COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—Anti-tax crusader Douglas Bruce has accused a rival for a seat in the state House of exaggerating his credentials.
Bruce said this week that Reginald Perry described himself as an electrical engineer in a letter to state Republican officials, but Bruce said Perry doesn’t hold a state license.
Perry said many practicing electrical engineers don’t have a license. He called Bruce’s criticism “childish” and “immature.”
State Republican officials are expected to choose Saturday among Bruce, Perry and Steve Hasbrouck to fill a House seat from northeast Colorado Springs. The seat opened when Rep. Bill Cadman was chosen to replace Sen. Ron May, who retired.
Under Colorado law, when a lawmaker steps down early, a vacancy committee from the lawmaker’s party choses a replacement.
Bruce is best known statewide as the author of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, a voter-approved amendment to the state Constitution that limits increases in state and local taxes and government spending. He is currently an El Paso County commissioner.
Bruce accused Perry of misrepresenting himself to the vacancy committee.
“I would think he shouldn’t inflate his occupation to say he’s something he isn’t now just because he hopes to be one in the future,” Bruce said. “That sounds like he’s literally not telling people the truth.”
Perry said getting a license requires at least four years of work under a certified engineer and said he hopes to do that. But he said his degree and experience still allow him to be called an electrical engineer.
Perry received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in December. He said Bruce’s criticism was an attempt to question his integrity.
Paige Lee, president of the Professional Engineers of Colorado, said the question of whether someone without a license can properly be called an engineer is a “touchy subject.”
She said many people feel that practicing engineers should be allowed to call themselves engineers with or without a license.
