The Revolution that wasn’t!

Mr. Anderson’s latest diatribe in his publication concerning this author for two articles published in the Montrose Mirror and here on the Colorado DOGE Report shortly after the November 4^th election is a masterclass in cherry-picking facts, smearing opponents, and pretending a razor-thin, low-turnout recall victory represents some grand mandate from the people. It doesn’t. It was a confusing, murky process that barely cleared the bar, and Anderson knows it. Let’s dismantle the nonsense.

The Recall Ballot Was Intentionally Confusing, And It Worked

Everyone who paid attention knows the recall question was worded in the most baffling way possible. While a “YES” vote meant you wanted him GONE. Plenty of voters I spoke to after the election admitted they voted YES thinking they were keeping him. The recall committee and their allies deliberately leaned into that confusion.  Muddy messaging + low information voters = success for the recall side. Own it, Dennis. Your desired team won on a technicality and voter befuddlement, not some overwhelming wave of support.

A New Commissioner Won with Zero Real Election

Anderson gloats about the “work” the recall committee put in, but conveniently ignores that Kirstin Copeland never faced a single opponent in a real election. She needed exactly ONE vote to take the seat. That’s it. If 50% + 1 voted to recall she could have gotten 1 vote and won the seat.  While she did get more than 1 vote, not even all who voted to oust Commissioner Mijares voted FOR her. That’s not a mandate; that’s a loophole. Celebrating that as some triumph of grassroots democracy is laughable.

Fewer People Voted to Remove Him Than Elected Him – That Matters

Here’s the math Anderson dodges: Scott Mijares was elected in November 2024 with over 18,100 votes in an uncontested race (meaning every Republican and many unaffiliated effectively for him). In the recall, only 8,477 voted to remove him out of roughly 16,741 ballots cast. That’s less than half of the number who put him in office a year earlier. Turnout collapsed. Anderson calls this “the only math that counts.” Fine. But it also reveals a system where a motivated minority with a signature-gathering machine can overturn an election because most people stayed home. If the same thing happened to his darling Sue Hansen, Dennis would be screaming about a “rigged process” and “illegitimate coup” until his keyboard melted.

Sue Hansen Ran Unopposed Too, Where’s the Mockery, Dennis?

Anderson mocks Mijares for winning an uncontested general election like it’s some kind of embarrassment. Funny, he never mentions that the ethically challenged, Saint Sue Hansen has twice coasted to victory the exact same way after being hand-picked by a vacancy committee in 2018. She never had to face a real opponent either. Glass houses, Dennis. Glass houses.

Vacancy Committee Picks Aren’t Evil When Dennis Likes the Outcome

Anderson rips Sean Pond for being selected by the Republican Central Committee vacancy process after Rick Dunlap’s tragic death, calling him a “self-centered narcissist.” Guess how Sue Hansen got her seat in the first place? The exact same vacancy committee process. The system is fine when it delivers Dennis’s preferred commissioner, but it’s corrupt and illegitimate when it delivers someone he doesn’t like. Spare us the selective principles.

Bottom Line: This Wasn’t a Revolution – It Was a Low-Turnout Sneak Attack

The recall committee exploited confusing wording, abysmal turnout, and a replacement process that required almost no affirmative support for Kirstin Copeland.  A new commissioner that we still know almost nothing about.  Her campaign consisted of a few ads that really told us nothing about how she would govern. Then they declared victory like they’d stormed the Bastille. Dennis Anderson can puff his chest all he wants, but the numbers tell the real story: fewer people showed up to kick Scott Mijares out than bothered to vote for him in the first place.

Maybe the system needs a fix? Require a minimum turnout threshold or a majority of the original electing electorate to recall someone mid-term. Because right now, a motivated clique with clipboards and a murky ballot question can overturn an election while most of the county yawns and stays home.

That’s not democracy in action. That’s democracy on life support, and Dennis Anderson just pulled the plug while pretending he saved the patient.

Michael J Badagliacco, “MJB”

Michael is a father of five, grandfather of three, United States Air Force veteran, international recording artist, and Editor-in-Chief of the Colorado DOGE Report. He is passionate about the United States of America and the founders’ genius in crafting the Constitution.