History
The effort for I&R in Colorado was started by Dr. Persifor M. Cooke of
Denver in the mid-1890s. As secretary and president of the Colorado
Direct Legislation League, Cooke and the constitutional lawyer J. Warner
Mills of Denver fought for I&R from 1900 until 1910, when Governor John F.
Shafroth called a special session of the legislature to consider the issue.
The constitutional amendments that were passed provided for initiative,
referendum, and recall on both state and local levels.