Colo. Gov: Hickenlooper’s first term is the best argument for a second one

Bob Beauprez had two critical jobs in persuading voters to elect him Colorado governor: The Republican challenger had to show voters that incumbent Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper has made big mistakes in his first term that have hurt the state. And Beauprez had to show voters that Colorado would be a better place for everyone if he were elected instead. It didn’t happen.

Despite an ocean of rhetoric, Beauprez hasn’t been able to escape the fact that after a calamitous Great Recession, Colorado’s economy not only weathered the raging storm, but is strongly pushing ahead. Here are the numbers:

• Colorado’s unemployment rate has gone from about 9 percent in 2010 to 5 percent last month, one of the best in the nation.

• Colorado is hailed as having one of the most diverse, educated and skilled workforces in the country.

• The oil industry is well-regulated in Colorado, yet it is booming here, especially the natural gas industry.

• Farms and ranches, both large and small are thriving in Colorado, despite some of the worst drought conditions and lingering national economic problems in state history.

• The real estate markets in urban and many rural areas are among the healthiest in the country.

• Despite horrendous wildfires, shootings and catastrophic floods, the state is rebounding, rebuilding and moving on.

• Colorado is such a great place to live and work, it remains one of the top tourist and relocation destinations in the country.

Nothing here begs for voters to call out the calvary. Granted, Hickenlooper is hardly single-handedly responsible for making Colorado the enviable and successful state that it is. But the state’s intrepid Gov. Hickenlooper has been instrumental in formulating practical and prudent fiscal policies and creating an atmosphere that welcomes business and job creation.

Hickenlooper is a relentless and avid ambassador for a state that has become the envy of the nation for its independence, ingenuity and audacity.

Time and again, he’s proved to be a thoughtful, analytical leader willing to push against his party, the grain, the flow and the comfortable path, just to stand his ground. He’s earnest and honest, to point of being awkward.

He’s not perfect. While his decision to set aside the death sentence for convicted Aurora shooter Nathan Dunlap showed amazing fortitude, he tried to play all sides by avoiding a complete commutation to life in prison. We agree with Hickenlooper that the death penalty fails proponents and critics alike, and that a statewide conversation is long overdue. Hickenlooper misjudged that his controversial decisions would facilitate that. Like so much of what Hickenlooper has done, it was classic Hickenlooper unorthodoxy. But that quirky, non-conformist style has served the state well.

It’s not business as usual in Colorado, and there’s no denying that businesses like it. Would businesses like to be pandered to here? Sure. Would it be good for the state? Absolutely not. Are there things the state needs to do to improve how it deals with and regulates businesses? No doubt, but what’s needed is clear, consistent direction from the Legislature, not new administrative leadership.

Not only does Beauprez fail to show a need for change for all but the most extreme Colorado voters, but he failed in making a case that what he’s offering is better — it most certainly isn’t.

To his credit, Beauprez is a smart, thoughtful and compassionate man who is honest — to his own fault. He has said repeatedly that he is modern in his views of women’s reproductive rights and ensuring access to medical birth control. But he’s also repeatedly made clear that he is a deeply religious man who’s beholden to his Roman Catholic beliefs. He illustrated those beliefs last week when he explained that he lives by a Catholic definition of human fertilization and reproduction rather than a scientific one, claiming that inter-uterine birth control devices trigger abortions of fetuses. They do not, as the entire medical and scientific community points out.

But it’s hard to determine just what his allegiance to the Catholic church really is, because he’s a strong proponent of the death penalty, despite its costs and failings. That’s anathema to the Vatican.

He’s a proponent of less oil and gas regulation, especially in regards to fracking, in a state where the electorate, in urban and rural areas, has serious concerns about water and air quality issues related to drilling.

Beauprez says that Colorado needs to do more to improve public education and transportation, but he’s not willing to say that both of those issues need more money, and that can only come from raising taxes or substantially cutting other programs.

Beauprez is critical of Colorado’s health insurance exchange, which was successful in its first year despite incredible challenges. Colorado remains a leader in health-care reform and ways to bring the Affordable Care Act to life.

Beauprez wants more water storage, better roads, better schools and federal immigration reform. We all do. Hickenlooper, too. But while also calling for lower taxes and reduced spending, Beauprez clearly has no practical, realistic plan to get there.

Beauprez’ greatest asset as a leader is his compassion, sympathy and comforting rhetoric. But it takes much more than that to run the state. It takes ingenuity, determination and a willingness to risk making even your supporters unhappy for the greater good.

Hickenlooper has repeatedly shown he’s a good fit for the job of governor, and good fit for all of Colorado.