Montrose - Daily Press

Daily Press Editorial

With Gov. Bill Owens departing this November, change is coming to Colorado. It is in the hands of voters to make sure it’s a change for the better — and they can do that by voting for Bill Ritter.

Ritter, a former Denver-area district attorney, has much to recommend him.

Advertisement

He’s scrappy and, having supported his family as a teenager, knows that hard work is more than just a good sound bite for the campaign trail. He’s honest in his personal views concerning abortion, but willing to support the law of the land, Roe v. Wade, over his personal agenda. Ritter supported Referendum C, which temporarily set aside portions of the crippling Taxpayers Bill of Rights so the state could dig itself out of a fiscal hole.

By contrast, Bob Beauprez opposed Referendum C. And while in Congress, he voiced support for Referendum A, a water storage measure with few specifics, which West Slope legislators rightly feared would send our water to the Front Range. Of late, it’s also been hard to overlook how often his foot turns up in his mouth.

We also like Ritter’s progressive stance on crime. Though the Beauprez camp has dismissed Ritter’s work as DA as “hug a thug” policies, Ritter tackled white collar criminals as well as the “thugs.” He also strengthened protection and services for crime victims and served as a federal prosecutor. His plea-bargain rate, about 97 percent, compares to the going rate across the state and reflects a judicial reality. A plea bargain is not a gift to a perpetrator; it is a tool that holds him or her responsible while sparing taxpayers the expense of a trial.

Supporters also say Ritter would fight for non-Metro areas’ federal Highway User Tax Funds. The HUTF money helps maintain the roads on which we all drive — and upon which so many Montrose and other West Slope residents depend. There have been pushes to change the way in which HUTF money is allocated, by tying it to population or vehicle registration numbers. That would be a disaster in rural Colorado, which does not have the population base to compete with the metro area and Front Range.

“If we change the funding to that, we lose,” outgoing Republican Rep. Mark Larson says. Larson was one of several Republicans to cross the aisle to endorse Ritter; others include former Rep. Bill Kaufman and former Rep. Jim Johnson.

Beauprez suggested cutting the state income tax from 4.62 to 4.5 percent — while he also suggested Colorado replace its 22-cent gas tax with a 1-percent sales tax increase. The proposal would, in fairness, raise more money, and the gas tax is, as Beauprez said, a declining revenue source. It’s still a tax increase. And his first proposal would hack more than $130 million from the transportation budget, while the second proposal seems an attempt to cover the first. Heck, not even Douglas Bruce liked the idea.

Beauprez’s congressional record leaves much to be desired as well; we cannot forget that he voted to make the Patriot Act permanent, or that he supported tax breaks for the wealthy.

Each candidate has drawbacks and advantages. To hardline conservatives, Beauprez doubtless has appeal, as does his choice for lieutenant governor. Hardline liberals may balk at Ritter’s abortion stance. But for those who want their governor to represent all of Colorado’s diverse interests, Ritter is the best choice.

Comments