How did Democrats take control of Colorado?
Who is behind the left-authoritarian political agenda in Colorado?
Some might answer: political parties, big donors or lobbyists are responsible.
But the real power is with non-profits and their political action committees (PACs).
These groups operate behind the scenes, recruiting volunteers and working in support of political campaigns.
Non-profits are exempt from campaign finance laws, and their donors are kept secret.
Non-profits are restricted from spending money on electioneering activities, but they can donate money to PACs to directly influence elections.
(PACs are restricted on the amounts they can spend and much of their spending is public)
These groups operate on their own terms, picking and choosing candidates to support.
Just to be clear, I don’t have a problem with how these non-profits operate. But Coloradans should be aware of how these groups exercise power.
These political power players are driving change in our communities by electing candidates and supporting ballot initiatives.
Groups like New Era were part of the Blueprint model, and their efforts have helped Democrats take control of Colorado’s State and local governments, and US Congress seats.
In order for Liberty Leaders to be effective, we need to know how the game is played.
One of the most influential and yet mostly unknown political players is New Era Colorado.
This group has connections to some of the most powerful people in Colorado politics.
Let’s see who they are and what they are trying to accomplish.
The Founders
Founded in 2006 by recent Colorado University graduates, Steve Fenberg, Leslie Herod, Joe Neguse, and Lisa Kaufmann, New Era Colorado came in on the scene shortly after the “Blueprint model” was put in action.
Steve Fenberg worked for New Era Colorado for over ten years, serving as the Executive Director. In 2016, Fenberg won election to the State House. He’s currently the Senate President.
Fenberg represents Senate District 18, which is mostly in Boulder County. So it’s no surprise he has been one of the loudest anti-gun voices in the Legislature.
After founding New Era Colorado, Leslie Herod worked in the Colorado Legislative Council, and then became a senior policy adviser for Governor Bill Ritter. After that she “became a program director for the Gill Foundation, a gay-rights advocacy group.”
Herod also won election in 2016, where she still serves, representing House District 8.
Herod is currently running for Mayor of Denver, but her campaign has been fraught with accusations of her bullying, berating and verbally harassing those she previously worked with.
Joe Neguse continued his studies at CU, graduating with a law degree in 2009. He then spent six years with Holland & Hart LLP.
Holland & Hart has also employed Berna Rhodes-Ford, the wife of Nevada’s Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford.
Neguse was elected as a Regent of Colorado University in 2008, where he served until 2015.
In 2014, Neguse ran for Colorado Secretary of State. He lost to Republican Wayne Williams.
In 2015, Neguse was appointed by then Governor John Hickenlooper to head the Department of Regulatory Affairs (DORA). He left DORA in June 2017.
In 2018, Neguse was elected to replace Jared Polis in US Congressional District 2, where he continues to serve.
Lisa Kaufmann, after helping found New Era Colorado, joined Jared Polis on his first campaign for US House in 2007. Kaufman then served as his political director and campaign manager.
Kaufmann continued working for Polis as his Chief of Staff during his ten years in Congress. She chaired his campaign for Governor in 2018, and served as Chief of Staff until January 2023.
Colorado Politics reports that “Kaufman is expected to continue with the Polis administration as a strategic advisor for public-private partnerships with the Colorado Department of Personnel and Administration.”
The founders of New Era Colorado have become establishment leaders in Colorado politics.
Their connections to New Era undoubtedly helped them in their political careers.
The Early Years
New Era Colorado began with only a 501(c)4 lobbying and social welfare organization in 2006.
In 2007, New Era Colorado announced they are “building a long-term bloc of young voters across the state.”
They raised $121,705 in 2006 according to their 990 IRS filing.
Their plan was to create an organization geared towards mobilizing young people for progressive causes and candidates.
Initially, these causes were election reform, lowering the age to serve in public office, tackling student debt, and pushing progressive environmental solutions.
New Era’s goal was to “be a model of how young people can push a state to become even more of a leader on progressive issues.”
