Second (Day) Thoughts

Post-Election News and Notes

By Howard Rothman, 11-02-05

The big news from Colorado Election Day 2005, of course, is the passage of Referendum C, with the dust settling in the camps of elated proponents and glum opponents as Sandra Fish explained last evening. There was a lot more to the statwide tally, however, including a surprising victory for pot smokers in Denver, an array of winning tax measures around the state, and the defeat of an attempt to yank the welcome mat out from under Wal-Mart in Westminster.

Here's my morning-after take:

• The votes on referendums C and D justifiably galvanized attention both here and around the nation, as even the Wall Street Journal saw fit to editorialize against their passage earlier this week. Victory for C is much more significant than loss for D, since the former provision temporarily nullifies the most Byzantine part of TABOR -- the so-called ratchet effect -- and clearly shows that Colorado voters are not happy with an ill-conceived regulation that allows them to keep a small portion of tax revenues at the expense of crumbling streets and declining educational resources. Opponents were so upset by the prospect that this victory could lead to trouble enacting such an onerous law elsewhere, they're threatening a lawsuit to try and do what their catchy but empty slogans and personal attacks could not.

• As the split results show, Coloradoans weighed C and D carefully and refused to cast their ballots in lockstep with admonitions from either camp. They did the same with other funding measures around the state, passing an array of tax hikes but defeating others. Denver approved a tourism tax and another to improve teacher pay, Lakewood passed its first tax hike since 1971 and Ft. Collins voters overwhelmingly said yes to a measure that will finance a host of city projects. Aurora will have to cut services, however, as voters there decidedly voted down a property tax increase that would have boosted fire fighting and other local services.

• Pot got mixed reviews. Denver voters stunned everyone by approving a measure to legalize small amounts of marijuana, while those in Telluride narrowly rejected a similar measure. The impact of the Mile High City's vote could be as ephemeral as a puff of reefer smoke in a strong wind, since possession still violates state and federal laws. It does, however, show changing sentiments and gives the national media something to talk about other than C & D.

• Wal-Mart will be allowed to build a third center in Westminster after citizens failed to overturn a City Council zoning decision. This measure got a lot of ink but long-term implications remain unclear at this point.

Quite a slate for an off-year election, wasn't it? I haven't seen any info on turnout yet, but initial reports indicate it was stronger than anticipated. So take down your yard signs, forget about Jon Caldara's pig and John Hickenlooper's parachute, and get back to more important matters -- like worrying about bird flu and whether the Nuggets will be able to do great things without Nene.

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