The board of the Denver Regional Council of Governments recently voted unanimously to award Aurora $16.32 million for the completion of the Interstate 225 and Colfax Avenue/17th Place interchange — a project crucial for accommodating increased traffic flow into and out of the expanding Anschutz Medical Campus and the Fitzsimons Life Science District. Gaining the necessary funding for this project and sustaining more than $6 billion of investment into other projects around the state may not have been possible without the efforts of an organization called Accelerate Colorado.
Beginning in 2006, the Aurora Economic Development Council developed a program to give Colorado’s business and political community a greater voice at the federal level. The focal point of the program was an annual business mission to Washington, D.C., during which about 100 of Colorado’s business and political leaders would advocate on behalf of the state’s economic-development interests. In 2009, the program was formally established as a distinct organization and was titled Accelerate Colorado. The organization is a partnership between business and local governments that works to build consensus on issues key to the state’s economic development, and then to present a unified agenda to the members of Colorado’s congressional delegation and other key federal leaders. In addition to the annual business mission, Accelerate Colorado also works with a full-time federal lobbyist to give the state’s economic- development interests year-round representation in Washington.
Accelerate Colorado has served as an important medium for communication between Colorado’s local leadership and Congress. Prior to the program’s initiation, there was no organization that advocated on a statewide basis to ensure that our federal leadership properly addressed the economic development and business needs of the state. On May 10-12, Accelerate Colorado hosted its fifth annual business mission to Washington. The 100 constituents in attendance represented a large number of local Colorado governments and top industries. Several mayors, city council members and county commissioners from around the state were present, as well as executives from many of Colorado’s largest and most influential companies. While in Washington, the group held meetings with Colorado’s congressional delegation as well as House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., and other key federal officials. The group was able to lobby for pro-business public policy and for federal funding to support Colorado’s economic development in the fields of aerospace and defense, bioscience, energy, transportation, veterans affairs and water.
Accelerate Colorado’s 2009 and 2010 efforts in Washington have contributed to a number of successes. For example, Lockheed Martin’s Orion Program, which employs more than 1,000 workers in Jefferson County, was saved after nearly being canceled. Also, an $886 million contract was funded and awarded to Raytheon and Boeing in Colorado to develop the ground-control segment of a new, more accurate Global Positioning System. Also, $800 million was granted to the Department of Veterans Affairs for the construction of a new, much-needed VA Medical Center to be located at the Fitzsimons Life Science District.
As Accelerate Colorado looks ahead to 2011 and beyond, it will continue to build a strong, unified consensus on a diverse body of statewide issues. The organization now offers memberships to help increase participation from farther outside of the Front Range and to help facilitate communication among participants 365 days a year. The annual business mission will continue to be the focal point of Accelerate Colorado’s efforts, and the expanded year-round membership program will reinforce the strength of the organization’s influence at the federal level.
Wendy Mitchell (mitchell@auroraedc.com) is president and CEO of the Aurora Economic Development Council. Bryan Blakely (blakely@acceleratecolorado.com) is president of Accelerate Colorado.
