Joint ad pushes Sen. Gardner to stand up for Colorado’s clean air and climate, not corporate polluters

DENVER — This week, Conservation Colorado—the state’s largest environmental advocacy organization—and the grassroots organization Rocky Mountain Values launched a new television commercial that pushes Sen. Cory Gardner to support policy and funding to protect our environment and clean air. The ad comes two weeks after Senator Gardner’s recent vote that will repeal important federal progress on clean air policy and reflects the growing frustration that Colorado families have with politicians like Senator Cory Gardner, who acts in favor of special interests.

The effort is a part of Conservation Colorado’s new seven-figure accountability effort urging Senator Gardner to stand up for Coloradans who want clean air and a healthy climate, not for big corporate polluters. In addition to the new television commercial, the campaign also includes on-the-ground organizing in Aurora, Fort Collins, Greeley and Pueblo and other paid communications to educate Coloradans about Gardner’s record to get him to vote in favor of environmental protection.

“Senator Cory Gardner told us he’d protect Colorado’s clean air but went to Washington and helped dismantle the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to combat air pollution,” said Kelly Nordini, Executive Director of Conservation Colorado. “Colorado is at the forefront of climate impacts, and our state is a national leader in addressing the climate crisis. Unfortunately, Senator Gardner’s record shows he has been more willing to do what special interests and lobbyists in Washington want than to listen to his constituents back home. Senator Gardner must step up to change that.”

“Coloradans, like all Americans, value clean air,” said Alvina Vasquez, Executive Director of Rocky Mountain Values. “Less than two weeks ago Senator Gardner took a vote to block the Clean Power Plan, which would have stopped corporate polluters from dirtying our air—proving once again that he will continue taking votes that hurt Colorado. We hoped that Senator Gardner would stand by his promise to protect our environment, but instead, he continues his pattern of broken promises and bad votes. We need Senator Gardner, and all of our elected officials, to prioritize Coloradans’ clean air now. ”

In Washington, Sen. Gardner helped dismantle the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to combat air pollution, allowing power plants to burn coal waste without complying with clean air rules. And while Coloradans’ health suffered as a result, Sen. Gardner raked in the cash—including more than $1.4 million in campaign contributions from the oil and gas industry. That investment continues to pay dividends for big corporate polluters. And just this month, Sen. Gardner voted to allow Trump’s repeal of the Clean Power Plan to move forward, paving the way for coal plants to stay open longer and blocking progress for wind and solar power—energy sources that Coloradans overwhelmingly support.

“Frontline communities can’t write big checks like big polluters, but we can organize,” said Juan Gallegos, director of Protégete. “Latinx Coloradans deserve a seat at the table and for Senator Gardner to listen to us, vote with us, and put Colorado on a path to a clean energy future.”