Why this Independent is Voting for Mike Johnston in Colorado’s Democratic Primary

I’m the product of a mixed marriage, between a John Kennedy Democrat and a John Chafee Republican. As both parties have become more extreme in recent years, I remained in the moderate center, and changed my voter registration Unaffiliated/Independent.

This year, I changed my registration back to Democrat, so I could support Mike Johnston in our local party caucus. I’m also going to vote for Mike in the Democratic primary on June 26th, and I encourage my fellow Independents to do the same.

I worked in Washington in the 1970s, when members of the Greatest Generation still dominated Capitol Hill. Back then Democrats and Republicans were guided by ideals, not ideology, and frequently worked together to pursue a shared national interest.

On the big issues they found ways to compromise in order to move us forward, including passing the first environmental protection laws, building a space station, forcing a president to resign, and ultimately winning the Cold War.

These men and women were driven by a pragmatic desire to solve the most important problems facing our nation, and not to maintain their ideological purity. Like my parents, they had learned the hard way in their youth where a rigid focus on ideology leads.

Just as we did in the 1970s, our nation once again faces daunting challenges. Independent voters know that ideology isn’t going to solve them. Instead, we need effective, pragmatic leaders who can forge cross-party compromises t0 move us forward.

That’s why I’m voting for Mike.

When we’ve worked together we’ve disagreed on some issues, and we still do. But I’ve seen in Mike a set of ideals and a pragmatism that I deeply admire, and also the rare combination of integrity, competence, and empathy that all great leaders possess, in both the public and private sectors.

Perhaps most important, Mike is also the only candidate who has overcome my kids’ cynicism about politicians.

Mike Johnston will be a great governor of Colorado. I urge you to join me in voting for him in the Democratic Primary on June 26th.

Tom Coyne has been a private sector executive for almost 40 years.