A committee founded by anti-tax advocate Douglas Bruce saw its assets increase by $250,000 in 2008.
When asked about the increase by a Gazette reporter on Wednesday, Bruce said he donated property he owned in California to the organization, which is called Active Citizens Together.
“There’s no law against giving a property, so there’s your answer. I’ve owned it for 25 years,” said Bruce, who authored the 1992 TABOR amendment, which limits how much government can grow in Colorado.
Papers filed with the IRS and publicly available through Guidestar show the committee’s ”public support” went from $14,588 in 2004 to $517,375 in 2008.
According to the 2008 filing, the committee’s primary purpose is to “advocate awareness of and enjoyment of all constitutional and other legal rights, including the bill of rights and petitions.”
The word ‘petition’ shows up for the first time in the 2008 statement. At about that time, Bruce launched two petition drives aimed at city-owned enterprises, including Stormwater, Utilities and Memorial Health System.
The two ballot measures failed, but Bruce succeeded in getting a similar measure on the city ballot in 2009 with the help of professional petition circulators, several of whom lived in an apartment he owned on Boulder Street.
In 2009, voters approved Issue 300, which effectively ended payments to the city from its various enterprises. After the measure passed, the Colorado Springs City Council ended the Stormwater Enterprise, and the measure has contributed to the city’s ongoing financial problems.
Can you say “shill”?
How ’bout “tax dodge”?
Is this property in as bad a condition as the ones Bruce owns here? a slum lord by any other name is still a slum lord.
The man with the most gold make the rules for the land. Forget Democracy!
“hiring mercenaries”?
(non resident, locally unregistered no less)
Cute tax dodge Dougie…BTW, you ever get a date without layin’ out a couple/three Benjamins yet?
No wonder the city idiots can not keep up with this guy, bruce is smarter than all of them put together. City Idiots.
Way to go Doug Bruce. I am for what you do 100%. Those who constantly criticize him have dogs in the hunts. They are the progressives, lefty loonies, socialists, marxists and most probably draw their water it the taxpayers trough. They do not embrace the tenets of the Constitution.
The people that hate Bruce hate him for 2 reasons:
He’s smarter than the government.
They all feed at the public trough.
You are correct Jennifer, if the city leaders had any brains they would understand how money is used and not wasted. Then again If mayor Lionel Rivera had as much brains as Mr. Bruce does who knows how much more damage he could do to our city.
Proamerica, you said it well and the truth hurts the government.
No, tracker, DB IGNORES the US Constitution: specifically, art. 4.
By petitioning and attacking city policies and the Colorado Springs city charter from positions of trust as a county commissioner and state representative, he repeatedly violated the state constitution and his oath of office.
How smart is that?
Two reasons his sychophants blindly follow him:
They are miserly (expect services without paying fair share). (Poor, overtaxed)
They can’t think (or read) for themselves (rely on his interpretations.)
They are what he meant when he said “illiterate peasants”
@notsofast – KISS MY ASS!
You’re obviously an liberal commie constitution hating unamerican pos.
Par for the course, snake in the grass! Takes you 4 months to learn to read comments, then all you got is obscene remarks.
to this late illiterate peasant: “on thy belly shalt thou crawl”