Douglas Bruce

Douglas Edward Bruce (born August 26, 1949) is an American conservative activist, attorney, convicted felon, and former legislator who served as a member of the Colorado House of Representatives from 2008 to 2009.

He is also known for being the author of Colorado's Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR).

During the late 1970s, Bruce acquired a number of rental properties in the Los Angeles area, which he managed full-time after leaving the district attorney's office.

During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Bruce was embroiled in several protracted tax disputes with the Internal Revenue Service.

He earned a Juris Doctor from the USC Gould School of Law in 1973 and worked as a Los Angeles County deputy district attorney from 1973 to 1979, resigning amid frustration with the court system.

In 1980, Bruce ran a largely self-financed campaign for the California State Assembly, running in the Democratic Primary for the 38th Assembly district, which, at that time, centered on Pacific Palisades and Malibu.

Running with the campaign slogan "Specifics, Not Safe Generalities," Bruce ran what a local newspaper described as "something of an anomaly, a law and order primary campaign by a Democrat."

Bruce lost by five percentage points in a high-turnout primary.

His opponent, Steven Afriat, narrowly lost the general election to Republican Marion W. La Follette.

In 1986, Bruce acquired several properties in Colorado Springs and moved to Colorado permanently.

Shortly before moving to Colorado, Bruce changed his political party affiliation from Democrat to Republican.

In addition to his Colorado Springs properties, Bruce acquired rental properties in Denver and Pueblo, Colorado.

He has been cited repeatedly by law and code enforcement officials regarding the upkeep of his properties, although most of the dozens of citations brought against him have been overturned.

Although similar tax-limitation measures had been rejected by voters over the previous decades, in 1988, Bruce authored and led the campaign that was eventually successful in enacting TABOR, a "Taxpayer Bill of Rights," in Colorado.

Among other provisions, TABOR mandated voter approval of any tax increases and constrained state government spending to grow at a rate no greater than the rates of population growth and inflation.

Although TABOR did not pass in 1988, garnering only 42% of the vote in a statewide reference, Bruce revised the measure and it was placed on the ballot again in 1990, when it received 49% support.

Bruce also wrote and successfully passed a similar spending limitation measure in Colorado Springs in 1991.

A strict advocate for limited government, Bruce wrote and promoted TABOR, a spending limitation measure approved by Colorado voters in 1992.

His name is so associated with the measure that attempts to bypass its restrictions are known as "de-Brucing."

A third attempt in 1992 was successful, and TABOR was passed with 54% of the vote and became part of Colorado's constitution.

In connection with charge of operating an unsafe building, Bruce spent eight days in jail in 1995 on a contempt of court citation.

In response to the numerous complaints filed against him, Bruce has questioned the constitutionality of city code provisions, and accused city officials of selective prosecution and carrying out a "vendetta" against him personally.

After two unsuccessful campaigns for the Colorado Senate in 1996 and 2000, Bruce was elected to the El Paso County Commission in 2004.

In 1997, TABOR's restrictions on state spending were triggered for the first time, resulting in refunds to taxpayers.

During these campaigns, Bruce was the primary spokesperson for TABOR, often trading barbs with TABOR opponent and Colorado governor Roy Romer.

In one frequently-cited incident, Romer likened the TABOR proposal to "economic terrorism;" in response, Bruce printed personal business cards reading "Douglas Bruce: Terrorist."

The passage of TABOR was Bruce's most prominent political accomplishment; years later, Bruce's personalized license plate read "MRTABOR."

In 2003, Bruce announced that he intended to sell his rental properties in order to devote more time to political activism, but was cited by Colorado Springs for keeping dilapidated properties as recently as 2007.

Bruce was appointed to a vacant seat in the Colorado House of Representatives in December 2007 and represented House District 15, which includes eastern Colorado Springs.

After kicking a Rocky Mountain News photographer on the day he was sworn in, Bruce became the first legislator in Colorado history to be formally censured.

He was later removed from a House committee overseeing veterans affairs after refusing to sponsor a ceremonial resolution honoring veterans.

Although defeated for election to a full term in the August 2008 Republican Party primary, Bruce continued his activism to reduce government expenditures and taxes in Colorado Springs and statewide.

In 2008, Bruce was cited by Colorado Springs for two properties they considered "dilapidated," in part because of windows boarded up under orders from the city, but the charges were ultimately dropped when Bruce sold the buildings.

Shortly before his August 2008 legislative primary, Colorado Springs declared a four-plex owned by Bruce as "dilapidated;" Bruce responded that he had put money into repairing the building and readying it for sale.

In 2010, Bruce was indicted for money laundering, attempted bribery of a public official, and tax fraud involving the use of a charitable organization and anti-tax activism.

In early 2010, Colorado Springs told Bruce that it would charge him $40,000 to restart water service at seven of his rental properties, a charge that Bruce said amounted to political retaliation, but that city staff justified by noting all of the properties had been abandoned.

In 2011, Bruce was convicted of all counts in the indictment, including four counts of felony criminal activity including money laundering, attempted improper influence of a public official, and tax fraud.

He was discovered to be using a small-government charity he founded to hide millions of dollars from the state department of revenue.

He was sentenced on February 13, 2012 to a total of 180 days in jail, ordered to pay a total of $49,000 in fines, and subject to six months of probation which included extensive disclosure requirements.

Born in Los Angeles, California, Bruce graduated from Hollywood High School at the age of 16 and then from Pomona College with a double major in history and government.