A civic organization that dubs itself toward grappling with fiscal and electoral problems often related to provisions in the state constitution.
It’s strongly bipartisan, for example. For every Democrat involved in this group created by Dan Ritchie, former chancellor at the University of Denver, there’s a Republican. At least so far.
And there are plenty of big-name office-holders and former officials involved to give the group added heft.
Moreover, it is focused on important issues like the financial health of the state, our electoral system and the initiative process, as outlined in a report in The Sunday Denver Post.
But its effectiveness ultimately will be measured not by how many community meetings it holds around the state or how many high-minded reports it issues at the end of deliberations. There have been plenty of those over the years by any number of respected institutions and groups, but nothing much has come of them.
No, success will be measured by whether Building a Better Colorado can move to the next step and put a concrete proposal or two on the ballot. In 2016.
Otherwise the group will amount to a lot of wheel-spinning by people who should have better things to do.
Our only reservation about Building a Better Colorado is the breadth of its stated agenda. State government is going to face a growing budgetary crunch in coming years that needs to be addressed, and that issue should be at the top of any “good government” agenda.
Other topics — from tweaking the initiative process to reforming Colorado’s primary and caucus system — are important but decidedly secondary.
For that matter, why are term limits on the list of issues to be examined? Outside of the state capital, are citizens truly chafing at the fact that elected officials can’t stay in office their entire careers?
Still, given Ritchie’s stellar track record in the business and educational arenas, it would be silly to underestimate Building a Better Colorado’s potential. We look forward to seeing how it evolves.
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