“Daddy,” a little girl asked her father, “do all fairy tales begin with ‘Once upon a time’? ”
“No, sweetheart,” he answered. “Most begin with ‘If I am elected.'”
Since we like choice so much around here, I thought I’d offer you a buffet of great voter guides and election recommendations by some of the people I respect most. You’ll notice they might differ slightly, but the theme is the same – keep government in check:
Mike Rosen: https://pagetwo.completecolorado.com/2018/10/17/mike-rosen-my-picks-for-the-2018-colorado-ballot-measures/
Ross Kaminski: https://khow.iheart.com/featured/ross-kaminsky/content/2018-09-24-rosss-2018-colorado-ballot-measures-voting-guide/
The Americhicks, Molly Vogt and Kim Monson: http://americhicks.com/assets/the-americhicks-2018-voters-guide.pdf
John Andrews: http://www.backboneamerica.net/america/2018/10/5/ballot-simplified-more-jobs-more-roads-less-taxes
Mark Hillman: https://markhillman.com/how-i-will-vote-on-colorado-ballot-questions/
Bob Schaffer: https://www.coloradoan.com/story/opinion/2018/10/20/opinion-how-im-voting-election-and-why/1663463002/
Jeff Crank: http://www.jeffcrank.com/2018/10/jeff-cranks-2018-federal-statewide.html
The fat lady is already singing over the proposed 21% sales tax increase for mystery “transportation” projects. Recent polling for the Denver Chamber’s Prop 110 has support among voters at an embarrassing 35%.
I feel sorry for all the people who put millions of dollars into the “Let’s Go (Tax) Colorado” campaign. On the bright side, they did give full employment to a LOT of consultants.
This leaves Prop 109, our Fix Our Damn Roads initiative, as the ONLY real option on this year’s ballot to, well, Fix Our Damn Roads. It does a little more than just that though.
Prop 109 ties the hands of future legislatures and future governors who’d rather spend that money elsewhere. It does that by bonding $3.5 billion to use only for state road projects – no trolleys or bike paths allowed. I know what you’re thinking – debt is wrong. I agree. But the fact is the state is awash in surplus money, which the politicians are going to spend one way or another. By bonding for roads it guarantees that at least a portion of that extra money won’t be spent on expanding Medicaid or growing the dependency state. It is the only way to force politicians for years in the future to put that money into roads instead.
If you’d like to watch me babble on about how the state has starved our roads and how the state can easily afford more roads, here you go: https://youtu.be/camGx0o80NU
Some conservatives and libertarians don’t come out to vote in mid-term elections. This is nuts. My predecessor at the Independence Institute says it like only Tom Tancredo can here.
And if you happen to live in Denver, check out Joshua Sharf’s Page Two piece on the 4 – yes, count them – 4 local sales tax measures you’ll find on the ballot.
Stay tuned! It’s the crazy time of the year!
-Jon
