Gubernatorial hopefuls both face challenges

Alan Gathright and Stuart Steers, Rocky Mountain News

Published August 9, 2006 at midnight

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REPUBLICAN

Beauprez says diverse résumé will win voters

Bob Beauprez hopes to corral Colorado's governorship by pitching himself as a dairy farmer-turned-banker who can champion both rural folks and the urban business community.

In contrast, he wants to brand his Democratic foe, former Denver District Attorney Bill Ritter, as a man who spent his career as a "Denver lawyer" and knows little outside the big, liberal city.

"I know this state corner to corner," the Republican congressman from suburban Denver's 7th District said in his gritty drawl.

But analysts say Beauprez has some serious making up to do over last year's Referendum C, which allowed the cash-poor state to keep nearly $5 billion in tax refunds over five years. Beauprez's opposition to Ref C steamed some Republican business leaders and moderates.

"I think there's a lot of people in the business community who . . . want confidence that he is not going to be hacking and slashing key areas of the budget," said Katy Atkinson, a Republican political consultant. "They'd rather see more support for higher education. They want to see support for highways and water (projects)."

Beauprez was clearly undaunted on primary night, taking the stage at a steamy Lakewood sports bar amid raucous hoots, applause and whistles. When he spoke, it was to put a bruising early battle against fellow Republican Marc Holtzman behind him.

"It's great to feel the energy in this room - the unity in this room," he said, to a gathering that included many state GOP luminaries. "That's what tonight is about . . . we unite as a party because we are the party that's going to lead this state."

Beauprez, 57, believes his successful, wide-ranging career - dairy farmer and cattle breeder, hometown banker and developer, congressman - gives him firsthand insights into the challenges and opportunities facing Colorado's economy and its people.

"I think my diverse life experience top-to- bottom prepares me well" for the job, he said.

Ritter's résumé, he said, doesn't measure up.

"I don't make light of the career Bill's had, but he went to law school, became a lawyer and has spent his entire career in the city and county of Denver in the DA's office," Beauprez said. "Bill's never run a business, how can he run the business of the state?"

Political observers say both candidates face the post-primary challenge of making a good first impression on voters statewide.

As for his issue with Ref C, Beauprez said, "The problem I had . . . was not that the state didn't have a legitimate need for money . . . The problem I had was that (Ref C) . . . gave government a whole bunch more money, but fixed nothing."

Beauprez said he would have bought time to solve the systemic problems by using his savvy to leverage funding from the state's tobacco settlement and the state's $8 billion in real estate assets.

"When I talk to business people or people who were on the pro-side of C, they seem to get that," he added.

What's the race's biggest challenge?

The congressman candidly said he's run into voters, especially in the metro area, who are downcast about the economy, while he sees "reasonably good economic numbers."

"It really is the metro area that seems to have this kind of persistent nausea," he said. "People are just kind of 'bluh.' It's almost like maybe you ought to take some Pepto-Bismol to settle your stomach.

"And some of it is legitimate. I know that some of the car dealers are really scrambling, and I know that housing starts are off."

How does he respond?

"I look at Colorado, and every single one of our primary employment sectors - every one of them - has a tremendous upside . . . I think: What a place to be.

"What you've got to do is say, 'OK, we've got some issues to deal with today. How do we deal with those immediate issues in a way that sets the stage for a much better, more hopeful, more optimistic future?' "

- Alan Gathright

DEMOCRAT

Ritter: Investment needed if state to live up to promise

Bill Ritter believes Coloradans are ready for a leader who will use state government to aggressively tackle problems, and they realize it will take money to do it.

"The heart of our message is that the governor of Colorado has the ability to make a difference in people's lives," said Ritter.

"You have to have an investment mentality to do that. You invest in people — education, public health and transportation. If you don't do those things you fall short of our ability to live up to the Colorado promise."

Ritter, 49, the Democratic nominee for governor, is running in a state where Republican and independent voters outnumber Democrats. To win, he'll need to reach out to rural voters, sportsmen and business people — groups that have traditionally tended to vote Republican.

Ritter's biggest challenge is to introduce himself to Coloradans who know little about him, said political analyst Eric Sondermann.

"Voters are curious who he is," he said. "He needs to tell his life story."

The former Denver district attorney says that is exactly what he's doing.

"We're not thinking about this in terms of Republicans or Democrats," said Ritter. "Sportsmen understand a legitimate role of government is to protect the things that are special about this state. Republican business people get the notion of investment. This is a message of hope about the possibilities for this state."

Ritter was a strong supporter of last fall's Referendum C, which allowed the state to spend several billion dollars that would otherwise have been returned to taxpayers. His opponent, Republican Congressman Bob Beauprez, opposed Ref C.

Many Republican business people supported Ref C, and Ritter has used that to boost his campaign.

Next week, dozens of Republican business executives will gather at a breakfast to meet Ritter. That meeting is being hosted by Blair Richardson, who served as finance chair for Marc Holtzman's campaign for governor. Several Republicans active in the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce have been introducing Ritter to business people around the state.

People who know Ritter from his 12-year stint as Denver's top lawman are often surprised to discover he has rural roots. He grew up on a farm on the eastern Plains, one of 12 children. After Ritter's father abandoned the family, he began working construction jobs at age 14 to help support his family.

"I understand working people's struggles," said Ritter.

Ritter went on to work his way through college and law school.

He also served as a Catholic missionary in Africa for several years. His Catholic faith leads him to oppose abortion, something that early on upset many people in his own party. However, after assuring Democrats that he would not work to outlaw abortion, most of them have united behind his candidacy.

Dozens of enthusiastic Democrats gathered around Ritter at the state party headquarters on Santa Fe Drive in Denver election night. Ritter said he has traveled to almost every county in the state, including a recent visit to the Rio Blanco county fair in Meeker.

"We're in a great place in this state," said Ritter. "We're doing everything we can to communicate our message."

Ritter said he has been especially pleased with the response to his campaign in rural Colorado.

Beauprez is expected to paint him as a liberal Denver lawyer who was soft on crime during his years as district attorney. Ritter says he sent 12,000 people to prison during his tenure.

"We doubled the number of people we put in prison," he said. "We'll never apologize for the conduct of that office."

As for Beauprez, Ritter portrays him as a cynical member of the Washington establishment who earned the nickname "Both Ways Bob" for his ability to take different positions at different times. He says Beauprez has said contradictory things on illegal immigration, oil and gas drilling and other issues, and his opposition to Ref C shows he doesn't understand what makes the economy tick.

"He has no plan for how we go forward," said Ritter. "There's no economic development plan without a transportation and public education system for the 21st century."

- Stuart Steers

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