Their strategy was to register young people to vote, knock on doors to discuss the candidates and issues they supported, and release a voter guide for local candidates and issues.
Their second year of operation 2007, saw them raising $93,368 according to their 990 IRS form.
Their work during the 2008 election helped propel their organization.
During the 2008 election cycle, they claim to have registered over 11,000 voters, knocked on nearly 30,000 doors, and helped elect Barack Obama, Jared Polis, and Betsy Markey.
New Era drove a bus full of volunteers across Denver, Boulder, and Fort Collins to door knock and setup voter registration tables.
The screenshots below are from a 2008 video highlighting their efforts. The video also features a nose-ring clad Steve Fenberg.
Their 2008 campaign work set the stage for them when the 2008 Democratic National Convention was held in Denver.
In 2008, they doubled their previous numbers with $214,637 raised, according to their 990 IRS form.
In 2008, they also founded their New Era Colorado Foundation, which is a 501(c)3 and is an organization primarily setup to receive tax-deducible contributions (many other groups use a c(3) for very large donations so the donor can reduce their tax burden).
Just like their (c)4, the 501(c)3 Foundation allows anonymous contributions of millions of dollars, as we will see in their tax statements below. This is what Democrats are talking about when they complain about “dark money.”
New Era gained national exposure, doors were opened and it seems connections were made for this young group of political entrepreneurs.
Their c(4) only raised $37,443 in 2009 according to their 990 IRS form and $70,791 in 2010.
But their c(3) raisied $100,525 in 2008. I speculate that their donors shifter their contributions to their tax-deductible foundation instead of their c(4).
New Era has increased their revenue to $5.2 million in 2020 (between both the c(3) and c(4)) according to their 990 forms:
The New Era Colorado Foundation is a 501(c)3 and has been used for larger contributions:
A 2012 video shows them knocking doors with Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, and Congressman Jared Polis (in his cringe-inducing King costume) during their Trick-or-Vote campaign.
In 2012 they ran four offices across Colorado, and their 14 staffers (along with dozens of volunteers) registered 20,000 young voters in person, 17,000 people online, and engaged in door knocking and phone banking for get out the vote efforts.
Brittany Pettersen (elected to the State House in 2012, and US Congressman for District 7 in 2022) makes appearances throughout the 2012 video as well. Their 2013 report lists Pettersen as their Denver Org. Director.
In the 2012 video, Fenberg describes their goals to include Civic Engagement, Leadership Development and Advocacy/Winning.
Some of the policies championed by New Era in 2012 include:
Passing Online Voter Registration in 2009 with HB09-1160
Civil Unions for LGBT couples
In-state tuition rates for undocumented students
Energy efficiency standards for rental units
Health care reform
And passing Boulder 2B & 2C in 2011, which created a municipal electric utility.
Their 2012 efforts were complied in a report and are listed in the screenshot below:
By 2016, New Era is said to have registered 100,000 young voters during their first ten years, and “trained hundreds or political leaders.”
As noted above, by January 2017, co-founders Fenberg, Herod and Neguse were all serving in the State Government.
Recent Activities
In 2021, Fenberg was one of the first to call for an “assault weapons ban” in Colorado following the Boulder King Soopers Tragedy.
This year, he is sponsoring the new Red Flag Gun Confiscation bill, raising the age to purchase a firearm (so much for standing up for young people), and legalizing lawsuits against gun manufacturers and sellers.
Another New Era Executive Director was Lizzy Stephan (8 years working for the group). Stephan is now a Senior Campaign & Election Specialist at the National Education Association in Washington DC.
The current Executive Director Nicole Hensel hosted a town hall with controversial Secretary of State Jena Griswold back in 2020:
Hensel has been the Executive Director of New Era Colorado since December 2019, and is also on Griswold’s Election Advisory Commission.
New Era Colorado’s events are frequently promoted by ProgressNow (formerly run by New Era alum Pettersen’s husband Ian Silverii).
