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Patrick Flaherty (Colorado)
Patrick Flaherty (unaffiliated) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Colorado's 7th Congressional District. He lost as a write-in in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Elections
2024
See also: Colorado's 7th Congressional District election, 2024
Colorado's 7th Congressional District election, 2024 (June 25 Democratic primary)
Colorado's 7th Congressional District election, 2024 (June 25 Republican primary)
General election
General election for U.S. House Colorado District 7
Incumbent Brittany Pettersen defeated Sergei Matveyuk, Patrick Bohan, Ron Tupa, and Patrick Flaherty in the general election for U.S. House Colorado District 7 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Brittany Pettersen (D) | 55.3 | 235,688 |
 | Sergei Matveyuk (R)  | 41.1 | 175,273 | |
 | Patrick Bohan (L) | 2.3 | 9,697 | |
 | Ron Tupa (Unity Party) | 1.2 | 5,271 | |
| Patrick Flaherty (Unaffiliated) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 37 | ||
| Total votes: 425,966 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Morgan Law (Unaffiliated)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Colorado District 7
Incumbent Brittany Pettersen advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Colorado District 7 on June 25, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Brittany Pettersen | 100.0 | 71,052 |
| Total votes: 71,052 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Colorado District 7
Sergei Matveyuk advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Colorado District 7 on June 25, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Sergei Matveyuk | 100.0 | 46,154 |
| Total votes: 46,154 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- James Hemenway (R)
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Flaherty in this election.
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Patrick Flaherty did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign website
Flaherty’s campaign website stated the following:
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RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT Needed legislation to improve our system Executive Branch
- EXECUTIVE ORDER REFORM: Major reforms are needed to curb executive orders. Regardless of party, the increased use of executive orders by recent Presidents has undermined the separation of powers set down by the constitution. The country now stands at the precipice of potential efforts toward totalitarian rule if we continue down this path. No matter the intent or outcome by the President’s use of these orders, the US Congress must put into action laws to reinforce our long-held contempt of a single individual enacting legislation through personal decree.
My solution: Any executive orders should require the approval of the specialized congressional committee to which the order holds the most merit, as appointed by speaker of the house, within 30 days for said order to continue to be considered binding for employees of the executive branch. Upon approval by that committee executive branch employees can no longer be prosecuted for following or executing the direction of said order.
- PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTEES: An area of particular lack of effort in our last few Presidents is positions ranging from undersecretary cabinet to state department security, being left unappointed for the entire length of their term. There is currently no timetable to make these Presidential appointees.
My solution: I intend to introduce legislation to require all appointees to be presented to the senate within the first 18 months of the new President’s administration. Any unappointed position by this time would require a bipartisan committee to make this appointment, with said committee to be chaired by the President of the Senate (Vice President). Legislative Branch
My solution: In conjunction with legislation to require presidential appointees in a timely fashion I would also introduce legislation to require the senate to begin hearings within 90 days of the Presidential appointment. This would extend beyond cabinet appointees and include federal justices. Should the senate not fulfill beginning hearings within that obligated time, the position would be then filled by the appointee on the 91st day, and unlike a recess appointment, would no longer be obligated to senate approval.
- CONGRESSIONAL ETHICS REFORM: Regardless of party, it’s plain to see congressional ethics need SERIOUS reform. While only the most egregious acts of deception and illegality go punished, we see an increase in poor decorum and outright lies from our “leaders” in Congress.
My solution: I propose the formation of a special bicameral committee to investigate ethics on social media and the spreading of false, misleading and improper information (also known as misinformation, disinformation and “mal-information”) by our elected officials on social media. Any dissemination of information encouraging violent or treasonous behavior by members of congress should lead to immediate expulsion. Judicial Branch
My solution: The Supreme Court justices should have a single 25-year term appointment. This new approach this would require a constitutional change, which makes the process longer and more difficult; but a necessary one to provide the insight needed to apply the law to the current and changing demands of business, communal, and societal interests.
- CODE OF ETHICS: This really should be a no-brainer, but recent events involving our Supreme Court justices make clear that they live by their own set of codes and ethics. How is it even possible that the branch of government responsible for determining what is and is not Constitutional, isn’t held to a standard of ethics??
My solution: In an expansion of the checks and balances system the Senate Judiciary Committee should be impowered to enact a code of ethics to govern all federal judges, not to exclude the Supreme Court. All federal judges should be required to follow the same rules as congress on accepting gifts and favors from individuals, companies, and special interest groups.
