Rocky Mountain Political Grok

Ritter Gives Bargaining to State Employees, Romney Wyoming Fave

By Greg Lemon, 11-06-07

Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter made headlines last week with his executive order establishing a bargaining partnership with state employees.

The order, issued Nov. 2, provides state employees the ability to collectively negotiate on issues of workplace safety, training and efficiency. “Employees - represented by the union of their choice - can bargain on any ‘issues of mutual concern,’ including wages, health care and staffing,” according to a Denver Post article.

Republicans and business organizations immediately attacked the order as a move to increase state spending by putting Colorado at the mercy of labor unions.

“Unions exist to push for higher salaries, and Colorado employees already have excellent salaries compared to the region and compared to the nation,” Sen. Shawn Mitchell, R-Broomfield, told the Denver Post.

Ritter had vetoed a pro-union bill late last month, which drew criticism from labor unions and praise from the same business groups that are angry with the executive order.

The Denver Post, also had sharp words for Ritter.

In an editorial published Tuesday, the Post said Ritter had reverted from a moderate Democrat, to a “bag man for unions and special interests.”

He’s even doing an end-run on the legislature, controlled by his own party. Instead of introducing a bill in the legislature that could be debated and fine-tuned — the collaborative process he promised — Ritter junked what has worked for Colorado for decades with the flick of a pen. He didn’t even have the guts to stand before the public and announce his plan. Instead, he sent out a press release late Friday afternoon when he hoped no one was looking.

Ritter also announced a progressive plan Monday to make Colorado a leader in the Rocky Mountain West for addressing global warming.

Ritter’s plan would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050. He would also set rules limiting auto emissions by 2011.

Environmental interests were predictably happy with the announcements and while auto industry groups were critical.

“Rather than force the public into cars that are far too small or those that do not have enough power to climb Colorado’s mountainous terrain, it would be much more effective to incentivize Coloradans to move into newer, cleaner cars,” Tim Jackson, Colorado Automobile Dealers Association president told the Denver Post.

In other news, Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul is continuing his impressive fundraising efforts. On Nov. 5 he set a Republican single-day fundraising record with $4.2 million raised from 37,000 online donors, wrote the Reno Gazette Journal.

Paul is considered a second tier candidate, but he gained notoriety for raising $5.2 million in the third quarter, which put him fourth among other Republicans for the quarter.

Former President Bill Clinton took a swing through Utah to promote his wife and presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton. The fundraising tour was expected to raise about $350,000 and included stops in Salt Lake City and Park City.

And in Teton County, Mitt Romney appears to be the favorite Republican. In a small straw poll, Romney garnered 61 percent of the vote, with Rudy Giuliani getting 12 percent and Mike Huckabee getting 10 percent.

Greg Lemon rounds up Rocky Mountain political news each week in the grok. If you have a news item to submit for the roundup, contact Greg at politics@newwest.net.

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