Way to go, Denver!

Finally some good news out of Denver, Colorado.

A Denver ballot measure that would require police to seize cars from unlicensed drivers appeared to be passing, according to late returns.

Another ballot measure that would streamline ballot initiatives also appeared to be passing.

Initiative 100, which would force the owner of the vehicle to post a $2,500 bond to get a vehicle back, was leading by a 5-to-4 ratio with about 21 percent of the vote counted.

"I'm shocked, what with the mayor, the city council and the council of churches against it," said Daniel Hayes, a Jefferson County resident who led the initiative. "I'm elated."

The ballot measure singled out illegal immigrants and drew the opposition of Mayor John Hickenlooper, who said it would be a drain on city resources.

Hayes said he hopes the initiative will serve as a "springboard" for a statewide ballot measure. He maintained that it didn't target illegal immigrants.

"It's targeting people driving without a driver's license," he said. "But I think there's a lot of illegals driving without a license."

Note that this had to be done by the citizens at a grass-roots level because the Mayor and 10 of 11 City Council members were opposed, as were both of Denver's major newspapers. Mailings were sent out by so-called "Immigrant Rights" groups (how is driving without a license somehow a "right"?) and a major ad campaign was mounted to try to stop this from passing, but the citizens who drafted and supported it managed to win with little more than word-of-mouth networking and communicating via blogs. It definitely proves that the people CAN make a difference and take control of the reins of government when those that they elect and entrust with the job refuse to listen.

While this measure really was targeted at illegal alien drivers (and how is that a bad thing?) it also takes the cars of people who lose their licenses for DUI or bad driving records, and as these people are almost always driving without insurance, we're all better off with all of these people off our roads.

Next steps: Make this statewide, or even nation-wide. To paraphrase a great man, "Unlicensed, uninsured drivers anywhere are a threat to public safety everywhere."