Forbes magazine has rated Colorado among the top five states for a positive business climate.
The magazine considers business costs, labor supplies, the regulatory environment, economic climate, growth prospects and quality of life.
The rankings don’t entirely ignore the issue of government spending, for some credit is given for business incentive programs, but most of the factors used don’t depend on the government.
Colorado ranked high in the ratings, for example, because of the quality of life, relatively low business costs and a good regulatory environment.
The timing of the article is welcome because the issue of business climate and the government’s role in it will figure prominently in the current Colorado gubernatorial campaign.
Democratic nominee Bill Ritter and Republican Bob Beauprez are both trying to demonstrate their concern for business, but have chosen quite different approaches.
Ritter, partly to appeal to Republican and independent voters, promises a long list of steps to provide “affordable health insurance, education reform” and “a world-class transportation system.” He says he wants to “align economic development and educational goals.” He also says he wants a “renewed sense of priority and urgency” in the Colorado Office of Economic Development and he says he wants to “research and analyze economic and labor-force trends.”
It’s hard to see how these fuzzy phrases and others that might be cited will result in “the best-educated workforce in the country,” but that is Ritter’s announced goal.
Beauprez’s approach, in contrast, is both more limited and more direct. He says that Ritter is hiding his views on important business issues and should answer the following questions:
Will he veto legislation that weakens Colorado’s tort environment, making it easier for lawsuit abuse to hurt Colorado business?
Will he veto legislation that mandates businesses to spend a stipulated percentage of revenue on health care to employees?
Will he veto legislation that makes it easier for an all-union agreement to be forced upon an employer?
Will he veto legislation that liberalizes Colorado’s workers’ comp laws?
It is clear that a Gov. Beauprez would do all of these things.
Beauprez’s central political problem is that he is on the defensive and must overcome early public opinion polls showing Ritter with a substantial lead.
The relative position of the two men dictates the way they approach a given issue. For example, Ritter’s official statement on illegal immigration is about five paragraphs long and does little more than endorse existing federal laws and recently passed Colorado legislation. He, in fact, endorses a federal proposal that would offer illegal immigrants a “path to citizenship.”
Beauprez meanwhile has advanced an eight-point plan that is arguably much tougher. One proposal is that bail should be denied to any illegal immigrant subject to deportation, more specifically any illegal immigrant charged with drunken driving or a serious crime. Other steps deal with “sanctuary cities” and cooperation between federal and state agencies that would allow localities to enforce federal immigration laws.
The gubernatorial election may ultimately hinge on the ability of Ritter to successfully pull off what might be called a “me too” campaign.
The goal of such a campaign is to convince independent voters that everything they might expect by electing a Republican they can get by electing a Democrat. You want immigration reform? Bill Ritter is for it. You want a pro-business governor? That’s Bill Ritter.
One need not go back in history too far to find the model. Gov. Roy Romer was a master in presenting himself as an agreeable alternative to almost any Republican challenger.
Beauprez’s task is to demonstrate that Ritter’s positions signal a sharp turn to the left. He can also cite the fact that it was, after all, under a Republican administration that Colorado reached the top five states in business climate.
To the extent that Ritter chooses to be vague, Beauprez must be direct and specific. If he is, he can still win. If he isn’t, he will join a list of GOP candidates who couldn’t get off the defensive and are now leading quiet private lives.
Al Knight of Fairplay (alknight@mindspring.com) is a former member of The Post’s editorial-page staff. His column appears on Wednesdays.