The Fourth Estate
My solution: All newsworthy institutions shall be certified as credible and truthful by a review of their own industry, regardless of any political bent in which this information is presented to the American populace. Congress should appoint a certification board comprised of current and former journalists and they shall be tasked with studying the veracity of reporting, starting with the largest news agencies and programs based on viewership and/or distribution and continuing the process based on circulation. Basically, this will establish a grading system based on truthfulness of the reporting, similar to the health inspection grade on the outside of restaurants, or the ratings you see on television shows. Any news outlet that operates on a national level should be required to display this grade in a corner during its tv/computer broadcast, printed on the front page in its paper, or as a disclaimer at the beginning of its radio/podcast broadcast. The ratings should be just as grades in school with 90% accuracy above being considered an “A” or most reputable, 80-89% accuracy considered a “B” or largely reputable, 70-79% accuracy considered a “C” reputable, 69-69% accuracy considered a “D” and questionable, and anything below considered entertainment only and not to be considered news. I believe that participation will be easy to do on a voluntary basis as the news organizations that present honest facts will desire and proudly display their accuracy, while disreputable new resources will attack even this voluntary system as oppressive and untrustworthy, proving exactly why such a system is needed. NATIONAL SERVICE A program of service to benefit the nation and the individual
The first of these has its primary focus to improve American infrastructure, while the second would have its concentration on the beautification of cities, towns, and open spaces across the country. The idea behind this service is, of course, to benefit the country quite directly, but the hope is that this love of service will continue in our neighborhoods and communities throughout the rest of the lives of the American people. This could assist in almost every aspect of our lives, establishing and building communities of volunteers that may not typically come into interaction with each other.
We have major problems in this country due to loneliness, self-worth, isolation, personal responsibility, and general fear just to name a few. It’s easy to distrust and hate the people you don’t know. Not only will participants get to know a variety of other volunteers and administrators in their specific program they will come to know the community that program serves.
This program would not only take advantage of the experience from those people leaving the workforce and harness the energy from the youth just moving into it, but it fosters a culture of respect and friendship across generations. We have slowly been losing the respect for age in either direction, this should create an understanding and pride for what it is that makes us an American community that includes all races, creeds, colors, and ages. Military service Police and fire fighting Americorps Peace corps TBD #1 (I’m not real good at naming things) TBD #2 (really- I still just call my kids “boy 1” and “boy 2” and one is 12. Names are hard) Implementation EDUCATION Intervention to cure an ailing system Some background
Right now, your schools spend four to six weeks studying and taking a test (CMAS) to largely evaluate the school and the district, not your individual child. The administrations pressure the teachers because they believe it will get better results, and the teachers in turn pressure the children to get better test scores. And the two to three weeks the teachers spend on cramming this test information lends the question from any logical person- why isn’t this being taught year long, particularly as this test is to gauge their preparedness for their next grade? And every state has something like what we are putting our teachers and students through here in Colorado; it’s all pretty standard across the country. We have sacrificed the love of learning for excessive testing and intense study. If these children are anything like me, hard core cramming a night or two before a test only helped a single performance and my retention of the material in the long term was nothing. When I loved a subject, I have retained the information for my entire lifetime. Don’t ask me for any examples, there are a lot… just take my word for it 😆. But to be serious, I‘m sure we can all recall that special project or assignment that we particularly loved and can easily list off tidbits of information. For me it was a fifth-grade report on Portugal, which main export was potash in 1986 and has a sailing heritage that has been historically embraced by its culture, and explorers who changed the face of the world.
