DENVER - His name is "Sick Rick," and he's a walking, talking, political puppet that's part of a campaign that supports Initiative 300, a proposition on the November ballot that would require paid sick time for everyone who works in Denver. Some Colorado business owners say he's scaring their customers away.
The puppet is owned by the Campaign for a Healthy Denver. On his Twitter page, Sick Rick describes himself as "The creepy crud that's tickling at the back of your throat, the snot in your nose, the achiness & the chills," and over the weekend, he spent time walking around downtown Denver with other Initiative 300 supporters handing out flyers near restaurants. It's an activity Josh Wolkon, owner of Vesta Dipping Grill and Steuben's restaurants, finds worrisome.
"It's a little disconcerting," he said. "This type of tactics - you're affecting business, you're affecting our employees' livelihood."
The "No on 300" campaign has gone so far as to accuse Sick Rick of trying to sabotage the local economy.
"It's honestly the most over the top act I've seen. To actually go out to try to discourage people from supporting local grown businesses here in Denver - we've asked them to apologize for trying to scare customers and local businesses," No on 300 spokesperson George Merritt said.
Representatives with the Campaign for a Healthy Denver denied that accusation, saying they are very pro-small business.
"The campaign for a Healthy Denver is all about making sure that Denver is a healthy place for customers, for businesses for employees, and we are just about making sure that everyone is healthy on the job," spokesperson Erin Bennett said.
Without going into too much detail, Bennett said the group does not plan on changing its campaign tactics.
"We'll just do the same thing we've been doing for the past few months," she said.
That's news that came as a disappointment to Wolkon.
"It's desperate," he said. "We're getting away from the main issues, and the main issues are really what we would love to discuss a little bit more."
Sick Rick's Twitter page has been active for about a week, though much of the time he just tweets about being too sick to go into work.
Initiative 300 has been publicly opposed by Gov. John Hickenlooper, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, and the majority of the Denver City Council.
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