According to TRACER, New Era Colorado’s political entities have received tens of thousands of dollars over the past 14 years:
New Era Colorado was also a massive contributor to Abortion Access for All prior to the 2020 election:
Over the past 15 years, New Era continues to register young voters, train political leaders and turnout progressive voters during elections.
Jumping on the BLM bandwagon, New Era published an Equity Statement to “acknowledge our past mistakes, ” and “apologize to the people who have been harmed by our work,” in 2020.
In 2022, they claim to have registered 250,000 since their inception.
Their Plans for Colorado
Debt-free college
Public funding for abortion & repealing parental notification.
Connections
New Era does not advertise their ties to other organizations, but they seem to have national connections.
For example, they are connected to the national group Alliance for Youth Organizing.
Alliance for Youth Organizing lists New Era Colorado as a state affiliate.
Alliance for Youth Organizing is the successor to the Oregon based Bus Project Foundation.
Check out the Bus Project’s website in 2011:
Now take a look at New Era Colorado’s website from around the same time:
Notice any similarities?
It looks like around 2011, New Era Colorado joined up with some national organizations to create a network across the country.
New Era also received contributions from the Youth Engagement Action Fund, a project of the national Democracy Alliance and Sixteen Thirty Fund.
Democracy Alliance was founded in 2005 by “Peter Lewis, financier George Soros and software entrepreneur Tim Gill,” according to the Washington Post.
But prior to Democracy Alliance, Colorado Democracy Alliance (CoDA) was formed in 2004.
CoDA was the brainchild of the “Gang of Four,” Jared Polis, Pat Stryker, Tim Gill, and Rutt Bridges.
CoDA helped coordinate funding for at least 37 politically left organizations in Colorado.
One of these was New Era.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that New Era Colorado was founded shortly after Colorado Democracy Alliance (CoDA) appeared on the scene.
After all, New Era founder Leslie Herod went to work for Tim Gill, and Lisa Kaufmann went to work for Jared Polis.
New Era fit in perfectly with CoDA’s Blueprint model.
The Blueprint model was about utilizing a variety of single-issue groups across Colorado to elect candidates. By coordinating their activities, these groups could cover more ground and exert more influence than they could on their own.
Colorado Politics reported that New Era received initial funding from a Young Political Innovators Grant. But I couldn’t find further information on this grant program.
Conclusion
It seems to me that New Era wasn’t entirely a spontaneous organization formed by CU students as they advertise, but instead it was founded by well-funded and political-connected insiders.
With the close ties between those involved in CoDA and New Era, it seems they have been connected since day one.
So it’s no surprise that New Era Colorado is closely tied to Colorado’s Democratic Establishment.
And now the Colorado has two Congressmen that were New Era alum, the President of the Senate, the Governor’s former Chief of Staff, and a potential mayor of Denver.
There’s no doubt that New Era was successful in achieving political power.
But let’s get back to the questions at the beginning of this article.
So how did Democrats take Colorado?
With organization, hard work, and a network of political organizations.
Money, volunteers, and a full-time effort by political staffers led New Era to help change Colorado politics.
Those of us who believe in Free Markets, Individualism and Liberty must be as organized in our efforts as those on the Authoritarian Left.
I encourage you to learn how New Era and other organizations have won in the past, so you can win in the future.
And who is pushing the left-authoritarian political agenda in Colorado?
National organizations working with local groups like New Era to achieve their goals.
Think of New Era as the boots on the ground, knocking doors and working the streets.
And the national network of well-funded progressives funnel millions into Colorado groups to push their agenda on our state.
If Liberty-minded individuals want make change, they need to be organized with full-time staff, an army or volunteers and a big pocketbook.
There’s no shortcut. It’s going to take hard work.
We must learn from organizations like New Era to see how they accomplished their goals, and how we can do better.
And if you can find national support, you can use those resources to multiply your impact.
What do you think?
Leave a Reply Below!
Get the Free State Colorado Email Newsletter:
Follow on Telegram: t.me/FreeStateColorado
This is an excellent article in understanding what is happening to Colorado and around the country. Liberty people need to follow this plan with individual rights in mind – and quickly.
Thank you Susan!