My state representative Sara Gagliardi is working overtime to try to project a fiscally conservative image in the upcoming election. The fact that the two-term Democrat has probably the most vulnerable seat in the state legislature in 2010 has more than a little to do with this truth-bending media campaign.
In the course of one week, Gagliardi has published two pieces in the local press to trump up her credentials. First, her July 1 column in the Arvada Press touts the representative’s co-sponsorship of HB 1119, aka the SMART Government Act, which she describes as providing “an innovative strategy to running our state using an approach called performance budgeting.”
The problem is the bill isn’t really that innovative. The Democratic leadership in the legislature killed HB 1126, which true performance budgeting would have required legislators to set real priorities and make tough budget decisions. At least HB 1119 is an okay piece of legislation, and not overtly harmful. For Gagliardi, it all goes downhill from there.
Her second piece, posted on the local YourHub, champions her support of HB 1331 — the expansion of a tax credit for people who buy alternative fuel vehicles. To make it look like she has been a true champion of job creation, Gagliardi concludes:
The company’s decision to open an office in Colorado because of tax credits can be largely credited to two of the main aims of the economic development initiatives of Gov. Bill Ritter and the Democrats in the legislature: increasing incentives for renewable energy businesses, and using targeted tax credits to create jobs in that field and others in the green economy.
However, the HD 27 representative and two-term Democrat is silent in both columns about her support for a whole slew of tax credit repeals that were damaging to businesses. You know which ones I’m talking about — covering everything from the candy tax to the Amazon tax to the doggie bag tax to the bull semen tax.
Don’t take my word for it, though. Two mainstream business organizations, hardly considered bastions of right-wing policies, rate Gagliardi poorly for her anti-business votes in the 2010 legislative session:
- According to the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, only two of the 65-member House (including Rep. Lois Court… this one’s for you, Josh) had a less business-friendly ranking than Gagliardi’s 19 percent
- According to the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), only Lakewood’s Rep. Andy Kerr had a lower rating than Gagliardi’s 30 percent
Sara Gagliardi is counting heavily on voters in her district not knowing the facts about her voting record. Unfortunately, the conveniently-timed effort at a political face lift will not stand up to the scrutiny of the sunshine.
The true fiscally conservative, business-friendly candidate in the race is my friend Libby Szabo, whom I am very proud to support personally. She is someone who will be able to honestly report that she has served the interests of our families and businesses well in the state legislature.
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