Two anti-fracking measures the November ballot, but Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper said the effort sent a clear message.
“Maybe they didn’t get enough signatures, but tens of thousands of people signed those initiatives and want more local voice — and I listen to that,” he said in an interview Tuesday, a day after the measures died. “Just because they didn’t get on the ballot doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t respond to them.”
Hickenlooper’s next steps are less clear. The Democratic governor said he wants to “continue the discussions” between the energy sector and supporters of the two unsuccessful ballot measures, which would have prohibited new oil and gas facilities within 2,500 feet of homes, and given more power to local governments to restrict fracking. But he offered no specifics.
“I think most of the people I’ve talked to both in the environmental community and the oil and gas industry recognize that there is more work to be done,” he said.
Hickenlooper opposed both proposals and two years ago to keep like-minded initiatives off the 2014 ballot by promising a commission to address the issues. The oil and gas task force made a number of but the . At the Democratic National Convention in July, fracking protesters at a Politico event and confronted him on stage.
When it comes to the initiatives that did make the 2016 ballot — whether a , or — Hickenlooper said he needs to evaluate each before taking a stance.
But after attending in Denver on Tuesday, he expressed a willingness to get involved — particularly regarding those related to the .
“Usually we stay out,” he told Reeves Brown, a former cabinet official who led the initiative and attended the event. This time, “I think we’ll stride in.”
