"I am pleased to endorse Cheri Jahn for Senate District 20. Cheri Jahn is a talented, able legislator. She has expertise in a vast number of complicated areas. She understands the legislative process and the intricacies of state statute. Cheri is a master at consensus building. She has considered enormous policy issues and her background as a state legislator will be needed as the people of Colorado grapple with the most challenging economy in a generation.
Colorado is a better place because of the eight years Cheri Jahn served in the House. She has been a true friend to small business owners, to crime victims, to children and seniors and countless other Coloradans in need of representation at the Capitol. In Cheri, they—and all of us—have a real champion. I was proud to have her as the Speaker Pro Tem."
"42 Years ago on April 23, 1967 I was wounded near An Khe, Vietnam. Like 175 other Veterans from Colorado I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, at time I was recuperating with my wounds from Vietnam. It was a difficult battle for myself and the other 175 Veterans to get the Veterans Administration to address the problem.
If it were not for people like Cheri Jahn who has backed Veteran issues all of her time in the legislature , we would still be fighting many battles for our benefits.
From personal experience I’m encouraging all Veterans and their families to nominate Cheri Jahn as the Candidate for Senate in District 20 and get her elected as District 20 Senator."
"Cheri had a gift for bringing all of the stakeholders on an issue to the table to hammer out consensus on legislation with the best interest of all Coloradans in mind. She made sure everyone was included in the discussions and no one was left out. She was always a great role model—I was proud to serve with her."
"Cheri always fought hard to represent her constituents and gave strong support for small businesses that drive our economy in Jefferson County. She always had the ability to work collegially with people from different opinions and also had a strong passion for kids and crime victims. I would welcome her passion in the Senate."
We at Pendulum Juvenile Justice, the legislative arm of The Pendulum Foundation, lend our enthusiastic support to former Representative Cheri Jahn in her quest to become Senate District 20’s senator.
Members and supporters of The Pendulum Foundation and Pendulum Juvenile Justice have worked with Cheri Jahn for nearly 7 years. We know Cheri to be a tireless champion of children’s rights. As a member of the judiciary committee, she spoke up on behalf of “the least among us” – 14-15-16- and 17-year-olds sentenced to die behind bars. At a time when few even knew that children were receiving life in prison without possibility of parole, Cheri methodically investigated their cases and saw the fundamental injustice. Cheri learned that children are treated differently from adults. In truth they generally receive harsher sentences than adults for the same crime.
Cheri said, “This is wrong. We have to make it right.”
Because Cheri has always been a strong supporter of law enforcement, as well as victims, it took tremendous courage to oppose her friends. Yet, as a student of history, Cheri also understood that locking kids away is a VERY recent phenomenon. Until the late eighties and early nineties, our justice system largely treated children as children. It was only when politicians and the media began scaring the public with largely fictitious crime waves that legislators rushed to increase sentences and build new prisons. The law of unintended consequences kicked in – and children became its forgotten victims.
Cheri has worked tirelessly to rectify that injustice. She helped pass the nation’s first reduction of life sentences for juveniles. She was the driving force behind America’s first juvenile clemency board.
Cheri's enlightened vision has proven prescient. An exploding corrections budget and an imploding state budget have painfully highlighted the folly of our outmoded 20th century policies.
Just as Cheri was in the forefront of juvenile justice reform, she will bring her experience, expertise and passion to the legislature in other areas and on behalf of all her constituents.
We wholeheartedly support Cheri Jahn in her campaign to become District 20's newest senator.
Sincerely,
Mary Ellen Johnson, Executive Director
www.pendulumfoundation.com
