AURORA, Colo.—The three men competing to be Colorado’s next governor disagree over ways to help people facing the nationwide economic slide.
Republican candidate Dan Maes said Wednesday the best way is to reduce government regulation. Democrat John Hickenlooper said the solution is to help businesses grow and attract new companies with business-friendly policies, and American Constitution Party candidate Tom Tancredo suggested cutting taxes.
Ashley Wheeland, a 31-year-old law school graduate, told the candidates she has been looking for months for a job. She said she heard no solutions from the three candidates at a debate Wednesday held by The Denver Post and KUSA-TV.
“The recession has hit hard, and we can’t pay the bills. It’s tough not to get an answer,” she said.
Tancredo said Democrats and Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter took $1 billion from taxpayers last year.
“You have to learn from the past if you want to know what we should do for the future,” he said.
Tancredo said the state is going to be forced cut back on assistance for Coloradans who want to go to college.
“Today that commitment is an open liability for the state. We’re going to have to limit this,” Tancredo said.
Maes said there is too much duplication among Front Range institutions and they should be consolidated.
Tancredo also opposed raising taxes, but he said he would seek a toll for motorists who travel Interstate 70 through Colorado.
“It is exactly a tax. This one goes for transportation. It is a users fee and it’s a tax. It’s not for everybody. You don’t have to go there,” he said.
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AP Special Correspondent David Espo also contributed to this report.
