I asked before if Bill Ritter called the bluff of Big Labor with his veto of Senate Bill 180. If we're to judge by last Friday's union-organized rally, then Ritter made a mistake. To see what I mean, take a step over to Face The State's slideshow, and see signs like "Why does Ritter hate fire fighters?" and "Ritter lied to my dad" (or just Senator Lois Tochtrop's angry expression). Of course, Ritter didn't make a mistake from the standpoint of choosing good policy over bad policy. But he has made four mistakes surrounding this issue: Don't make promises you don't intend to keep. Backroom campaign promises can come back to burn you. As observed at ColoradoPols and demonstrated by the little girl's "Ritter lied to my dad" sign, … [Read more...]
Is Bill Ritter’s SB 180 Veto a Dare to Big Labor to Challenge His Office?
Update, 9:30 AM: AFL-CIO press release in response to Ritter's SB 180 veto pasted below the fold. Also, Amy Oliver notes that several legislators from northern Colorado went against the will of the people in voting for SB 180 -- having benefited from thousands in labor campaign contributions. Yesterday I gave Governor Bill Ritter kudos for the veto of SB 180. Today's Denver Post follow-up by Lynn Bartels is headlined with the statement that Rep. Edward Casso and organized labor interests see the decision as a "tipping point". It could be my imagination, but I got the impression from reading the story that Ritter essentially is saying something like this to the unions:So yeah, I have this penchant of making a wide spectrum of different … [Read more...]
Kudos to Bill Ritter for SB 180 Veto: Good Public Policy Beats Out Politics
It's not often I laud Colorado Governor Bill Ritter, but he is to be commended today for choosing good public policy over political pressures by vetoing Senate Bill 180 -- the firefighter collective bargaining legislation. While Ritter's official statement put the matter more diplomatically than I have, he didn't buy the phony argument about firefighter safety:Third, the debate on this bill raised important issues about firefighter safety, but there are better ways to address these issues than mandatory collective bargaining in certain communities. We must address firefighter safety at the state level. Doing so ensures that all areas of Colorado can benefit. Under this bill, however, the safety issues would only be addressed in the … [Read more...]
Breaking: Jeffco Teachers Union Calls for Impasse over Pay Dispute
Developing story... Last night the board of the Jefferson County Education Association (JCEA)( (Colorado's largest local teachers union and an affiliate of the Colorado Education Association) voted to declare an impasse in negotiations over renewing the collective bargaining contract with Jeffco Public Schools for the 2009-10 school year. This morning JCEA notified the school district of its decision. According to the school district, the core of the dispute revolves around a proposed compensation agreement to address relative funding shortages during the current economic downturn. Under this plan, teachers would continue to receive their automatic steps and levels for acquiring seniority and credit hours. The plan rejected by JCEA … [Read more...]
Sine Die
It sounds like a garbled threat, or possibly a song from the High Mass. Sine die means neither, but it is cause for high celebration: The Colorado state legislature is adjourned for 2009, at least for the regular session. (I'm hearing insiders say that the Governor very well may call a special session in the summer.) In one sense, it's a shame to see the legislature walk away from its responsibility: Democrats have kicked the state's fiscal problems a little ways down the road. But then again, the majority Democrats aren't likely to grow a sense of responsibility any time soon. So staunch the bleeding while there's still time. Because, in fact, Democrats are now openly touting a recent state supreme court decision to say they can … [Read more...]
Sign of Bill Ritter’s Sagging Popularity
Governor Bill Ritter is wrestling with another veto decision over a labor issue. But there are plenty of other reasons why his popularity has hit the skids with Coloradans. A faithful Mount Virtus reader snapped this photo of a sign near Highway 285 and 291 in Chaffee County: Colorado Republicans are revving their engines in search of a candidate who will lead them down the right road to victory and back to lower taxes and responsible limited government in 2010. … [Read more...]
Bob Beauprez Eyeing 2009 Fundraising for Ryan Frazier and Ken Buck?
The Hill provides a birds-eye Beltway view of the Republican primary challenge shaping up to take out the indecisive and vulnerable Michael Bennet, Colorado's newly selected junior U.S. Senator. Writes Aaron Blake:Republicans lately have been talking a lot about fresh faces, with mixed success in actually obtaining them. While the GOP has lined up current and former House members in most other open primaries, Colorado stands out as the one where they may be content to go with a wholly new brand. That change would be particularly stark with [Ryan] Frazier, a 31-year-old African-American city councilman who has opened an exploratory committee for the race and appears set to run. But it’s also apparent with [Ken] Buck, a … [Read more...]
Scott McInnis’ Responses to “Serious Questions” Less Than Satisfactory
Complete Colorado has the scoop on one likely Republican candidate for governor's foot-in-mouth problem when it comes to voice mail messages. Did Scott McInnis' remarks reveal something illegal or unethical? Jessica Fender reports that it's technically not. But McInnis' responses are concerning:McInnis, who verified that he left the message, points out he's not officially announced his candidacy or formed a candidate committee, so the rules do not yet apply. And what he really meant to say was that [Sean] Tonner, president of consulting firm Phase Line Strategies, is a supporter and answering questions about potential future 527s, he said. … [Read more...]
Michael Bennet Votes to Nix D.C. School Choice – Bidding for Union Support?
When Democrat Michael Bennet was appointed to the U.S. Senate by Colorado Governor Bill Ritter, I knew we would have our healthy share of policy disagreements. But not so much on education reform:Fifty-eight U.S. Senators - including Colorado’s own Michael Bennet and Mark Udall - have decided to spend billions on wasteful pork projects, but can’t spare anything to keep 1,700 students from exercising the choice to enroll in a better school. What am I talking about? Bennet voted against an amendment to save the modest D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program from funding extinction. To be fair, so did most other Democrats: except interestingly, Robert Byrd and John Warner, along with independent Joe Lieberman. Only two days ago … [Read more...]
U.S. Supreme Court’s Ysursa Ruling a Sweet Victory for Clean Government
Update (3/10): Mike Reitz weighs in with an observation some of my readers may have a hard time believing: "Public policy wonks are real people, too." Here's a U.S. Supreme Court decision that may have flown past your radar - Ysursa v Pocatello Education Association. The ruling ensures states (like Idaho and Utah already have done) can regulate the use of government payroll systems to prevent the collection of political contributions. As Mike Reitz from the Evergreen Freedom Foundation explained to me in a new iVoices podcast, it's a victory for clean government, taxpayers and orderly state labor relations: … [Read more...]