You may have asked yourself how savvy officials of the National Western Stock Show and the city of Denver, not to mention their high-priced political consultants, could possibly believe Denver voters would ever raise taxes to move the stock show to Aurora. These are bright, capable people, and yet the idea is altogether absurd.
How could they imagine otherwise?
First, I’m not sure they do believe it. They were under the pressure of a June 30 deadline to submit an application for a state subsidy, in tandem with Gaylord Entertainment’s proposed convention hotel and conference center at the Aurora site. Maybe they decided to catch that train before worrying too much about every piece of luggage they’d dragged on board.
But to the extent they have convinced themselves that Denver voters can be gulled into funding the departure of a revered, century-old institution, their hopes appear to rest upon the following arguments:
1) Denver voters have proved willing in the past to invest in the National Western Stock Show.Why, in 1989, they approved stock show bonds by a whopping 74 percent.
In fact, the 1989 vote offers the opposite lesson because the campaign hinged on the importance of keeping the show in Denver. Consultants were hardly so crass as to stoke fears of Aurora, but Texas was fair game. And so public service ads put a bouncing ball on TV screens to the tune of “Deep in the Heart of Texas,” complete with brand-new lyrics.
“Our Western show might have to go. Don’t lose the stock show to Texas. Its home’s too small, help save it y’all. Don’t lose the stock show to Texas.”
And yet now we’re to believe that voters could be won over to another bond issue with a campaign that not only insists, “Our Western show might have to go,” but declares it a good thing. Please.
2) Suburban cities help pay for regional institutions in Denver, from sports stadiums to the Denver Art Museum and zoo. Why shouldn’t Denver reciprocate?
Well, maybe Denver should reciprocate but that’s not what we’re talking about. Suburban voters have never been asked to raise taxes to support a regional institution without Denver raising its taxes, too. Yet the plan to move the stock show does not even envision asking Aurora taxpayers to raise their property taxes at the same time, let alone other metro residents.
Meanwhile, no suburb has ever financed the relocation of a similar institution to Denver.
For that matter, while Denver residents obviously benefit from the convenience of many major amenities within city borders that are now supported by the regional Scientific and Cultural Facilities District, it was Denver taxes and philanthropists who built them in the first place, decades ago. And it is Denver taxpayers and philanthropists who to this day come up with the tens of millions of dollars to improve and expand them.
3) Denver already supports facilities far outside its borders — namely mountain parks. Those parks exist in four other counties and at one point were even supported by a special mill levy.
Yes, Denver acquired mountain parks in the early 19th century, long before the explosive growth of suburbs — or even the existence of many of today’s communities. At the time, Denver’s population was more than one-fourth of the entire state’s. It acted alone because it largely was alone. The fact that Denver still shovels money into those parks is no reason to undertake another revenue-draining mission outside its borders.
By the way, the Aurora site looks like a great place for a rejuvenated National Western Stock Show in tandem with a Gaylord resort. But Denver residents shouldn’t and won’t raise their taxes to pay for it. If there’s a Plan B somewhere in that luggage, it might be best to pull it out soon.
E-mail Vincent Carroll at vcarroll@denverpost.com.
