Congressional candidates Ryan Frazier and Ed Perlmutter sparred Thursday over taxes in a series of back-and-forth comments that foreshadow just how contentious the 7th District race will be.
It began when Frazier, the Republican nominee and an Aurora councilman, called on Perl mutter, a two-term incumbent from Golden, to join other other House Democrats in opposing “one of the largest tax increases in American history.”
Perlmutter’s campaign said Frazier needs to do his homework.
Frazier was referring to Bush-era tax cuts that will expire at the end of the year without intervention from Congress and the White House.
“I understand that Ed votes with (Speaker) Nancy Pelosi 98 percent of the time, but he should oppose these tax hikes,” Frazier said in a statement.
The cuts involve a variety of taxes, including personal income, estate and capital gains.
“If Frazier did his homework he would know Ed already voted to permanently extend estate tax relief, but Republicans in the Senate continue to block action,” said Leslie Oliver, Perl mutter’s campaign spokeswoman.
“For new proposals, Ed needs to see details of the proposals, but generally Ed has always supported extending tax relief for the hardworking people in the middle who earn less than $250,000,” she said. “Other than Frazier’s friend Pete Coors, this encompasses the majority of the people in the 7th Congressional District — including Frazier himself.”
“What does it say about a congressman, who claims to want to create jobs, when he attacks one of the largest employers in our district?” said Frazier’s campaign spokesman, T.Q. Houlton.
Perlmutter’s campaign also questioned water-rate hikes Frazier approved as a councilman. The campaign said they were tax increases, a statement that galled Frazier’s campaign.
“It’s disingenuous for Ed to attack Ryan on a popular, and underbudget, local water project that Ed supports too,” Houlton said.
Also running in the 7th District is Libertarian Buck Bailey.
