Face the State

Congressional Candidate Known for School Choice Support Also Backs Anti-Choice Teachers' Unions
Face the State Staff Reports

For years, Colorado Democrats have looked the other way as Jared Polis, a key party fundraiser has maintained his commitment to conservative-leaning school choice causes. Insiders say they've done so because Polis has also ponied up heavily to support political candidates unsympathetic to such causes. But as he gears up for his own bid for office, the question is being raised: Can Polis continue to make both sides happy?

Polis, currently seeking the Democrat nomination for Colorado's 2nd Congressional district, is running in a heated primary against state Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald, a woman his political contributions previously helped elect. Also in the race is Will Shafroth, a Boulder environmentalist once seen as a long shot, but now surprising race watchers by his fundraising acumen--nearly matching Polis's fundraising abilities in the second quarter and outraising Fitz-Gerald by more than $55,000.

Polis, best known in politics as one of Colorado's "Gang of Four", is credited with helping Democrats take over the Colorado legislature in 2004, winning majorities in both the House and Senate--a feat party activists had previously been previously unable to achieve since the 1960's. According to his Web biography, he became financially viable after starting his first successful company, American Information Systems, while still in college. In addition, in 1996, he took over his family's Boulder-based greeting card company, which he ultimately sold for a sizable profit three years later.

Polis talked with Face the State Tuesday on his way to a political fundraiser in San Franciso. In the phone interview, he described himself as "a maverick progressive," saying that he prides himself on his "out of the box thinking" and that he will "stand up against my party when necessary."

HOW RICH IS RICH?

In a new book gaining national interest, titled "Richistan: A Journey Through the American Wealth Boom and the Lives of The New Rich," author Robert Frank highlights Polis's past effective efforts to elect Democrats. In Chapter 9, "Move Over Christian Coalition: the New Political Kingmakers," Frank calls Polis an "ambitious, high-profile upstart, who was a self-described moderate who wanted to keep friends on both sides of the political aisle."

To stage the 2004 legislative takeover, Polis joined together with other wealthy Democrats, including Tim Gill, a "computer geek" who made $400 million during the tech boom, Pat Stryker, a "low-profile mom" worth approximately $1.4 billion, and Rutt Bridges, a former candidate for governor.

Heading up the group was retired Colorado State University President Al Yates, a man committed to putting aside ideological differences under the belief that it would help achieve a larger goal of electing a Democrat majority. "Early on, we knew that the only way to create something meaningful was to set aside our special agendas," Yates told Frank. "We didn't talk about specific policies and we avoided the emotional issues."

For Polis, this meant setting aside his support for school choice causes to fund union-backed candidates like Fitz-Gerald. While Gill was open that his goal was to "punish the wicked" (Republicans backing anti-gay legislation in previous legislative sessions), Polis was more measured in his objectives. "It was more about what the Republicans didn't do," he told Frank. "They weren't dealing with any of the problems the state faced, like the huge budget deficit."

By Election Day 2004, Polis, Stryker, Gill, and Bridges had pumped at least $3 million into their joint efforts. In five key state Senate races targeted by both parties, Democrat candidates prevailed. The result--a Democrat takeover that sought to undo many of the GOP-backed efforts to expand educational options within Colorado's public school system, including charter schools. Fitz-Gerald took the helm as Senate president.

"Certainly Fitz-Gerald would not be Senate President and Andrew Romanoff would not be Speaker without (the group's contributions)," said Polis. "I was proud to be one of the key strategists in that group and I am proud to have a Democratic legislature these last few years even if it has led to propping up one of my opponents."

In addition to the group's larger efforts, Polis also made significant individual contributions to Democrat candidates, including state Sen. Sue Windels, who now chairs the Senate Education Committee. Windels, seen by many school choice activists as the state's leading opponent of charter schools, narrowly won her 2004 re-election bid to the Senate in the closest race seen that year. According to the Colorado Secretary of State's web site, Polis has made nearly 300 individual political contributions, almost all to Democrat candidates and causes, since 2000.