The federal government provides about 11percent of the total spending for elementary and secondary education, and the total spending per child is about $15,500 per year. The state provides the lion’s share of funding at 46 percent, and while local government does provide a large share at 44 percent, the local district seems to want us to believe they provide almost all the funding, and the state and local governments are to have little control of the classroom experience, despite continued failure with test scores and increasing incidents of inappropriate teacher behavior, violence between students, and issues with mental health. Mental health Increased school day and year Increased federal involvement and oversight
We have different levels of education being taught at the same grade level across the country in different districts - all the while the statewide testing remains the same across all the districts in that state. Simple manipulation of what is taught when in different districts is throwing the testing curve, and typically is a poor gauge of the student performance but is providing the evidence of the failures of the districts and their curriculum. The federal government should be responsible to standardize the curriculum across the country so the third graders in New Hampshire get the same base level of education as those in Louisiana or Hawaii. We need to eliminate the local oversight of this in order to guarantee the right of equal opportunity provided by education. We all know the inequality of the school districts in this state - look at the spending in Cherry Creek schools versus rural Colorado Springs - imagine the divide between Louisiana and New Jersey. We do a greater disservice to the children of this country by not providing an equal access to resources in their education as these will provide a clear pathway to move out of poverty, move toward better opportunity, and the path to a brighter future. And by eliminating local officials sucking up precious financial resources (superintendents average $182,000 a year while teachers average $60,000, additionally administrators pay is adjusted at the same rate negotiated by the teachers union yet they pay no union dues) of the local school while never setting foot in a classroom or consulting with the teachers they are supposed to be acting in support of, we can start a direct national dialogue with the teachers to directors in a much larger regional capacity that can use the simple savings of bulk buying of resources to decrease the individual school budget. A partially nationalized education system actually provides less intervention and more trust in teachers, simply by covering a larger region than the districts. The number of administration jobs that tell the teachers what they need reduces, teacher efficacy in the classroom increases, as they will be put in direct responsibility to obtain their needed resources, and the budgets all go down as redundancy is reduced in high-paying, unnecessary administrative jobs. With the increased volunteer positions in schools, we have more eyes where they are supposed to be, so the rates of inappropriate interactions go down, less and less intervention from a school board and superintendent staff, and less need to utilize the district lawyers that quickly become involved when incidents occur. The only argument against this for the district relies on a country 40-years ago that was an unconnected nation of neighborhood-style economies- this is no longer the country in which we live. Administrators can do their jobs from an office 1,000 miles away, with about as much success as someone who lives in your town, as I can assure you the communications will still all be through phone and email.
Nationalizing curriculum and superintendent duties would decrease the amount of specific, tested knowledge required, as it would be applied across a larger area of schools, freeing up the teacher time to teach directly to the needs of their individual classroom and has a much greater opportunity to engage the children in their interests and spur a lifetime of love in learning. ENVIRONMENT It’s hot Increased oil and car tax
…yes- you read it right, I said more taxes. And I’m going to try to win a political race with no money. Yes, I realize how grim my chances are.
We pay some of the smallest gas rates and yet many continue to pretend that our prices are outrageous. I will tell you that 16 years ago my price at the pump was higher in non-adjusted dollars ($4.114 national average per gallon, which adjusted, would be $5.994 today). I remember it well, as it was the first time I spent over $100 on gas to fill my old Ford Explorer. When you hear people say gas has been at its highest price in the last two years, they are blatantly wrong. I lived it. We continued to drive at that price, and I was in a vehicle than got about 15 miles to a gallon, so I’m not blameless myself. My question is, why haven’t we pushed the auto industry harder to improve emissions? The answer is pretty easy - we’re scared of change, and we’re cheap. Hybrid and electric vehicles may be more expensive and may have some mechanical issues- that’s why we don’t embrace them now, right? Of course, ask any Kia owner about how many recalls they’ve had in the 4-5 years, and you’ll know the traditional engines also have plenty of issues with mechanics. The average gas engine in this country will carry a 50-100,00 mile warranty on the drivetrain, while most electric vehicles provide an 8 year or 80,000 mile warranty on batteries. So this seems comparable, and in California the state requires a 10 year, 100,000 mile warranty on batteries. So we all need to buy our electric cars back from California to Colorado. You know what has fewer mechanical issues than any car? Horses. If this was truly a concern over of reliability, we would have never moved on from riding those. You get a good on 20-25 years with a horse with only daily maintenance; hay is markedly cheaper than gas (about $2.25 a flake), and they make cool noises when you accelerate. Let’s be honest here, reliability isn’t a big factor- if it was, Tesla wouldn’t have sold more than 10 cars to start.
What about cost? Electric and hybrid vehicles have a higher price point to start making them unaffordable. I think it’s funny that expense doesn’t seem to enter the equation when it comes to trucks- and the number one vehicle in this country is the Ford F series. The starting price for a Ford F150 is $38,760 and the base for a Nissan Leaf is $28,900. So, I really don’t see how expense is really at issue. When we buy our vehicles, we are a nation of spending on what we want, not what we need. The real issue isn’t the extra $10,000 for the upgrade to a truck; the issue is the additional $10,000 upgrade to the electric truck. So, let’s find out everyone’s real reason for the type of vehicles they buy and make up some difference in this price.
