op-eds to make up for shortfall in ad money
The fight for and against Amendment 64, the Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol act, is entering its final stages -- and Roger Sherman, campaign director for Smart Colorado, the No on 64 movement, admits that he can't compete with proponents when it comes to resources. So he's countering with events and op-eds. See examples and get Sherman's take on the race below.
According to Sherman, the pro-64 camp "is outspending us four to one on media, which makes me nervous."
Roger Sherman.
However, he goes on, "we have a pretty active group of volunteers who are still knocking on doors and canvassing neighborhoods, trying to keep up with them as best we can based on resources."
When it comes to media, No on 64 isn't currently running any TV ads, unlike the other side, which has been rolling out plenty of them. But Sherman and company do have a radio spot featuring former Colorado governors Bill Owens and Bill Ritter, a Republican and a Democrat, respectively, who both urge voters to reject the act. Here's a video version of the commercial.
"It's a pretty good ad," Sherman believes, "but we don't have as much in the way of resources" to get it heard. Even so, he says "donations are still rolling in," and he hopes to "increase the frequency of the ad between now and election day."
In the meantime, No on 64 is coming up with other ways to get its message across. Example: At 10:30 a.m. today in Stapleton, at the corner of Central Park Boulevard and Martin Luther King, three mothers -- Henny Lasley, Sandra Hagen Solin and Amy Sporer Caplis (a former CBS4 anchor and wife of talk-show personality Dan Caplis) -- will star in a press conference during which they'll describe why they're against Amendment 64.
In addition, Sherman has penned an opinion piece that he's making available to publications around the state. It follows another op-ed from school board members and parents. See both of them below in their entirety.
Despite the spending deficit, Sherman describes himself "cautiously optimistic" that Amendment 64 will come up short at the ballot box. "Every indication we're seeing, including some internal polling, shows support dropping precipitously.
"At this point, it's a race to the finish," he adds. "You just keep at it up until election day."
Continue to read two op-eds opposing Amendment 64.
Email to Friend
Write to Editor
Print Article
