Freedom to Drive Coalition

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The Freedom to Drive Coalition was launched in early 2019 to campaign and lobby against Colorado’s proposed clean car standards. After a deal was struck to allow the clean car standards to proceed, the Coalition promised to “keep fighting for Colorado motorists,” an effort that now includes routine criticism of mass transit and alternative transportation options.

The group lists member organizations including oil industry groups like the Colorado Petroleum Association and the American Fuel & Petrochemicals Manufacturers (AFPM) and auto groups like the Colorado Independent Automobile Dealers Association (CIADA) and the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association (CADA).

The coalition is run by a handful of Colorado-based public affairs professionals and lobbyists, including two former leaders of the Colorado state chapter of Americans for Prosperity (AFP), whose national group was founded and funded by the petrochemical billionaire Koch brothers.

Coalition Executive Director Kelly Sloan is a political and public affairs consultant, who has “represented the Freedom to Drive Coalition” in front of the state legislature and who registered to lobby for the coalition on a bill involving greenhouse gas disclosures. Sloan was also the Mesa County rep to the state chapter of AFP.

Sean Paige fields press queries about Freedom to Drive from his personal public affairs firm called Affinity Advocacy. Paige spent three years as Deputy Director and Acting Director of AFP-Colorado.