Majority Democrats in the Colorado legislature chose a generally moderate leadership Thursday that seems well-suited to the daunting tasks that lawmakers will face next year. At the top of their agenda is revitalizing the state’s transportation network and higher education system in a time of mounting economic uncertainty.
For the first time in the history of this state — or any state, as far as we could determine — both the speaker of the House of Representatives and the president of the Senate are African-Americans.
Senate President Peter Groff ascended to the presidency last year when Sen. Joan Fitz-Gerald resigned to wage an unsuccessful run for Congress. Groff quickly won praise from both sides of the aisle for fairness and courtesy. He was unanimously re-elected by his Democratic colleagues Thursday.
House Speaker Terrance Carroll’s ascension was a surprise, since Democrats expected to elect Rep. Bernie Buescher of Grand Junction to the top post if they retained their majority. They did maintain control, dropping from a 40-25 edge to a still healthy 38-27.
But the 2-1 Republican registration edge in his district finally caught up with Buescher, who lost narrowly to Republican Laura Bradford. Democrats then chose Carroll, who had won accolades from both parties for openness and fairness as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.
Senate Republicans, who lost one seat and fell to a 21-14 minority, elected Josh Penry of Grand Junction as minority leader and Greg Brophy of Wray as assistant minority leader. Penry is a conservative who has worked in bipartisan fashion on some key legislation.
Brophy is a bare-knuckled brawler who will probably play the “bad cop” for the GOP.
House Republicans re-elected Mike May of Parker as minority leader and David Balmer of Centennial as his deputy. Both have worked across party aisles on key bills in previous sessions.
On balance, this is a legislature well-suited to seek bipartisan solutions. That’s good, because the state’s problems are too big for one party to solve. Gov. Bill Ritter’s “blue ribbon” transportation panel turned in its recommendations last year only to see them ignored by a bipartisan terror of raising taxes in an election year.
The commission will be back in January with more ideas to upgrade the state’s crumbling highways and bridges. This time, let’s hope Ritter and both parties respond to the need.
Similarly, the state’s colleges and universities will continue to be underfunded unless both parties work to buttress this bridge to Colorado’s economic future.
Finally, the budget that will be written this spring for the 2009-10 fiscal year will be the last to benefit from the five-year “time-out” from TABOR restrictions authorized by voters in 2005’s Referendum C.
The defeat Tuesday of Amendment 59, which would have indefinitely extended that timeout, means legislators again need to confront the need to build adequate fiscal reserves to tide the state through economic downturns.
We expect — indeed, we urge — a spirited give-and-take in the next legislative session over these and other tough issues. But we also urge the legislators to remember that good government is also good politics — a lesson most of their leaders seem to have already absorbed.
