Jon Caldara
Jon Caldara | |
|---|---|
| Born | Trenton, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | President of the Independence Institute |
Jon Caldara is an American libertarian activist who serves as the president of the Independence Institute. He is a radio host and hosts a current events show, Devil's Advocate with Jon Caldara, that airs on KBDI-TV PBS 12 in Denver, Colorado.[1]
Early life and education[edit]
Caldara was born in Trenton, New Jersey. His family moved to Colorado when he was six years old. He graduated from Heritage High School in Littleton, Colorado, and then the University of Colorado Boulder in Boulder. As a University of Colorado Boulder student, he drew a comic strip called B Street.[2] After college, Caldara worked as a roadie setting up stage equipment for rock bands. He later started a stage lighting business.[3]
Career[edit]
Caldara was elected to the board of directors for the Regional Transportation District, and eventually became its chairman.[3] In 1998, he replaced Tom Tancredo as president of the Independence Institute, a Colorado think tank.[3]
Voter registration protest[edit]
When the Colorado legislature relaxed voter registration requirements to allow people to register in a jurisdiction if they declared their intent to move there, Caldara objected. He then tested the law by declaring his intent to move to Colorado Springs, in order to vote in a recall election there. In September 2013, Caldara cast a blank ballot, but never moved to Colorado Springs, although he sublet a room there for a brief time.[4]
Colorado Attorney General John Suthers investigated Caldara for voting fraud, but chose not to prosecute him. Suthers called the incident "suspicious," and said that it was questionable that Caldara ever intended to become an El Paso County resident. Suthers noted "arguable ambiguity” in the same-day voter law, and took no action. In January 2014, Caldara said, "I told you what I did was legal, neener-neener-neener."[5]
Fired from Denver Post[edit]
In January 2020, Caldara was terminated as a weekly columnist for The Denver Post after publishing two conservative articles on sex and gender.[6][7] In a column arguing for greater openness in public affairs, excoriating the Colorado legislature for avoiding the legally required referendum on a new state tax by repackaging it as a "fee", and then prohibiting hospitals from listing the fee on patients’ bills. On the same theme, he criticized the state’s educational authorities for imposing a speech code forbidding speech considered "stigmatizing". "In case you hadn’t noticed," he wrote, "just about everything is stigmatizing to the easily triggered, perpetually offended." He also complained that the schools were not doing enough to make parents aware of the contents of their sex education curricula. While Caldara believes his insistence on the existence of only two sexes was "the last straw" for his column, he said, "the reason for my firing is over a difference in style."[8]
Caldara was officially fired for failing to use "respectful language" and the lack of a "collaborative and professional manner."[9]
Personal life[edit]
Caldara is the father of three children, one of whom died of cancer when she was one year old.[10] His son has Down syndrome.[2]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Roberts, Michael (January 6, 2012). "Rick Barber out after thirty years at KOA, Jon Caldara's show also ending". Westword. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
- ^ a b Husted, Bill (January 25, 2016). "Independence Institute's Jon Caldara on Trump, conservatism and 'seeing the universe honestly'". Denver Business Journal. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
- ^ a b c McPhee, Mike; Young, Ricky (October 15, 1998). "RTD chief to drive think tank". Denver Post. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
- ^ Lynn Bartels, “New El Paso County resident Jon Caldara turns in blank recall ballot,” Denver Post, April 24, 2016
- ^ Lynn Bartels, “Colorado AG: No criminal charges in Jon Caldara's voter registration Archived 2018-05-22 at the Wayback Machine,” Denver Post, 4 Jan. 2014.
- ^ Caldara, Jon (January 17, 2020). "Caldara: Colorado Dems should let sun shine on their hospital fees and sex-ed curriculum". The Denver Post.
- ^ Caldara, Jon (January 3, 2020). "Caldara: The media's progressive bias has a propaganda guide — The AP Stylebook". The Denver Post.
- ^ Caldara, Jon (January 20, 2020). "Here's the column that got me fired from the Denver Post". Think Freedom.
- ^ Colacioppo, Lee Ann (January 21, 2020). "Editor's note on the discontinuation of Jon Caldara's column". The Denver Post.
- ^ Bartels, Lynn (July 17, 2015). "Jon Caldara's haunting appeal to raise money for Children's Hospital". Denver Post. Retrieved 30 August 2016.