Comments on: TABOR duel at City Hall

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 14:53:53 +0000

“Jerry Says:
August 5th, 2009 at 3:43 pm
I believe many voters do understand TABOR and agree with it. It holds government to a percentage growth. Even though fuels and supplies may spike making budgeting hard in these bad times. It does prevent run away government growth. The job is not easy but it does come with the territory. If they don’t or can’t do the job the should leave it.”

Jerry –

Running government is a lot like running a business. You have to stay in the black and you have to expand to meet the demands of your customers (read constituents). I don’t see any laws on the books that would limit the growth of business.

The fact is, demand for government services rises when economic times are bad. In effect, TABOR forces the government to give back any surplus during good times and then limits what they can do during bad times. TABOR needs to go. The idea sounds great on paper, but in practice it is an absolute public disaster (reminds me of communism in that regard…)

By: FactFinder

FactFinder — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 01:49:05 +0000

Doug stayed home, out of the 90+ degree heat, and out of an argument that cannot be solved on the courthouse steps. Two guesses as to who is smart and who is dumb?

And to Eddie, who wrote: “TABOR has to change. Just look around at our City and our needs.”

THAT IS IT IN A NUTSHELL, EDDIE!!

What one man thinks is a “need” is another man’s “folly.” The City has been subsidizing a tiny few downtown landowners with downtown “projects” for years. My experience is that when government says, “We need that,” they really mean “You should pay for my new luxury.”

For a real world example, out in Briargate there is a building on the northeast corner of Briargate Parkway at Explorer drive. It was the regional HQ of Richmond Homes for years. I talked to the developer, who told me the building was built for $2,400,000. So how come the USOC building downtown is going to cost $53,000,000?

Why not buy the old Richmond Homes building (it is basically empty right now, and I bet the owner would entertain offers.) and use it for the USOC?? Maybe save $45-50 million? Ah, but the rub is this is the City subsidizing downtown landowners. TABOR just keeps them kinda honest, but not really.

By: Jerry

Jerry — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 21:43:59 +0000

I believe many voters do understand TABOR and agree with it. It holds government to a percentage growth. Even though fuels and supplies may spike making budgeting hard in these bad times. It does prevent run away government growth. The job is not easy but it does come with the territory. If they don’t or can’t do the job the should leave it.

By: John Whitten

John Whitten — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 21:41:11 +0000

Is this town a mess, or what?

As if the City/Landco/USOC fiasco isn’t enough in the center ring, we have the city ethics committee (or is it ‘etherics”, since they seem to be operating in a state of limited consciousness) in the ring, stage left. And now, the latest entry in the City Entertainment Guide, in the ring stage right, the debate on a possible Tabor Amendment, featuring dueling journalists, assorted political aspirants, and, no doubt, other special interest types who never met a TV camera they didn’t like…..

Its hard to beat the entertainment value of the circus, but this just might do it. Doug Bruce probably showed some common sense, or at least restraint, by staying away…

The only thing missing was our own ringmaster, MayorLionel, who (again) demonstrated that discretion is the better part of valor, and stayed away (no surprise there…). He was probably out trying to find an apparaiser for the police center and one of the fire stations……

I still think we should print up some “Ignorant Malcontent” (aka Colorado Springs resident/taxpayer)bumper stickers and sell them to fund the Referandum to change the city charter……..

What’s sad is if any of these folks could ride a bicycle backwards, THEY could be the circus….

By: John Hazlehurst

John Hazlehurst — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 21:10:03 +0000

Sean, Sean, Sean-you sound like a politician! I remember the time when I tried, sometimes successfully, to spin the press and get them to accept my my version of events. I think that I was very kind to all concerned-it was a manufactured event, staged for the cameras, upstaged by opponents, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing (nice phrase, don’t you think/ I made it up-just ask Joe Biden). Keep goin’-we need fun stuff to write about, and if you can’t have fun with local politics, you should move to Canada.

By: Sean Paige

Sean Paige — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 20:08:26 +0000

Thank you for attending today’s press conference, John, and for this write-up, but a couple of points need to be made. Coalition members weren’t there to espouse “truth,” just our opinion that this is an ill-timed and ill-conceived ballot idea that will go down in flames, dragging a number of other ballot items down with it, including any tax increases City Hall wants approved. Two “groups” weren’t “dueling.” One coalition held a press conference and the publisher of the CS Independent, who is using his position and publication to push this proposal — rather than send a reporter — showed up to make a scene. A number of taxpayers were there in a show of solidarity with the seven groups represented. Weiss and another paid employee, who is not a reporter, just showed up to make a fuss. Two Indy employees might constitute a “group,” technically, but whether Weiss has a constituency (other than his paid staff) that can deliver votes is debatable — and will be tested this fall if City Council is foolish enough to hitch its wagon to his plan.

By: Eddie

Eddie — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 19:56:48 +0000

TABOR has to change. Just look around at our City and our needs. The old rhetoric of wasteful government spending , corrupt officials and city workers just doesn’t ring true. More than fat has been trimmed and what have we got for it ? I don’t believe that lower taxes have improved the quality of life in the Pikes Peak Region. I believe the opposite.

I’m concerned that our town is looking like a Doug Bruce rental.

By: Matt

Matt — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 19:35:57 +0000

I particularly enjoy the claim that the measure is pointless because it won’t have immediate effect… which basically confirms that it would be worthwhile, but that we just won’t see the impact immediately…

Great defense Mr. McElhany!

By: Moe DeLaun

Moe DeLaun — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 18:36:50 +0000

Wrinkled old men, political has-beens, and other irrelevant sorts vying for the spotlight (better known as the flashlight in Colorado Springs).

Where’s Doug Bruce when we need real entertainment on the steps of City Hall?