President of the Institute

Michael is the President of the Advance Colorado Institute. Prior to that he served as the Executive Director of Colorado Rising Action and the State Director of Americans for Prosperity - Colorado. He brings years of nonprofit, educational, and legislative experience. He has served as a policy aide at the Colorado State House and also as a press aide for the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions. He taught both elementary and middle school at a charter school in Aurora – later serving as the governing board president of that school. He is a FOX31 Denver political analyst, as well as an adjunct professor of American Politics. Michael graduated from Valparaiso University and earned his J.D. from University of Colorado – Boulder. He and his wife, Mele, and their four children live in Parker.

Senior Policy Analyst

Kristi is the Senior Policy Advisor at the Advance Colorado Institute. She is the former Chairwoman of the Colorado Republican Party -- the first woman to be elected in 40 years and the youngest Chair in Colorado Republican history. Kristi is a constitutional attorney, focusing on First Amendment and Equal Protection issues and is admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court. She is a former Associate Scholar with the Charlotte Lozier Institute and a current board member of the Boy Scouts' Greater Colorado Council and the Colorado Family Life Center. As the former managing editor of a news site, Kristi tutors 4th-6th graders in grammar and writing and is a guest host for the Dan Caplis Show on 630 KHOW. She lives with her family in Douglas County.

Sign up for our newsletter

Colorado is a special place with special people. For too long, leaders have stood by while liberal special interest groups and politicians have turned Colorado into a testing ground for some of the most liberal policies and plans in the nation.


Sign up for our newsletter

Thanks for signing up!


x

First Amendment

Learn More About Proposition HH

The Advance Colorado Team is committed to engaging in high-impact, public-interest litigation that has a direct and tangible impact on the people of Colorado. Our goal is to ensure that Colorado is a beacon of prosperity and opportunity for all Coloradans.

We are staunch defenders of the First Amendment and will challenge any government actions that restrict our God-given right to truthful and unrestricted speech. Cases: Advance Colorado v. Polis: Stop Government Compelled Speech



Cases

Advance Colorado v. Polis: Stop Government Compelled Speech

This federal lawsuit seeks to strike down HB 21-1321, which forces state-mandated language in the ballot title for citizen-initiated ballot measures that cut taxes. Regardless of the facts, every measure must say that it “will reduce funding for state expenditures that include but are not limited to education, health care policy and financing, and higher education.” The requirement to include this language on citizen-initiated ballot measures represents a clear example of unconstitutional compelled speech, and even worse, it requires compelled false speech. The language must be used even when there is no guarantee that a reduction in tax rates “will reduce funding” for any particular state program. It is required by Colorado, even when the statement is provably and mathematically false. With Initiatives #21 and #22, Advance Colorado has experienced this firsthand, when the state-mandated language was required to be part of the titles in these initiatives. This lawsuit seeks to ensure the First Amendment is followed in Colorado.

Lopez v. Griswold

Colorado has the lowest contribution limits in the country for legislative candidates, and the second-lowest for statewide candidates. These extremely low limits act as an incumbent-protection mechanism and make it extremely difficult for challengers to run competitive campaigns. And the state makes it even more difficult for challengers by punishing them if they refuse to limit their campaign speech. This system violates candidates and their contributors’ First Amendment rights to free speech and association.

Complaint (D. Colo. Jan. 28, 2022)
Motion for Preliminary Injunction (D. Colo. Feb. 7, 2022)
Reply in Support of Motion for Preliminary Injunction (D. Colo. Feb. 24, 2022)
Order Denying Motion for Preliminary Injunction (D. Colo. Mar. 10, 2022)
Notice of Appeal (D. Colo. Mar. 17, 2022)
Opening Brief (10th Cir. May 26, 2022)
Reply Brief (10th Cir. July 26, 2022)

Salazar v. Public Trust Institute

When a citizen truthfully complains to enforcement authorities about a pattern of behavior by a former government official that appears to indicate he may be breaking the law, the First Amendment and Colorado law protect that citizen from a retaliatory lawsuit by that public figure. Yet, former Colorado legislator Joe Salazar has been able to drag citizen activist Suzanne Staiert and her organization, the Public Trust Institute, through the courts for more than a year after she filed a truthful complaint about his allegedly unethical behavior. Advance Colorado is helping Staiert and PTI say “enough is enough.”

Colorado Union of Taxpayers, Inc. v. Griswold

Colorado is violating the right to free speech by unconstitutionally applying vague and shifting standards to regulate groups that only incidentally discuss ballot initiatives.

Order Dismissing Case (D. Colo. Mar. 18, 2022)
Notice of Appeal (D. Colo. Apr. 15, 2022)
Opening Brief (10th Cir. July 5, 2022)

Let's keep this momentum going

We're grateful for your continued support and have big plans for 2023. Help spread the word and stay engaged as we work to return Colorado to the special place we know it to be and love.