IS POLIS A CONSERVATIVE?

Such political contributions contrast sharply with Polis's support of public charter schools. While still in his twenties, the millionaire won statewide election in 2000, when he pumped nearly a million of his own dollars into his bid for the Colorado Board of Education. Until last year, he served as vice chairman of the board, and he remains actively involved with two public charter schools he helped co-found. One of the schools targets older immigrant youth and another is a high school geared toward providing a liberal arts focus. In addition, in 2005, he co-founded the Academy of Urban learning, an academic program for poverty-stricken teens.

According to former U.S. Congressman Bob Schaffer, a current member of the Board of Education, Polis was "the most reliable Democrat on school choice and far more independent in his thinking." Schaffer added that he sees Polis as "an activist who happens to be a Democrat, not as a Democrat activist."

Schaffer recalls one of his first experiences with Polis on the board, when before a meeting Polis read a passage from Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, seen by many as the premiere 20th Century literary work on the virtues of capitalism and free markets. "His speech was all about how self-interest is going to create the greatest levels of prosperity and economic freedom. It was like listening to Adam Smith or reading Wealth of Nations."

When asked why he believes Polis is a Democrat, Schaffer is puzzled. "He's generally libertarian economically, and he just happens to be in a party that is at odds with all of those values."

But a leading moderate political consultant sees things differently. Katy Atkinson, who has led several opposition campaigns against past ballot initiatives backed by Polis, is not so convinced. "If he has a Ayn Rand philosophy, it certainly doesn't show up in his public actions," she said. "Maybe his political ambitions overshadow his ideology."

HOW WILL POLIS' SCHOOL CHOICE SUPPORT AFFECT HIM IN HIS CONGRESSIONAL BID?

As the 2nd Congressional district primary heats up, Atkinson says Polis's school choice support likely won't endear him with voters. "His position on school choice will probably haunt him," she said. "The type of people voting in this primary aren't going to be in favor of school choice."

While she acknowledged that his school choice activism tends to help him gain the support of conservatives, it is the exception to an otherwise liberal political ideology. "I hear people say he has this conservative philosophy, but as far as his public acts, I've never seen it," she said. "He's a pretty solid partisan and when push comes to shove, he's going to pick his party."

Part of Polis's effectiveness, according to Atkinson, has been his support of high profile ballot initiatives beloved by liberal Democrats. On his Web site, Polis boasts of playing "an instrumental role in the passage of Amendment 23," a controversial statewide constitutional amendment that has mandated spending increases for K-12 education regardless of the state's fiscal health. In 2002, he led Democrats in their failed effort to implement same day voter registration. In 2006, he funded Amendment 41, a successful campaign finance effort that has conservatives raising questions of constitutionality and has resulted in several lawsuits.

Ultimately, Polis faces an uphill battle in his congressional bid. "I think we're going to see the teachers' unions line up behind Fitz-Gerald just like all the other unions are," said Atkinson. Already, Fitz-Gerald has been endorsed by more than a dozen unions, including the Colorado AFL-CIO, Colorado Teamsters, and Colorado's SEIU State Council. "But (the Democrats and unions) ultimately have to decide: Who do they want in Congress and what do they have to do to keep in good standing with Polis should he not win?"

While union endorsements promise to play heavy in the race, Polis is eager to emphasize what he sees as one of Fitz-Gerald's greatest weaknesses. "She did not live in the district at the time (I supported her in her last race)," he said. "Unfortunately, she moved into this district and her lack of connection will come back to bite her."

When asked about his longterm political ambitions, Polis is coy, telling Face the State, "I believe I can accomplish a lot for Colorado and the county in Congress and have no specific plans beyond that." Certainly, conservatives and liberals have one thing in common. They hope he continues to open his wallet for their respective causes.