About Citizens in Charge, a 501(c)(4)
Citizens in Charge is a 501 (c) (4) citizen-powered advocacy organization that serves as a partner to Citizens in Charge Foundation in protecting and expanding the initiative and referendum process.
The organization works with activists, legislators, media, opinion leaders and voters to protect the initiative and referendum process where it exists in 26 states [1] and to expand the process to the 26 states where voters currently lack that right.
There never has been a more important time to defend the initiative process. Voters increasingly turn to initiatives to make needed reforms, while legislators increasingly seek to impose limitations on this process.
Over the next two election cycles, Citizens in Charge seeks to significantly diminish the currently relentless legislative attacks on petition rights and to promote aggressive legislative campaigns to open up the initiative, referendum and recall process for greater use by citizens.
Effectively advancing the ballot initiative process requires changing the current voter-legislator dynamic. The keys to producing such a reversal are:
- Building grassroots coalitions and recruiting citizen leaders in each initiative state,
- Bringing greater public attention to the initiative process and legislative attacks on it, and
- Identifying legislative supporters, and highlighting legislative opponents.
Legislators understand that undermining initiative rights is unpopular, but they have rarely faced organized opposition, much less paid any political price for their actions. This is changing.
Citizens in Charge offers an online legislative action center [2] (Action Team) that:
- Gives supporters timely email alerts about legislation and events concerning the ballot initiative process in their state, county and city;
- Allows leaders to network, sharing ideas across state-lines;
- Promotes citizen contact with legislators regarding specific bills and support for the initiative process; and
- Provides tools for recruiting other friends and relatives in support of ballot initiative rights.
Donor Confidentiality Policy [3]
Board of Directors
The current members of the Board of Directors for Citizens in Charge [4] are:
Paul Jacob [5] 
Paul is a leading national expert on initiative & referendum and a board member of Citizens in Charge Foundation [6] and Citizens in Charge [4].
(more [5])
Eric O’Keefe [7] 
Eric is a private investor, and chairman and CEO of Sam Adams Alliance [8].
(more [7])
Dennis Polhill [9]
Dennis is a Senior Fellow in Public Infrastructure at the Independence Institute [10], Colorado’s public policy think tank, and a long-time citizen activist.
(more [9])
Bill was chairman of the Libertarian Party [12] from 2006-2010, and is Vice President of a financial consulting firm.
(more [11])
John Tillman 
[13]
John serves as CEO of the Illinois Policy Institute.
(more [13])
Jeremy Aspen
Biography coming soon.
Paul Jacob
Paul Jacob, a leading national figure in Initiative & Referendum, is a board member of Citizens In Charge.
Paul has worked on over 100 initiative and ballot access campaigns in nearly every state. An acclaimed multi-media commentator, Paul hosts an online, radio, and print opinion program, Common Sense [14], which reaches a growing list of over 15,000 e-mail subscribers and is aired daily by more than 150 stations in 48 states.
For more than a decade, Paul was the term limits movement’s leading voice, running U.S. Term Limits, the nation’s largest term limits group. For his work on term limits, columnist Robert Novak good-naturedly called Jacob “the most hated man in Washington.”
Currently, Paul writes a weekly column for Townhall.com [15], and his work has also been featured in USA Today, The New York Daily News, Roll Call, The Washington Times, The Washington Examiner, and The Chicago Tribune. He has appeared on Fox News, CNN’s “Inside Politics,” NBC’s “Today” show and ABC’s “Nightline.”
Paul has been named “a rising star in politics” by Campaigns & Elections magazine, received the Society for Individual Liberty’s “Phoenix Award” for “contributions to the advancement of liberty in America,” and was dubbed one of “The Best and the Rightest” by National Journal.
Paul also serves as a member of the board at the Center for Independent Thought [16], and has been a Senior Advisor to the Sam Adams Alliance [17]. [16]
Paul lives with his wife Rhonda and their three children in Woodbridge, Virginia.
Eric O’Keefe
Eric O’Keefe is a private investor, and Chairman and CEO of the Sam Adams Alliance (SAM). He also Chairs the board of a new organization, the Health Care Compact Alliance, which is working to move regulation and funding of health care from the federal government to the states.
The Sam Adams Alliance hosts the annual Sammies awards to recognize and celebrate extraordinary citizens and their work to advance liberty. SAM is currently researching American leadership through the lens of iconic leaders such as Ronald Reagan.
SAM launched Judgepedia, Ballotpedia, and Sunshine Review, Wikipedia-style websites that have had more than 68 million page views for their 284,000 pages of politically relevant information.
Eric also serves on the board of directors of the Institute for Humane Studies, the Center for Competitive Politics, the Citizens in Charge Foundation, and Wisconsin Club for Growth. He authored the book Who Rules America, which won praise from Milton Friedman.
