The injection of partisan politics into education went so far that at one point another Republican board member burst out in seemingly embarrassed exasperation, “Guys, you’re rewriting history now!”

Citizens Project will keep monitoring local schools to prevent this from happening here. Please let us know if you hear of any inappropriate politicizing we should be aware of.

Thanks to our friends at the Texas Freedom Network for fighting the Texas takeover.

The “Jesus is Alive!” banners on city-owned light poles in downtown Colorado Springs raise high emotions among residents, whether Christian, Jewish or Atheist.   Some people see them as just another example of the city thumbing its nose at anyone who does not subscribe to the majority religion. Others view any objection to the banners as liberal intolerance of a positive Christian message. Are either of these really true? Rather than hunker down into our comfortable, adversarial positions, Citizens Project says let’s focus on finding our common ground. After all, our nation really is the global beacon of religious freedom, so let’s reach for our highest selves.

Surely, you may ask, doesn’t our community have more important issues to tackle right now, such as homelessness and drastic budget cuts? It’s a reasonable question, but don’t forget we are talking about the First Amendment; how our diverse residents share the public space together. And more practically, our city’s land use division is required to adopt a code to define who gets banners in the public right of way, since none currently exists.

As a dedicated local watchdog for religious freedom and separation of church and state, Citizens Project wants to lead the way in working with community members to find our common ground. We are reaching out to leaders representing diverse perspectives. Let’s listen respectfully to each others’ point of view, and try to put aside our preconceptions of each others’ motives. We may still disagree in the end, but we’ll understand one another more, and hopefully create real community. Who knows, we might even become a national model for how to have civil debate on core community values. Let’s bring together our Christian, Jewish, Atheist, and other faith communities to build bridges, and bury our national reputation as the “Gettysburg of the culture wars”.

We welcome your ideas! Please comment here or send an email to Citizens Project’s Executive Director Barb Van Hoy. Let the conversation begin.

Photo courtesy of Cayton Photography

Pictured above: Executive Director Barb Van Hoy with Independent publisher John Weiss and a really, really big check!

KRDO Banner Story

Citizens Project is working to ensure that the U.S. Constitution’s religious freedom guarantees are upheld in the new city’s code regulating such banners.

Photo by Cayton Photography

Please join us as we celebrate John’s contributions to the Colorado Springs community at our sixth annual Divine Award event!

Thursday, February 18, 2010 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
The Warehouse, 25 W. Cimarron St.,
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Open to the public, $10 suggested donation

Please RSVP by February 12 to: kristy@citizensproject.org or (719) 520-9899

View the electronic invitation

About the Divine Award: Citizens Project’s Divine Award is given annually to an individual in the Pikes Peak region who has worked tirelessly to create a vibrant democracy in which equal rights are protected and differences are respected. The award simultaneously recognizes the accomplishments of its recipient and honors the legacy of Amy Divine, the founder of Citizens Project, who dedicated her energy to championing traditional American values of equal rights, individual freedoms, separation of church and state, civic engagement and respect for diversity. This year’s recipient is activist John Weiss, founder and publisher of the Colorado Springs Independent. Previous recipients are Mary Lou Makepeace, Dr. Jim White, Pam Jones and Juliet Draper (shared award), Lorne Kramer, and Richard Skorman.

Photo by Catyon Photography

About John Weiss: John Weiss is a visionary entrepreneur, collaborator, and community activist whose leadership has created a more diverse, progressive and green Colorado Springs over the last 27 years.

As founder and publisher of the Colorado Springs Independent, John oversees the region’s only free weekly alternative newspaper, which reaches more than 100,000 readers in the region with local news, diverse thought and untold stories. Through this platform, Mr. Weiss has brought nationally renowned creative thinkers to Colorado Springs to build alliances and elevate discourse, co-sponsored more than 50 civic events annually to promote a vibrant democracy, and organized coalitions to bring positive change to the region.

John is an advocate for environmental sustainability who led successful initiatives to increase funding for open space and establish recycling programs. He has organized and supported campaigns to increase City Council pay, extend health benefits to domestic partners of municipal employees, and reform local tax policy. John recently launched the Independent’s Give! initiative which raised more than $150,000 for local nonprofits, and he produces the annual Fort Carson Town Hall meetings. In his spare time, John can be found volunteering at his sons’ schools, hiking with his dog, and vanquishing reptilian invaders when innocents are threatened.

The Human Rights Campaign released the first-ever “Buying for Equality” iPhone application. This guide will allow shoppers to access its guide for equality as they are shopping to see how hundreds of popular American brands are rated based on the businesses’ treatment of their LGBT employees.

Now let’s make the City of Colorado Springs eligible for inclusion on the “good list” by passing Plus One employee health benefits, which includes domestic partners (gay and straight)! Here is the latest Gazette Opinion piece in support.

December 31 always provides a great opportunity for reflecting on the previous year and looking at the things that went well for us:  in our personal lives, our professional lives, and our community lives. 2009 went really well for Citizens Project, in lots of ways.

• CP sent 12 editions of Freedom Watch Online to more than 1,500 subcribers and 41 Action Alerts to more than 1,000 activists
• We moved our office and held an open house
• Our fifth annual Divine Award Celebration honored Richard Skorman and our Creating Community Breakfast event rasied $40,000
• We published two comprehensive local voter guides and co-sponsored four election forums
• We completed a fantastic strategic plan, which will lead Citizens Project boldly into the next decade and maximize our ability to promote our values in the community
• Citizens Project mailed information about inclusive and legal practices at graduations and over the holiday season to all local schools
• We totally renovated our web site and electronic communications, created this blog, and tapped into the social networking sites Twitter and Facebook
• Citizens Project unveiled a proposal to extend Plus One health benefits to family members of City employees and advocated for the policy with elected representatives, the media, and our supporters
• We began planning our inaugural Citizens Religious Freedom Institute, a one-day symposium that will educate and empower students, parents, teachers, administrators and community leaders around religious freedom issues 
• We spoke out when injustices occured in our community, such as the appearance of Jesus Lives banners on city-owned lightpoles

In all truth, I know that these things were possible for only three reasons:

• We have the greatest volunteers on the planet.
• We have the greatest advocates on the planet.
• We have the greatest donors on the planet.

Citizens Project is the perfect name for our scrappy organization, because we truly are by the citizens and for the citizens of the Pikes Peak region. It is your support, whether emotional support, volunteer support, monetary support, or advocacy support, that makes what we do important and possible.

Earlier today, I prepared the last deposit of the year (and by the way, CP exceeded our individual income goals this year, thanks to people like you), and I was struck by the largest donation ($5,000) and the smallest donation ($4). For each person making these gifts, that amount represented a “stretch” for them – a real commitment to our values and our community - and I like to think that they are equal partners in this thing we call Citizens Project. We all do what we can, when we can, but at the end of the day – and the end of the year – one thing is true: we believe in a vibrant community that values diversity, equality and religious freedom.

Happy New Year!