Rocky Mountain High vs. I-70 congestion

The lyrics to our new second state song ask why "they try to tear the mountains down to bring in a couple more. More people, more scars upon the land." Seems like a good excuse to point to Diane Carman's recent column on the "unsexy" effort to find a mass transit solution for I-70 congestion. And to celebrate our governor's campaign statement that:

We must always consider the impact that transportation projects have on the environment. With proper planning, transportation projects and growth can enhance our quality of life without harming the outdoors. A perfect example: the way I-70 gracefully snakes through Glenwood Canyon. This project and its concerns for our natural settings should serve as a model as we look for 21st century solutions to congestion problems throughout the I-70 mountain corridor. We must design projects that improve mobility, honor the environment and protect the livability of adjacent communities. For this reason, I believe we need to preserve a transit envelope as part of a long-term I-70 transportation solution.

Bill Ritter appoints transportation task force

Colorado Transportation Commission chair Doug Aden, state treasurer Cary Kennedy, and Phelps-Tointon president Bob Tointon will co-chair the Colorado Transportation Finance and Implementation Panel, "a blue ribbon task force that will lead a statewide conversation about the future of Colorado's transportation system... The panel will present recommendations by the end of 2007."

Ritter appoints Russell George to head CDOT

I learned last night from Colorado Confidential that Governor Bill Ritter has appointed Russell George to head CDOT. It wasn't the news I was hoping for.

1. George headed the Department of Natural Resources for Bill Owens. Last November, the voters of Colorado demanded change, not a rehash of the Owens administration.

2. George has a reputation for compromise. But his compromises seem to end up with the oil and gas industry getting what it wants. For instance, oil and gas interests wanted to drill the Roan Plateau. Environmentalists wanted to stop them. A drilling plan was given the go-ahead last September. George shrugged and said, "We got it as good as we could."

3. George didn't want the job. (CoCo's article quotes Bill Ritter, "I wouldn't take 'no' as an answer... I kept reminding Russell he is a public servant and Colorado needed him in this position.") The appointment was necessary to pacify complaints from the Western Slope.

So to quiet a few angry voices, Ritter made an uninspiring appointment of someone with uncertain commitment to the job at hand.

I didn't post the news until this morning because I wanted to see if the Post's story on the appointment told me anything that changed my opinion.

George does have an impressive resume. And the move illustrates Ritter's determination to govern from the middle. So I'm crossing my fingers and waiting for further evidence. Colorado badly needs an innovative, comprehensive 21st Century transportation system based on clean burning technology. I can only hope that George is the best person to get us there.

Jon Caldera, John Hickenlooper, and the wisdom of investment

On Fridays, I try to make time to watch Independent Thinking, the show where "hard-pressing conservative host" Jon Caldera hosts "lively - and sometimes heated - debates among elected officials, journalists, activists, concerned citizens." The show is typically littered with distortions and falsehoods. But Caldera is interesting. And it's always good to expose yourself to different points of view.

But I've just about had it with Caldera's insistence that tax dollars spent on transportation, education and healthcare should not be considered investments. This is hogwash. For instance:

1. For every dollar invested in education through the G.I. Bill, "it is estimated that nearly seven dollars was returned to the American public."

2. Money invested in public transportation provides "an economic stimulus far exceeding the original investment - as much as six dollars for every dollar invested."

3. Democratic Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper's plan to reduce homelessness may save the city $1.5 million.

The investment meme scares Republicans for the same reason that the Fighting Dems and Western Pragmatists do. They all disprove the assertion that the Democratic Party is made up of dewey-eyed idealists, raising taxes to fund half-baked schemes.

The Democratic Party of the year 2007 is about results. And the GOP can't deny it any longer.

Cross-posted at SquareState.