At a recent Chainsaw Caucus meeting in Douglas County, Republican legislative aide Schumé Navarro laid out her game plan for when Colorado’s Democratic-controlled legislature doesn’t go her way.
“Since we’re in such the minority, the best way to do it in Colorado is through our Constitution,” said Navarro, speaking for state Rep. Brandi Bradley, R-Roxborough Park, who couldn’t make the meeting because her son had been in a traffic accident. “We have the ability to petition the people in the government to put these on as ballot initiatives. This is a little workaround that we have with the legislature.”
It’s a telling comment from Navarro, who wears multiple hats in Colorado’s conservative circles. She’s Bradley’s legislative aide and co-chairs the Moms for Liberty Douglas County chapter with the representative. She previously promoted QAnon conspiracy theories while serving as secretary of the Arapahoe County Republican Party. While no longer a party official, Navarro still administers the county GOP’s Facebook group.
But Navarro’s strategy session reveals something bigger than one person’s political maneuvering. Some of these small conservative groups represented at that Douglas County meeting use similar approaches to those employed by much larger right-leaning organizations that coordinate efforts to push conservative policies through ballot initiatives when they can’t win in the statehouse
The bigger, well-funded network is led by Advance Colorado and conservative consultant Michael Fields. Since launching in 2020 as Unite for Colorado, Advance has built a web of connected organizations that offer conservatives more influence and political power than their preferred party can provide, as voters have relegated the Colorado Republican Party to emphatically minority status for most of the last decade.
How the local groups work together
The recently launched Chainsaw Caucus, created last November, calls itself a statewide political action committee founded by Libertarian Party leaders. It hosts Republican legislators and conservative activists for strategy sessions, aiming to “create a dynamic platform for radical Liberty candidates” and “cut through the political divide and build coalitions” while “vastly limiting government spending and overreach.”
Despite claiming it’s “not associated with any specific political party” and open to anyone, the group promotes “localized models of Milei,” a nod to Argentine President Javier Milei, who famously wielded chainsaws as props to symbolize cutting government. During one recent discussion on Twitter Spaces, a participant made Islamophobic comments while group leaders stayed silent.
Another even newer group takes a more targeted approach. Three conservative Republican legislators, Bradley, Ken DeGraaf (R-Colorado Springs) and Stephanie Luck (R-Penrose), launched We the Parents PAC in June 2025. According to the Secretary of State’s office, their mission is “to support and oppose candidates for state-level offices on issues related to parental rights and protecting Colorado families, primarily supporting Republicans and opposing Democrats.”
A third organization, Jeffco Kids First, began years earlier in response to the school shutdowns during the pandemic. JKF operates as a nonprofit that claims nonpartisan status but shares some tactical approaches with conservative education advocacy groups.
Two of these groups coordinate through shared leadership and overlapping roles. Navarro represents We the Parents PAC while working as Bradley’s aide and co-leading Moms for Liberty’s Douglas County chapter. Erin Lee has leadership roles with both We the Parents and Protect Kids Colorado, the organization behind the ballot initiatives Navarro described. Brandon Wark serves as registered agent for Chainsaw Caucus and appears as the only recent donor to We the Parents PAC, contributing $100.
This approach mirrors Advance Colorado’s strategy of using satellite organizations to amplify activists’ voices across multiple platforms. The difference, however, is instead of having millions of dollars to fund the work of messaging, gathering signatures for ballot initiatives, or hiring field staff to knock doors during election season, these groups are strictly volunteer-run.
Lindsay Datko of Jeffco Kids First maintains her organization’s “nonpartisan” status, but her recent presentation to the Chainsaw Caucus demonstrates at least some tactical alignment with the broader network.
“We have recently presented to liberal organizations, including Senator Michael Bennet’s office, and next week we will be meeting with another liberal organization,” Datko told the group. “Our nonpartisan stance is clear—we focus on outcomes, not politics, and will continue to work with anyone committed to achieving the same.”
Datko’s legal battles illustrate her organization’s combative approach. She sued Colorado Community Media for defamation over coverage of her organization’s activities, including reports that she asked parents to have their children secretly record classmates she described as “furries.” She told the Chainsaw Caucus meeting that two Jefferson County judges ruled in her favor, but the Colorado Court of Appeals overturned the decision and ordered her to pay the media outlet’s legal fees. She said her attorneys will appeal to the Colorado Supreme Court.
When asked about coordination with other organizations, Datko said Jeffco Kids First “operates independently and focuses on local advocacy” and does not “have insight into coordination among other organizations.”
