Democracy image. Courtesy of the Harvard Business Review
HICCUP, the League of Women Voters, and Ark Valley Voice do not Share the Same Mission
Two falsehoods being advanced by the leadership of HICCUP (Honesty in Chaffee County Under Protest) have come to light recently that must be corrected. There is absolutely no mission overlap between Ark Valley Voice and what appear to be the purposes of the HICCUP group. Nor is there an overlap in the mission of the League of Women Voters of Chaffee County and HICCUP. None.
“Since the League of Women Voters was formed in Chaffee County nearly 50 years ago, we have served the community as a nonpartisan, nonprofit source of voter education and information so citizens can make fact-based decisions when they vote, ” said the League of Women Voters of Chaffee County Leadership Team Coordinator Marjie Gray. ” We empower voters and defend democracy.”
Ark Valley Voice exists to ensure that truth has a voice. We are a nonprofit news organization adhering to the highest ethical standards, attested to by our membership in the Colorado Press Association, the Colorado News Collaborative, and the Institute for Nonprofit News. We have repeatedly affirmed that the organizing principle of this country is democracy — and that AVV stands for the rule of law and this democracy.
HICCUP appears to exist to spread election disinformation, including lies about 2020 election fraud, and focuses on the continued harassment of the Chaffee County Clerk and Recorder, which would certainly seem to be the antithesis of democracy.
Ark Valley Voice has pointed out that these are divergent missions at least five times in articles about the HICCUP group since August 8, 2023:
August 8: https://arkvalleyvoice.com/a-hiccup-in-chaffee-county-why-now/
August 16: https://arkvalleyvoice.com/commissioners-support-chaffee-county-elections-protocols/
“As we approach the 2023 elections, and look ahead to the 2024 election, it is more important than ever that local communities become educated about the issues and candidates based upon facts, rather than inuendoes and disinformation,” adds Ark Valley Voice Publisher/Managing Editor Jan Wondra. “Creating chaos and distrust in local elections and in the people who are in charge of elections is counterproductive to democracy.”
Quotes out of context and outright lies are now the standard operating procedure of republicans.
Merrell Bergin wrote, “Sounds simple enough. In fact, its words align closely with key focus outreach areas of the Truth Has A Voice Foundation – the parent nonprofit of Ark Valley Voice.”
Merrell Bergin also wrote, “The tagline of the long-established League of Women Voters of Chaffee County “Empowering Voters. Defending Democracy” would seem to indicate yet more mission overlap, something we note is prevalent among new Chaffee County nonprofits.”
Russ, both of your quotes are taken out of context. The original article said that HICCUP DOESN’t have the same mission.
The full quotes are:
“Sounds simple enough. In fact, its words align closely with key focus outreach areas of the Truth Has A Voice Foundation – the parent nonprofit of Ark Valley Voice. But their methods would appear to be somewhat different.”
In the case of the second quote: “The tagline of the long-established League of Women Voters of Chaffee County “Empowering Voters. Defending Democracy” would seem to indicate yet more mission overlap, something we note is prevalent among new Chaffee County nonprofits.” … “If tying up the County Clerk’s office with a flood of CORA requests or mounting legal actions becomes the primary purpose of HICCUP, one might argue that their mission is predominantly lobbying or wearing down an election process that has been called ‘the gold standard’ among county and state election processes.”
Quotes taken out of context do not present the full picture and we will call these out for what they are.