DENVER—Colorado’s Democratic Senate president railed Monday against the GOP House speaker in the battle over redistricting, saying he crushes bipartisan proposals and that some GOP members are simply McNulty’s agents who have no final say in negotiations.
The comments from Sen. Brandon Shaffer highlighted what promises to be a long, contentious redistricting process and underscores that there are still hurt feelings over the state’s proposed budget.
“The only person who makes the decisions is Frank McNulty. That’s it,” Shaffer said.
Shaffer was responding to the latest dust-up over redistricting last week, when both parties unveiled proposed redistricting maps, and Republicans accused Democrats of trying to draw lines favorable to their party.
McNulty accused Shaffer of trying to boost his own political fortunes in a Senate proposal that makes a Republican-held district in which Shaffer lives more favorable for a Democratic candidate.
The Democrats’ proposed map fueled speculation that Shaffer wanted to challenge freshman Republican Rep. Cory Gardner next year.
“I understand that President Shaffer got caught with his hand in the cookie jar, and that’s unfortunate,” McNulty said, responding to Shaffer’s criticism.
An agreement on redistricting can take months. After the last census, it was years before an agreement was reached and the issue was ultimately decided by a judge.
Shaffer also said McNulty is to blame for the partisan upheaval over the state budget, which was delayed this session for weeks as lawmakers in the bipartisan Joint Budget Committee tried to hammer out a compromise.
“The Joint Budget Committee did very good work,” Shaffer said. “They had come to consensus on the budget. And then Speaker McNulty interjected himself and said, no this isn’t OK with me, and he blew up the budget negotiation.”
An agreement on the 2011-2012 budget was reached after both parties agreed on restoring some tax breaks for businesses and reducing the amount to be cut from education.
The proposed budget has cleared both chambers, but the House and Senate are still ironing out a few differences in joint committees.
McNulty insisted that the budget debate has been a good one, with both parties weighing in to produce what he routinely calls an honest budget.
“We should all be proud of that budget,” McNulty said.
McNulty criticized the Democrats’ redistricting maps, which would make dramatic changes. Republicans have taken special exception to the Democrats’ suggestion to bisect the state’s rural areas north and south, rather than east and west
“Putting Boulder in with Grand Junction is not a fair map,” McNulty said.
Lawmakers are required to redraw congressional lines after every census, and political parties routinely accuse the other of trying to unfairly juice their side.
Shaffer insisted the Democrats’ proposed maps are fair, and said he had little input over how new proposed districts were drawn. He said what Republicans are proposing keep more GOP congressional seats safe.
“If you don’t like our maps, draw us competitive maps,” Shaffer said “Because the maps that you’ve presented aren’t competitive.”
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Associated Press writer Kristen Wyatt contributed to this report.
