page_title: Douglas Bruce
section_title: Conflicts with county staff and commissioners
hierarchical_section_title: Douglas Bruce / Early career / El Paso County Commissioner / Conflicts with county staff and commissioners
caption_attribution_description: The El Paso County Justice Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
context_page_description: Douglas Edward Bruce is an American conservative activist, former legislator in the U.S. state of Colorado and convicted felon.
  He is also known for being the author of Colorado's Taxpayer Bill of Rights. A strict advocate for limited government, Bruce wrote and promoted TABOR, a spending limitation measure approved by Colorado voters in 1992; his name is so associated with the measure that attempts to bypass its restrictions are known as "de-Brucing."
  After two unsuccessful campaigns for the Colorado State Senate in 1996 and 2000, Bruce was eventually elected to the El Paso County, Colorado county commission in 2004. While a county commissioner, Bruce was noted for frequently falling on the losing sides of 4-1 votes, and for disputes with county staff and fellow commissioners on numerous occasions.
  Bruce was appointed to a vacant seat in the Colorado House of Representatives in December 2007 and represented House District 15, which encompasses eastern Colorado Springs.
context_section_description: When Bruce joined the commission, he sought to have his salary of over $60,000 per year directed to charity, per a campaign promise. Designating Active Citizens Together, an educational non-profit he helped found, as the recipient, Bruce sought to have the county not withhold income tax from his checks, as the money would go directly to charity and he would receive no direct personal benefit. After ten months of disputing arrangements with county staff, Bruce agreed to accept checks with taxes and deductions withheld. In 2007, Bruce attempted to use the non-profit group to donate copies of the U.S. Constitution for local school districts to distribute to graduating seniors; several districts refused his donation on logistical grounds or policies forbidding distribution of external material. The nonprofit group has purchased tens of thousands of copies of the constitution, with the goal of giving one to every graduating high school senior in Colorado.
   He also refused to accept a VIP pass from the Colorado Springs Airport, characterizing it as a "bribe;" he also objected to the introduction of public prayer during county commission meetings. Bruce also objected to the inclusion of his name (alongside other county commissioners) on a plaque marking county support of a new courthouse expansion, threatening to physically remove his name from the plaque; his opposition to financing methods for the courthouse had been a driving factor behind his 2004 county commission campaign.
  Bruce's debating and speaking style during county commission meetings led to occasional conflicts with county staff and other commissioners. During his first year, an escalating series of disputes with Commissioner Sallie Clark led to her ruling, at a meeting which she chaired, that Bruce was not allowed to discuss Colorado Springs city politics. In 2006, Bruce was also accused of intervening in a county bidding process for a copying contract in favor of a campaign supporter.
  In 2006, El Paso County Attorney Bill Louis denounced Bruce as a "narcissist, sociopath and crackpot enabler" for supporting Colorado's Amendment 38, a referendum designed to ease rules for petitioning measures onto election ballots. Bruce and Louis verbally tangled after Louis called Bruce's tactics "guerrilla" and Louis announced: "I plan to do everything in my limited power to make sure that [Bruce's tenure in elected office] comes to an end at some point for the good not only of this community but for all of Colorado and the nation."
  Tensions also rose during Bruce's final weeks on the county commission, as he sought a vacancy committee's appointment to the state legislature. Bruce criticized county staff for being unresponsive to his inquiries, and Sheriff Terry Maketa responded by accusing Bruce of harming the morale of county staff, and told Bruce that he supported his bid for the legislature in order "to put you in an environment that will match your ineffectiveness," a statement applauded by other county staff. During his final commission meetings, Bruce was also repeatedly cut off by other commissioners during his comments; other members of the commission described his behavior as an increase in "grandstanding" prior to the vacancy committee's meeting.
caption: Because of his opposition the methods used to finance its construction, Douglas Bruce, as a county commissioner in 2005, objected to the placement of his name on a plaque marking county support of the El Paso County Terry R. Harris Judicial Complex. (pictured)
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