Datko said her organization’s investigative work has drawn federal attention. “Our investigative work—drawing on open records, police reports and corroborated accounts—has drawn the attention of the U.S. Department of Justice,” she explained. “We presented our findings in Washington, D.C., where they expressed shared concern and an intent to investigate patterns that have placed Jefferson County students at serious risk.”
She said the group’s concerns about overnight school trips contributed to a Department of Education review and that their Alliance Defending Freedom lawsuit focuses on “enforcing a transparency clause in policy” that was already implemented by the school district in 2020.
She said she was “not familiar with the group We The Parents PAC.”
Despite Datko’s assertion that Jeffco Kids First operates independently, the organization’s messaging often aligns with themes promoted by the other groups. Lee, Bradley, and Navarro are all members of the JKF Facebook group and have posted their messages and content to it. Every one of JKF’s three annual fundraising galas have featured anti-LGBT speakers.
The messaging playbook
All three groups share the same basic pitch: schools are deceiving parents about their children.
“Everything we do really boils down to one thing, and that is the deception that’s happening in our schools,” Datko said.
“While we recognize that certain advocacy methods can sometimes infringe on others’ rights, our approach is grounded in care, transparency, and respect,” she continued. “Overall, we stand firmly against deception in all its forms and have found this to be a powerful unifying factor amongst Jefferson County families.”
While Datko said she stands firmly against deception, Navarro’s message included some misleading claims about recent Colorado laws. Navarro called House Bill 24-1034, which tweaked competency to stand trial laws, “a direct threat to public safety” that “makes communities less secure” and lets “violent offenders escape justice.”
Rather, HB 24-1034 was a bipartisan reform that passed with huge majorities: 31-0 in the Senate and 52-9 in the House on final passage. It was designed to streamline the competency system and reduce backlogs.
Navarro also brought up Solomon Galligan, a registered sex offender whose charges for trying to kidnap a child were dismissed due to competency issues. She blamed the 2024 law, but court records show that charges against Galligan have been dropped for competency reasons four times since 2018, years before the new law took effect. And contrary to what Navarro suggested, Galligan isn’t walking free. He’s still locked up in a state mental health facility under civil commitment.
The groups also share opposition to transgender accommodations, pronoun surveys and LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum. We the Parents frames its mission in explicitly Christian terms, saying, “it’s time to reclaim our God-given authority.” All the major players except Wark have made public statements about their Christian faith.
When the legislature says no, try the voters
The groups shared strategy involves turning to ballot measures after legislative efforts fail, which is the same approach Advance Colorado has used successfully. Recent reporting by Logan Davis shows how Advance has run ballot initiative campaigns and forced the legislature into special sessions on property tax cuts, despite Democrats controlling both chambers with supermajorities.
Navarro explained how We the Parents plans to pressure legislators through petition drives that put “big stacks on their desk” showing community opposition.
“The Democrats fought against it so hard,” Navarro said about a mandatory sentencing bill for child sexual assault. “Since we can’t pass legislation like that through our representatives…the best way to do it in Colorado through our Constitution, we have the ability to petition.”
This strategy deliberately sidesteps elected representatives and legislative debate. The groups also rely heavily on other similar tactics, including using open records laws as investigative tools, filing federal complaints and initiating investigations, and seeking out viral stories to garner national attention.
Multiple voices, same message
The overlapping advocacy goals of different groups create multiple organizational voices conveying similar messages. Chainsaw Caucus provides anti-government libertarian messaging, We the Parents offers explicit Christian conservative branding, and Moms for Liberty provides grassroots parental rights messaging, also rooted in right-wing Christian beliefs. Jeffco Kids First, which Datko says operates independently and focuses on local advocacy, maintains nonpartisan status while working on education transparency issues that align with some of these broader advocacy themes.
This setup lets the same small group of people speak with multiple organizational identities, potentially making them seem more influential than they actually are.
Bradley defended the approach in a written statement, saying her “priority as a legislator has always been serving the people of Colorado and advocating for families who feel unheard at the Capitol.” She added that “there are many groups and individuals across the state who share common concerns, and naturally, we sometimes align on messaging or priorities. That’s part of civic engagement and healthy democracy.”
She also defended ballot initiatives, saying they “are a tool provided in our state constitution, and like many Coloradans, I support citizens having a voice through that process.” Bradley said she couldn’t “speak to the specific operations or finances of outside organizations.”
DeGraaf, Luck, Navarro, Lee, and Wark did not respond to requests for comment.