I suggest a $0.50 increase in federal tax per-gallon of gas and a $1,000 federal tax per mpg under 30 on all new vehicles to encourage efficiency. This will test the true intention of the consumer and give a true gauge of consumer loyalty and choice. This increased revenue will be split, right down the middle with 50% to supporting current federal environmental programs (and new ones I propose later in this section), and 50% directly to pay the national debt. So not only will the purchase of the combustion engine offset its carbon emission use, it can also be looked at as an expression of patriotism. My initial rough numbers indicate that the revenue generated from the gas tax at $90.45 billion, and from the mpg tax at $71.3 billion, if projected using 2023 miles driven and cars sold. While this would only cover about 12.26% of the interest of the national debt (yeah, it’s that bad so maybe we need more things like this, as interest alone on the debt in 2023 was $658 billion), it would explode the amount spent to combat climate change as that number is just over $9.5 billion in 2023 as reported by the US State Department.
….Elon, I am waiting by the mailbox for my thank you letter. Conservation of rainforests through investment and force Support of existing efforts Radical new programs You get the same as me? First three sponsored sites are chevron, exxonmobile, and chevron again. Do you think that maybe they think to pump their money into both parties too to make sure they control the narrative- or do you think their money just stops with s.e.o.? (I‘lol help you find the answer- oil spent 124.4 million in federal lobbying in 2022. So maybe a little bit more than what they spend on google searches) We need to explore solutions to offset warming- to reflect back the sun’s rays into space by utilizing reflective shades flying in the skies and floating in the oceans, and we need to begin the investment in science and material to put a sunshield into space to provide reduction in the sun’s radiation in conjunction with our allies around the world. The power of the United States on the world is to lead projects that benefit all of mankind and our guidance is now needed more than ever; we can no longer allow internal bickering and mismanagement to delay our responsibility to this cause. PATH TO CITIZENSHIP Border Crisis
The crisis at our border is that we blew out the lamp’s fire, but we can relight it. Hard Facts History Cut to the chase
We know the contributions of immigrants in our history. From Alexander Hamilton who argued and fought for the independence of this nation, established our good credit across the world, and was apparently our first rapper, all the way up to Elon Musk, an innovative entrepreneur who warns of us the dark side of artificial intelligence on the safety of our future while putting computer chips in people’s brains.
There is no argument against immigration that holds up to the light of truth. We need an expedited path to citizenship for the hard working, liberty-loving people that stand in wait at our borders. My plan bridging the racial divide Facing our history Path to generational wealth Isn’t this unfair to my Caucasian children? And truly, just get over it. This government subsidizes farms, energy, and transportation. Why is the focus on children of color receiving more from the federal government than the children of farmers, natural gas producers, or bus drivers? If we want to truly cure racism in our future, we need to redraw the lines of how to divide our society based on things other than the amount of melanin in our skin and into things of better importance. This won’t happen in my lifetime, unfortunately, but we can set the wheels in motion for our children and grandchildren and hope they will see it in theirs. Corporate responsibility This should be my shortest page, but unfortunately isn’t
1. End net loss carryover. This means that currently businesses can carry up to 80 percent of operating losses from the previous tax year…. WHAT???? So, basically you figure out how to show $1million dollar operating loss in 2020, not pay taxes that year, and you start 2021 with a -$800,000 tax write off on your tax bill. You don’t think corporations don’t have accountants that can figure out how to maximize this loophole? About 20 percent of profitable businesses paid no tax because of this in 2012.
2. Require business in this country to pay taxes in this country, at the revenue percentage generated in this country. Corporations set up shops overseas in friendlier tax countries and report an inaccurate amount of their revenue and profit in those countries. Doing this would currently generate about $80 billion a year if this “profit shifting” scheme was stopped. The big threat is these companies pull out of the US. This country is the biggest market in the world and invented the world’s current economic system. If we let some big corporations go, in our country five new companies will spring up to take over that role domestically, ultimately provide more jobs, and the best one or two will become a competitor on the world stage in short order to the original company. They know that- so it will never happen. It’s a very hollow threat.
3. End charitable donations as a tax write off for corporations. I have never understood the aversion to paying the federal government over a charity- if you think about it, taxes are really a donation to the country’s largest charity as it provides for the poor, guarantees defense, educates children, etc. etc. etc. When you realize that corporations can write off 10 percent of its taxable income (*income, not profit) and many like to set up not for profit companies to donate to, which can have CEOs that make on par with typical (“profitable”) businesses. Seems a good way to pay your buddies a nice salary and avoid paying your taxes.
