Denver November 2003 Election
Referendum A and it's administration is the subject of this article from the Denver Post [September 14, 2003, "Water board's past stirs concerns"]. From the article, "Critics of Referendum A, the ballot issue to authorize the $2 billion loan program, agree that the board has done a much better job in recent years. And a Denver Post review of loans the past five years confirms that. Opponents contend, however, that the audit offers a preview of how Referendum A will be handled - with loosely defined marching orders and staff ill-equipped for the complicated task of reviewing and overseeing millions of dollars worth of loans. Worse, they say, funding decisions will be subject to the whims of shifting political agendas of future administrations. Which projects get funded with the proposed bond program would be at the sole discretion of Gov. Bill Owens, Referendum A's chief backer, or future governors. Neither the governor nor other Referendum A supporters have identified any projects that would be built with the $2 billion of bond money. Referendum A would not give legislators any say in who gets the money. The water board would only make a recommendation to the governor. If Referendum A passes, however, the legislature would be cut out of the loop. The water board would make a recommendation to the governor, who would then approve or reject projects."
Here's an editorial from the Rocky Mountain News [September 13, 2003, "Referendum 'A' deserves defeat"] opposing Referendum A. From the editorial, "Call us naive, but we still believe that well-intentioned people in this state on both sides of the Continental Divide should be able to come together and craft a plan to store more water in preparation for the next drought and the next million or two incoming residents. Referendum A clearly fails to achieve such a statewide consensus, and that's a big reason we oppose this water-development measure."
Here's an opinion piece from the The Rocky Mountain News [September 13, 2003, "Water storage proposal creates more problems in effort to solve one"] that opposes Referendum A. The Rocky [September 13, 2003, "Referendum preserves precious resource that otherwise leaves state"] is also running another opinion piece supporting the referendum.
Amendment 33 is the subject of Al Lewis' column in today's Denver Post [September 14, 2003, "Bribery? Tourism comes first"]. He includes comments from proponents and opponents on the fitness of Wembley to administer Video Lottery Terminals at their racetracks. The Post [September 14, 2003, "Amendment 33: A bad bet"] editorial staff is running another editorial against the amendment. From the editorial, "In one ad, the owner of a rafting company is shown battling rapids as picturesque Colorado scenery floats by. He laments the lack of tourism funding in Colorado, and a voice-over urges voters to look into Amendment 33, which would pump cash into tourism coffers. But the commercial's only images are of serene mountain settings and flowing water. Where are the smoky casinos, the flashing lights of slot machines and the ding-ding-ding sounds of a winner?"
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