Polis is wrong to free Peters, caving to Trump
Re: “Gov. Polis reduces Tina Peters setence says she will be released June 1,” May 15 news story
With the reduction of Tina Peters’ sentence, Gov. Jared Polis has destroyed his own legacy. Peters was the one person who did not escape accountability for her crimes, unlike almost everyone else, including Trump.
Colorado held her accountable. Now, Polis has done the bidding of Trump and ignored Colorado’s election officials and leaders. Forget everything else — he will forever be known as the governor who betrayed his state, used an insultingly lame rationale he thought the citizens of Colorado would buy, and let Peters go free.
With this single act, Polis effectively has destroyed any future political ambitions he may have had.
But he need not worry: Perhaps Trump has room in his ever-shrinking Cabinet for him. He likes to reward people who do his bidding.
Today many Coloradans are saddened and distressed by this unjustifiable act but not at all surprised. Polis is simply showing us who he really is and who many of us suspected he really was all along. After today, his legacy and his political future will forever be tainted and spoiled. Polis has no one to blame but himself.
William C. Compton, Lakewood
Polis is just feeding the beast by giving him what he wants. He’ll still be petulant and vindictive. He has given Colorado a black eye and has emasculated its legal system, its prosecutors and its judges for nothing. A palpably bad decision, regardless of the rationalization used.
Kurt Walberg, Lakewood
Now that Governor Polis has set election-denier Tina Peters free, I think we can be certain that she will find a job in the Trump administration, maybe in charge of his “Election Integrity Army.”
Dan Danbom, Denver
We can’t fund roads at the expense of everything else
Re: “New bid to undercut road funding,” May 2 news story
Does anyone else find it extremely hypocritical for anyone supporting Initiative 175 to support the constant barrage of Reagan-esque rhetoric about “big government” and the constant need to cut taxes? On what planet do people like that reside?
Some folks won’t be happy until we are left with no public schooling, scant social services, a prison system in shambles, and we no longer have the Scientific and Cultural District, which requires an extremely modest tax. The “big government” complainers would rather live on a desolate island with nothing, except more and more highways.
Pete Simon, Arvada
Don’t undermine the will of voters
House Bill 1430 was an attempt to derail Initiative 175. If passed, Initiative 175 would direct the spending of our fuel excise taxes and sales taxes on motor vehicles on roads to be exclusively on transportation and the State Patrol. As someone who regularly ventures outside the Denver Metro area, I can comfortably state that Colorado’s roads and rest areas (those very few that are left) are poor compared to those of our neighbor states.
Most taxes on products or services are created to offset the impacts of those products, so it is only logical that fuel and vehicle sales taxes be spent to offset the impact on our roads. The sponsors of House Bill 1430 boldly admit that our transportation taxes have been hijacked to pay for education and health care, and that taking those funds out of the legislature’s cookie jar will create shortfalls.
Their childish counter-punch is HB 1430 — if the people of Colorado dare to pass Initaitve 175, we, the few dozen people of the legislature, will reduce those taxes for 3 years and take those funds away from the roads. The legislation stated that the purpose of 1430 was “…to ensure that state transportation funding is not increased…”. If the legislature can’t spend these dollars, then we will make sure no one can. The sponsors are vindictively threatening to punish the people of Colorado for daring to vote and act democratically. Your priorities are all wrong.
Joel Hendrickson, Highlands Ranch
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