4. Demand payback of federal subsidies by profitable business. Yes, the federal government needs to give subsidies to encourage new technology and investment. But a smart company will do that already to maintain an edge in our quickly evolving capitalistic system. A subsidy to a profitable business simply becomes the government unfairly handing profits to that specific business. As an example-Cargill is the largest farm corporation in the world, and reported a profit of $3.81 billion (yes, I spelled that correctly- it’s a b) on $176 billion in revenue. The family that started this company claims 21 billionaires. Do you think it’s fair they’ve collected $164 million in subsidies since the year 2000? And another $5 billion in loans, loan guarantees, and bail outs? If you do, I bet you are one of 21 people who feel this way. On the plus side, for this large government investment we get a company that is known as the leader of deforestation, pollution, climate change, has been charged with supporting child trafficking, child labor, union busting, and food contamination. There is zero reason to subsidize this company, unless it’s to support their growing lobbying firm in DC. Then it makes sense.
(If this upsets you, don’t google Boeing.) Colorado template Strengthening Colorado’s influence
As an independent I am beholden to no larger vision for winning power across the entirety of the country. Thus, I am free to gain more power as both parties would want me to caucus with their voting bloc, and unlike freshman congresspeople that win their seat because of their party’s money, my personal agenda gains more influence as I can leverage my independent status in a closely divided party congress. Thus, this grand vision that I am putting to you on this site may actually find some traction in legislation, and Colorado’s place in the process becomes more powerful. The ability to inject the civility and efficiency we have today on the state level can trickle up into the federal legislature. Governing from the middle
Thus, here we are today, and every year the Congress sets new records for inefficient legislation and our government is funded by ever updated continuing resolutions. An independent to bring these middles together and show that good ideas can bring contributions, though this will show unnecessary as a winning independent will also illustrate that good ideas can win elections, making contributions irrelevant. The great compromises that the two-party system once achieved for this country are dead- only a person not indebted to these parties can bring back an era of intelligent, well-balanced, long-lasting policy. Ideas, not money It is what it is
I have many arguments to make against such things: The idea of love of country. The pain-staking logic and research to try and put an extensive and low-cost new plan for government while trying to force compromise and civility in an era wrought with strife and hatred. My personal desire to one day replace the national anthem with the Rick derringer magnum opus “Rock and Roll Hootchie Coo”, only to bring the star spangled banner back a year later rebranded as “national anthem classic” (that’s a joke, folks. Just making sure you’re still reading). The idea that I am doing this solely out of love and concern for my own children’s future. The history I have seen in my life where this country’s politics degraded from intelligent, well-meaning states people into a near unintelligible crowing mob of bullies. My vision of a country where we walk hand in hand together into a bright future filled with promise and love. The idea that in order to make that society we want can’t be done by flaunting all the rules we want it to live by.
So, I make this promise now, I will take no monetary donations to run this attempt at a campaign. I realize there are millions of dollars against me. I realize that more likely than not I will make more people angry with this extensive list of political objectives rather than using three-word chants that seem so prevalent in today’s elections. I promise that I will not lie while talking to my countrymen about what I am trying to do. I will go against what I might think your views to be and honestly speak my mind even when it may be politically detrimental. I promise, should I buck every and all odds in this race and somehow win, this seat I will not take a dollar from any PAC, lobbyist, or party while serving this district. I promise that any future attempt at reelection will not begin outside of six months from that election. I promise that all failures will be mine and mine alone; no individual or party will become a scapegoat for my ineffectiveness to gain a majority. And I promise you right now, come win, lose, draw, or lose (had to list it twice because… well, you know) this election if you come to me with a problem, I will do my absolute best to help. To borrow a page from the great political prophet and bridge-builder, Rob Van Winkle: I’ll stop. I’ll collaborate. And I will LISTEN (hit me up in the chat if the rest of that song is now stuck on replay in your head).
So, if you want to believe this attempt at a Congressional seat by some nobody is motivated by love of money over love of people, I will tell you this: two things don’t have to be mutually exclusive. reason for hope There is still hope
But I’d like to share with you what I’ve seen so far. While the older generations have largely greeted me with closed minds and the remark “it all sounds good but you can never actually get it done”, the youthful voters I’ve interacted with have been more knowledgeable and more excited to become involved in the political process. This came as a shock to me. The 20 year olds are ready to roll up their sleeves and work and fight for a better tomorrow. The refrain hasn’t been the pessimistic of what is based in today’s political rhetoric- it has been about how we can change the system into one that can listen to new ideas and take on new challenges. If we enact laws like the ones I’m proposing throughout this site and more that are like it then we have the tools to create a tomorrow of ideas and compassion. It’s the tomorrow we all want and the tomorrow our children deserve[1] |
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| —Patrick Flaherty’s campaign website (2024)[2] | ||
Campaign finance summary
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See also
2024 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Patrick Flaherty’s campaign website, “Home,” accessed October 22, 2024
