How organized advocacy drowned out everyday Coloradans at public hearings

By Scott K. James | Commentary, ScottKJames.com

How Colorado’s public comment process became a staging ground for organized activism – and why regular people never stood a chance

If Part 3 showed you the network, Part 4 shows you its megaphone.

Public comment is supposed to be the place where ordinary people get to speak truth to power.

Where Weld County ranchers, truckers, commuters, business owners, and taxpayers can show up and say:

“Here’s what this means for my life.”

But in today’s Colorado, public comment isn’t public anymore.

It’s been captured – professionally, methodically, and overwhelmingly – by advocacy organizations who have mastered the art of flooding the zone.

This didn’t happen overnight.

It happened the same way everything else in this series happened:

• Quietly
• Procedurally
• With the best-sounding intentions
• And with regular working people pushed to the sidelines

Let me show you exactly how it works.

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1. The Moment I Realized the “Public” Was No Longer the Public

I’ve testified at more meetings than I care to count.

Transportation Commission, Air Quality Control Commission, legislative hearings, CDOT “listening sessions,” GHG rulemaking hearings – you name it, I’ve been there.

And I remember the precise moment it hit me:

We weren’t participating in a public process.
We were extras in someone else’s production.

On one side:
People like me – local officials, businesses, ranchers, freight operators, working Coloradans, showing up between real jobs, responsibilities, and commutes.

On the other side:
A small army of professionally organized supporters reading from scripts they were emailed the night before.

I don’t blame the individuals – they’re citizens too –
But the machine behind them? That’s the story.

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2. The Coordination Engine: How Advocates Fill the Room

Remember in Part 3 when we talked about the climate-advocacy industrial complex?

Here’s how they weaponize public comment:

Step 1: Draft a template.

SWEEP, NRDC, environmental justice groups, transit advocates – someone writes a pre-approved comment in polished, bureaucratic-friendly language.

Step 2: Send out an action alert.

Example: SWEEP’s “Action Alert” instructing supporters to submit pro-GHG-rule comments, complete with talking points.

Step 3: Organize turnout.

They push signup links for hearings.
They tell supporters what to say.
They coordinate time slots.

Step 4: Flood the hearing with volume.

And suddenly, when a Transportation Commission meeting opens public comment, the queue is:

• 27 environmental advocates, right in a row
• 12 transit activists
• 6 “equity” representatives
• 3 density advocates
• 2 people demanding we ban cars
• And…
• the one guy on his lunch break trying to explain why I-25 needs to stop killing families

The numbers are overwhelming.

Because the turnout was orchestrated.

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3. The People Who Actually Use the Roads? They Can’t Show Up at 10 a.m. on a Thursday

Let’s be brutally honest here:

• Weld County farmers aren’t jumping on a Zoom call at 10:00 a.m.
• Truckers can’t pull over mid-haul to testify.
• Parents aren’t testifying between work, school drop-offs, and dinner.
• Businesses can’t shut down so the owner can wait in a three-hour comment queue.

But activists?

They have flexible schedules, funding, infrastructure, and email lists.

They show up in uniform waves.

So what the Transportation Commission hears is not “the people.

It’s the people who have the time — and the people who are coached, mobilized, and encouraged to turn public comment into a political weapon.

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4. The TC and CDOT Cite This as Evidence of “Strong Public Support”

This is the part that should make you furious.

When CDOT summarizes the GHG Planning Standard, their own presentation highlights the “strong majority of supportive comments” as a justification for the rule.

(See CDOT’s official GHG Planning Standard presentation.)

They’re not saying:

• “Most drivers supported the rule.”
• “Most commuters supported it.”
• “Most affected regions supported it.”

They’re saying:

• “Most people who showed up because organized advocacy groups told them to show up supported it.”

That’s not democracy.

That’s choreography.

READ THE FULL COMMENTARY AT SCOTTKJAMES.COM

Scott K. James is a second-term Weld County Commissioner and former Mayor of Johnstown, Colorado. A fourth-generation Colorado native and 40-year radio veteran, he’s been recognized by both the Colorado Broadcasters’ Association and Colorado Counties, Inc. for his public service and communication leadership. James is a strong advocate for individual liberty, limited government, and rural communities. He lives in Johnstown with his wife, Julie, and their son, Jack.

Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the management of the Rocky Mountain Voice, but even so we support the constitutional right of the author to express those opinions.