Rose Pugliese
The governor laid out his vision for Colorado in his “State of the State” address. Let us start with what was blatantly missing. The governor wants a “Colorado for all” yet barely mentioned rural Colorado. It is as if he fails to remember that there is a Colorado outside of the Denver-Boulder area. To be expected? Yes, but nonetheless disappointing, especially after five years in office.
The affordable and attainable housing crisis is real. It affects areas of Colorado differently because every area of Colorado is unique. The challenges and opportunities of Colorado Springs are different from Denver, the Western Slope and the Eastern Plains. While the governor said that he speaks to people from around the state, his “State of the State” certainly did not demonstrate it.
I am personally not opposed to transit. I think there can be benefits to it. However, because of the differences in our Colorado communities, transit is not feasible in all parts of Colorado. Investments in transit will benefit a small area of the state; however, those investments come from all Colorado taxpayers, even those in the rural areas where there will probably never be transit. Is this a “Colorado for All?”
The governor failed in addressing the housing shortage in his land-use bill last session. While I have appreciated the conversations with my colleagues, we will never be able to truly address the housing crisis until the governor and the majority recognize that it is the regulations that they have put in place that are raising the cost of housing and making it unaffordable and unattainable to Coloradans across the state.
The “State of the State” was not all bad. There are some areas of agreement. The governor agreed with Republicans that our hard-working Colorado families are over-taxed and that the Legislature has an opportunity to alleviate that tax burden on them by reducing the income tax rate. This would mean that renters, homeowners and all taxpayers would be able to keep more of their own money. They would not have to overpay taxes in the hopes that the majority will avoid playing political games in order not to return the money to the people in the form of TABOR refunds. The governor took a dig at Republicans in his speech for not supporting the use of TABOR refunds during the special session. Maybe the governor missed that his Proposition HH lost at the ballot box by a nearly 60% “no” vote. The message is clear, Governor, if you chose to listen to it. The people want the Legislature to keep their hands off their TABOR refunds. Republicans heard you, Colorado.
Republicans have a bill which would decrease the income tax rate to 4.0%, sponsored by Representative Bottoms, Senator Kirkmeyer and me this session. The governor has said that we just need to find 20 Democrats to support it. If the governor truly believes in this policy, and it is not just political speech, then we challenge the governor, as the leader of the Democratic Party, to find the Democrats needed to pass this important legislation for the people of Colorado. I personally look forward to that bill signing.
I applaud the governor’s goal of making Colorado “one of the top 10 safest states in the country.” We all want to feel safe in our communities and in our workplaces. We support law enforcement and appreciate the staff at the Capitol who work every day to keep us safe. However, Republicans do not feel safe in the House Chamber. In fact, we walked off the floor on the first day due to another Palestinian protest because we did not feel safe. How does the governor plan on keeping Colorado safe when he cannot make Legislators feel safe in the People’s House?
While I appreciate that both the speaker of the House and the governor addressed the need for the ability to “disagree better,” I am afraid giving the Republicans an opportunity to disagree and offer our ideas is not on the Democrats’ agenda. I would like to believe it is but let us count together the number of times we are silenced by the majority this session. I bet it will not take long to begin.
As we move forward, let us remember that Colorado’s path to a brighter future can be found through unity and bipartisan cooperation, where diverse perspectives come together to create a stronger and more prosperous state. That is truly “A Colorado for All.”
Assistant House Minority Leader Rose Pugliese, R-Colorado Springs, is assistant minority leader in the Colorado House of Representatives.
