They say you can’t go home again.

For me, I guess I never really left. I mean, I didn’t even change my driver’s license for crying out loud.

I didn’t expect that Aurora had made good on its promise to finally build a man-made ski mountain (they did in the 1980s), or that my childhood home on South Moline Way had been bulldozed to make way for Sci-fi land (also a promise in the 1980s), but I did expect that Interstate 225 would be a little different in the two years I’ve been gone.

Think about this: I’m almost 30 years old. That over-used stretch of road has been relatively the same since I was born at St. Joseph’s in Denver, and likely traveled down that road on my way home from the hospital.

OK, OK, so they’ve added an exit in three decades. Woohoo! Pardon me if I don’t pass out from excitement.

But growing up in Aurora hasn’t paved over my sense of frustration when I think about how bad Aurora’s gotten the shaft on transportation — particularly light rail.

Yes, I understand the economy has taken an historic full gainer over the last 5 years.

And yes, I understand that everyone else has had to wait.

But asking Aurora taxpayers to pony up more cash for something that was promised a while back is a letdown like “Godfather 3.” Lousy like watching LeBron in the NBA Finals.

Lousy like only Aurorans would know.

To be clear, I believe the city should ask the taxpayers for help. And moreover, Aurorans would be smart to help foot the bill and get it over with.

I don’t say that because we’re the smallest metro area with biggest complex I’ve ever seen. But I say we should pay for it because providing first-class transportation to one of the biggest economic drivers Aurora has ever had makes more sense than the Denver Mint.

After passing the tax, we should march every legislator, elected representative, dogcatcher, man, woman and child to the steps of the Colorado Legislature and tell them enough is enough.

Enough treating the third-biggest city in Colorado like a third-world country. Enough asking Aurora residents to pay more for anyone other than ourselves.

And enough shirking the Legislature’s duty of increasing taxes onto individual municipalities.

Instead of tackling the unpopular task of repealing awful TABOR legislation, the Legislature has consistently passed the buck and asked local governments to go to voters every year with their hands out for pennies.

That’s leading to voter fatigue, and it’s the wrong way to deal with a restrictive budget measure that hasn’t worked since the day it was passed.

Want proof?

Smart taxpayer spending like money for schools, care for developmentally disabled individuals and infrastructure are getting turned down like ugly prom dates because passing a ballot measure in this state is tougher than eating your shoe.

Want more proof?

Aurora voters have to say “yes” twice to a question that’s already been answered once.

It’s backwards legislation and sissy lawmakers that got us here.

We’ve been nothing but a blue-collar town since I grew up here, so let’s go to work to fix that.

It’s good to be home.

Reach Aaron Cole at 303-750-7555 or at acole@aurorasentinel.com