DENVER — The effort to recall Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) has earned a following on social media.
The Recall Colorado Governor Jared Polis group on Facebook has more than 30,000 members. In its description, moderators write they oppose the governor for issues including the national popular vote bill, oil and gas reform, and the red flag bill.
The page started in 2014 and has previously gone by "Recall Hickenlooper 2017," "Recall Hickenlooper 2018," "Good Riddance Hickenlooper 2018," and "Keeping Colorado Officials Accountable" before its most recent title.
Two groups recently filed with the Colorado Secretary of State's Office as committees that want to recall Polis: "Resist Polis PAC" and "Official Recall Colorado Governor Jared Polis." The Facebook group says it's working with a committee that has filed with the state in the effort to recall the governor but does not formally state which one.
The Greeley Tribune looked into the Facebook group and found some administrators had a history of posting anti-Semitic comments online, according to the report from Tyler Silvy. Polis is Colorado's first Jewish governor.
The article states one of the administrators wrote "Hitler was good to the American people," and another had blamed Jewish people for 9/11.
Per the Tribune, Tom Good, the person who registered the Resist Polis PAC with the secretary of state's office, is not currently an administrator in the Recall Colorado Governor Jared Polis group.
It appears that Juli-Andra Fuentes, who's listed as an agent of "Official Recall Colorado Governor Jared Polis" committee, is an administrator in the Facebook group, but she has not been accused of posting anti-Semitic rhetoric.
Next with Kyle Clark shared the Tribune's reporting on Monday, March 25. Following our coverage, organizers of the Recall Colorado Governor Jared Polis group said they had booted one of their fellow administrator accused of posting anti-Semitic comments.
Moderator Mandy Nelson wrote:
"Coloradans, as many of you heard again tonight on 9-News' Next with Kyle Clark, we DID have a person in the higher level of this organization who was found to have anti-semetic [sic] posts on her personal Facebook page. I want to assure you that she is no longer affiliated with Recall Colorado Governor Jared Polis PIC. Her position was vacated and a replacement is being vetted. Acts of antisemitism will not be tolerated and have never been accepted by this group. It is unfortunate that her past was not properly vetted before she was given her high profile role. I can assure you the next person to take her responsibilities will uphold the highest standards of humanity and move this cause in the right direction."
Recalling the governor would require signatures from 25 percent of the number of voters who cast ballots in the last election for that office.
In 2018, 2,525,062 voters cast ballots for governor, so 631,266 signatures are needed simply to get the recall question on the ballot for everyone to vote on the issue.
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