Dennis Polhill
Dennis Polhill is a Senior Fellow in Public Infrastructure at the Independence Institute, [10] Colorado’s public policy think tank, and a long-time citizen activist. He writes extensively on infrastructure and transportation issues, as well as on economics, role-of-government, and democracy.
As the head of the Colorado Term Limits Coalition in the 1990s, Dennis successfully mounted petition drives that amended the state constitution and limited the terms of Colorado congressmen. Dennis also was involved in the push for a Colorado petition rights amendment, and in 1998, he helped found the Initiative and Referendum Institute, [18] serving as its first Board Chairman.
Dennis’s public service includes an appointment to the Governor’s Statehouse Conference on Small Business, and he helped to form the Colorado Coalition for Fair Competition. Active in over a dozen professional and civic organizations, including the American Public Works Association and American Society of Civil Engineers, Dennis also was an active member of the American Cancer Society Board of Directors.
An engineer by trade, Dennis is a nationally recognized expert in pavement management, and his consulting firm, Pavement Management Systems, Inc., was instrumental in establishing and heightening awareness of the field. His surveying expertise was requested by the U.S. State Department to assist with farm privatization efforts abroad.
Originally from Freeport, Illinois, Dennis holds dual bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and engineering from the University of Illinois. A U.S. Department of Transportation graduate fellow, he earned dual masters degrees in Transportation Engineering (MSCE) and Public Works Management (MPA).
Dennis and his wife Debby are 32 year residents of Colorado, and have 4 children and 9 grandchildren.
John Tillman
John Tillman serves as CEO of the Illinois Policy Institute. A successful entrepreneur, John has built and led organizations in the arenas of political activism, retailing, e-commerce, and internet access.
John previously served as president and COO of the Sam Adams Alliance and Foundation during their start-up phase. Prior to his time with Sam Adams, he served as president and director of Americans for Limited Government, where he helped ALG grow from a single, part-time employee in May of 2004 to a staff of approximately 25 that had a significant impact on political activity in 13 states in 2006. John has appeared in media outlets ranging from Fox News to National Public Radio, and is a regular guest on top Chicago radio shows including Don Wade & Roma and the Jerry Agar show.
John remains involved with a number of civic organizations, including serving in the voluntary capacity of village president in his community. He is a former vice president of the Board of Directors at the Neighborhood Boys & Girls Club in Chicago. John and his wife, Julie, live in the north suburbs of Chicago, where they are raising their 10-year-old daughter, Lauren.
William "Bill" Redpath
William Redpath is the current treasurer and immediate past chairman of the Libertarian Party, as well as the Vice President of a financial consulting firm.
Bill has been a member of the Libertarian Party since 1984, and served as Libertarian Party of Virginia chairman from 1989–1991. He served twice as national treasurer of the Libertarian Party, first from 1991–1993 and then from 2003–2004.redpath
Known for his extensive experience with ballot access and the initiative process, Bill’s tenure as chairman of the LP’s Ballot Access Committee, saw the LP achieve ballot access in all 50 states in both the 1992 and 1996 elections.
Bill also has been a candidate for public office, running twice for the Virginia state legislature in the 1990s, for Governor of Virginia in 2001, U.S. Senate from Virginia in 2008, and U.S. House of Representatives in Virginia’s Tenth District in 2010.
Bill currently serves as Treasurer for FairVote in Takoma Park, MD and is on the Advisory Committee of Virginians for Instant Runoff Voting. Mr. Redpath has been on the board of Citizens in Charge and Citizens in Charge Foundation since its inception.
Originally from Findlay, Ohio, Redpath is an alumnus of Indiana University, with an MBA from the University of Chicago. He currently resides in Leesburg, VA.
Bill has been a member of the Libertarian Party since 1984, and served as Virginia Libertarian Party chairman from 1989–1991. He also served two stints as national treasurer of the Libertarian Party, first from 1991–1993 and then from 2003–2004.
Known for his extensive experience with ballot access and the initiative process, Bill’s tenure as chairman of the LP’s Ballot Access Committee, saw the LP achieve ballot access in all 50 states in both the 1992 and 1996 elections.
Bill also has been a candidate for public office, running twice for the Virginia state legislature in the 1990s, for Governor of Virginia in 2001. He also was the Libertarian Party nominee for U.S. Senate from Virginia in 2008.
Bill currently serves as Treasurer for FairVote in Takoma Park, MD and is on the Advisory Committee of Virginians for Instant Runoff Voting. Mr. Redpath has been on the board of Citizens in Charge Foundation since its inception.
Originally from Findlay, Ohio, Redpath is an alumnus of Indiana University, with an MBA from the University of Chicago. He currently resides in Leesburg, VA.