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Bill Ritter has the right stuff for governor

Published September 29, 2006 at midnight

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Bill Ritter for governor.

Yes, you heard right. We believe that the former Denver district attorney, despite his inexperience outside the law enforcement realm, is the better of two good candidates running for Colorado's top job.

True, our endorsement today is a bit of a gamble given Ritter's limited experience. It could even turn out to be a major mistake. But based on the Bill Ritter we've known over the years and watched on the campaign trail, we don't think that's likely. It will be an error only if Ritter himself proves to be a reckless liar, and we've seen no evidence for that being the case.

To the contrary, while there are many unknowns regarding Ritter, the state of his integrity is not one of them. We've followed his career since his appointment as Denver DA in 1993, and he has shown himself to be a person who means what he says, with little of the ducking and spinning that characterizes many politicians.

Why is this important? Because during his spell as DA, Ritter took public positions on a narrow range of issues, mostly involving criminal justice. He doesn't have a record managing a major enterprise outside of law enforcement, or dealing with a wide range of policy issues as a legislator. He is not on record before this year regarding the majority of matters he'd be dealing with as governor. So there is no way to verify whether what he now describes as his opinions regarding the proper role of government in everything from business regulation to higher education are long-held convictions or the carefully designed themes of campaign consultants.

We're betting the real Ritter is the political moderate we've seen on the campaign trail. And if he holds true to that vision and his pledges, he'll make a fine governor. He'll ensure Referendum C revenue is spent as voters intended it; he'll pursue a balanced transportation plan that doesn't shortchange highway improvements; he'll be a strong supporter of higher education but refuse to give a green light to state schools that seek to raid parents' pocketbooks with impunity; he'll function as a sober-minded check on most of the wilder legislative schemes that would stifle economic growth and job creation; he'll appoint mostly moderate judges in the mold, say, of former Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Love Kourlis, whom he has pointedly praised; and he'll bring in smart managers who'll pay attention to the nuts and bolts of administration.

With Ritter, Colorado also will get a governor who will not be rushed to judgment. Perhaps his most attractive quality is the methodical, thorough way he sifts through an issue before reaching his opinion - an essential skill given the inevitable surprises of the job. In 1998, when Gov. Bill Owens was elected, who could have predicted Columbine or the worst falloff in state revenues since the Great Depression? Who could have imagined 9/11?

Granted, some of what Ritter says makes us uneasy. He has grossly oversold renewable energy as a tool of economic development. Will he push the state to go on a perilous energy diet in the name of combating global warming, as California seems poised to do? He talks about K-12 education funding as if Colorado were in worse shape than almost every other state, when that isn't close to the truth. Will "more money" be the answer to every question regarding education reform and student achievement during his tenure? We hope not.

Our choice was not an easy one, since we also admire Ritter's Republican opponent, Bob Beauprez. Indeed, we have to believe the 7th District congressman - whom we've endorsed both times he's run - would certainly make a better governor than he has let on during this campaign. For that matter, the most powerful argument for electing Beauprez may be to preserve a divided government in a state where the legislature is likely to remain dominated by Democrats.

This is a legislature that in the past two years, despite real accomplishments, has churned out a remarkable array of cockamamie measures that would have curtailed economic freedom and enhanced the power of such Democratic stalwarts as trial lawyers and unions. (One especially ignorant bill that passed allowed the state to "opt out" of international trade agreements.) Owens vetoed most of those bills and Beauprez undoubtedly would veto similar ones in the future. Fortunately, Ritter insists he'd spike the bulk of such legislation, too.

For us, the tipping point between the two men has to do with their campaigns. To be blunt, Beauprez's performance during the past 15 months has not been reassuring. It began with his taking an unconvincing stand against Referendum C, one seemed designed to secure his right flank rather than satisfy personal conviction. It continued with his mysterious embrace and then repudiation of Amendment 38, and a couple of verbal gaffes. And for a long time it wasn't clear why Beauprez even wanted to be governor. Only recently - too late in our view - have his positions begun to gel into a focused, coherent message.

This newspaper has watched Ritter under fire and seen him take on new challenges. In everything he does there's a certain steadiness that we believe Coloradans will find reassuring.

Eighteen months ago Ritter was an improbable candidate whom few gave a chance of grabbing the Democratic Party's nomination, given his anti-abortion views. Now he's poised to defy the odds and become the next governor. Fortunately for Coloradans, he's shown he deserves it.