Gubernatorial candidates Bob Beauprez and Bill Ritter look through different lenses when seeing state government’s role in supporting the economy and business.
The governor’s influence is equivalent to a Fortune 200 chief executive, overseeing a state budget of $16.3 billion and 60,000 employees.
Beauprez, 58, the Republican Colorado congressman and former banker, said he seeks to limit government regulation and reduce taxes, allowing business owners to reinvest profits, expand operations and create jobs.
Ritter, 50, the Democratic former Denver district attorney, said he is more willing than Beauprez to invest tax dollars to fund roads, education and health care to stimulate economic growth.
How they would govern on business issues may best be illustrated by differing approaches to labor issues and health care – two hot topics that observers say will be focal points in next year’s legislative session.
Beauprez opposes health-care mandates for employers, arguing that companies “ought to be free to offer or not (offer) as they deem necessary to compete in the labor marketplace.”
Beauprez advocates so- called health savings accounts – which are akin to 401(k) investment plans. Ritter supports health savings accounts but says they do not go far enough. He said he is open to discussing health-care mandates on employers and insurance companies and that he intends to form a commission to identify solutions.
One health-care proposal that failed this year, and is likely to return, would have Colorado join other states in bulk-purchasing prescription drugs at a discount. It could save $1.3 million a year, but critics say it would create a new bureaucracy. Ritter is for the program. Beauprez opposes it.
Labor issues offer another stark contrast between the two candidates.
A statewide ballot initiative would raise the minimum wage from $5.15 a hour to $6.85 an hour, beginning Jan. 1. The initiative includes an automatic cost-of-living increase tied to inflation in future years. If approved, the initiative would become part of the state constitution.
Beauprez voted for a federal hike in the minimum wage, which failed in Congress. He opposes the Colorado initiative because it would be embedded in the state constitution and “ties the hands of business by raising wages every year regardless of economic conditions.”
“It is bad for business,” he said, “and it will hurt Colorado’s economy.”
Ritter also expressed concern about including the minimum wage in the state constitution. Even so, he said he supports the initiative because the federal minimum wage of $5.15 an hour has not increased since 1997.
“This will help hardworking Americans earn a living,” he said.
If the state legislature remains controlled by Democrats, a host of labor initiatives that previously failed could return, facing the new governor.
One bill previously sought to make it easier for employees to receive unemployment benefits during a lockout. Beauprez opposes it; Ritter said he would consider it. Another bill would allow employees access to personnel files kept by employers. Ritter supports the measure, and Beauprez opposes it.
Gov. Bill Owens, the Republican two-term governor, vetoed 44 bills this year passed by the Democratic-controlled legislature. Owens, who is campaigning for Beauprez, said having Democrats control the legislature and the governor’s office could lead to the passage of pro-union, anti-business laws.
“If we are not careful, we will become an Oregon in terms of the private sector,” said Owens. He referred to a 2006 report by The Fraser Institute, a free-market think tank, that ranked Colorado’s business climate among the best in the country, far above Oregon’s.
House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, a Denver Democrat who supports Ritter’s candidacy, said Owens “is trying to scare folks into thinking that the state is going to take a radical lurch to the left,” but “we will continue to try and find the best ideas from both parties.”
Both Ritter and Beauprez have courted business interests during their campaigns. At least one area of agreement between the two is in offering more incentives to retain and attract employers.
Ritter made inroads with business leaders because of his support last year of Referendum C, the ballot initiative that allowed the state to retain $3.7 billion that otherwise would have been returned to taxpayers over five years. It was backed by a coalition including Owens, the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce and Democratic leaders. Beauprez opposed it.
“You can’t say you are for economic development if you were opposed to Ref. C,” Ritter said.
Replied Beauprez: “Bill Ritter wants to spend every single dime. That’s not leadership.”
Referendum C passed by a vote of 53 percent to 47 percent. Its companion measure, Referendum D, which would have allowed the state to sell $2.1 billion in bonds to fund road projects, narrowly failed.
Beyond the $3.7 billion initially projected under Referendum C, at least $200 million more could be collected by the state in the next five years if the economy continues to improve, said the Office of State Planning and Budgeting.
Ritter has said at least a portion of such money should be used for road improvements. Beauprez said his budget plan would not include the excess revenue and that it would not be collected from taxpayers.
Staff writer Will Shanley can be reached at 303-954-1260 or wshanley@denverpost.com.
