State treasurer race may hinge on watchdog image

April M. Washington, Rocky Mountain News

Published October 23, 2006 at midnight

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The contest for Colorado treasurer may come down to which candidate voters believe will make the best public watchdog to oversee billions in taxpayer funds.

Both candidates are equally matched when it comes to their appeal to voters and government experience, say political observers.

So much so that politicos and newspaper editorials proclaim that voters are fortunate to have two good candidates in Republican Mark Hillman, 39, and Democrat Cary Kennedy, 38.

"In a down-ticket race that's not on television, the voters don't get a good feel about either candidate," said political consultant Katy Atkinson.

Hillman could win because he's gotten most newspapers' endorsements, with one exception, said Atkinson.

" Kennedy could win because it's a good year to be Democrat. It's basically a tie," she said.

The statewide race for treasurer has largely been overshadowed by the more contentious contests for governor as well as hot-button, controversial ballot measures.

But the post of state treasurer is seen as a major training ground and springboard for ambitious politicians who look to eventually vie for top elected offices such as governor or U.S. senator.

"If I were one of the Democrat zillionaires, I would see this race as an opportunity to strangle a rising star from one party and manufacture a rising star from the other party," said state Sen. Shawn Mitchell, R-Broomfield.

In the final weeks before the Nov. 7 election, Hillman and Kennedy are working overtime to strike a clear contrast.

The candidates are even in fundraising. Kennedy has reportedly raised $345,000, slightly less than the $348,000 Hillman has reportedly taken in, according to recent campaign filings.

Both Hillman and Kennedy say they're uniquely qualified for the job.

Hillman says his public record as a Republican leader in the state Senate and as acting treasurer for 10 months makes him the better candidate.

Hillman served as acting treasurer while Republican State Treasurer Mike Coffman served in Iraq.

"I think my experience in actually having owned and managed a business, combined with my experience with tough decisions we have to make in state government to balance the budget, makes me more qualified for the job than my opponent," he said.

As acting treasurer, Hillman was credited, in part, for pushing for reforms to shore up the state's beleaguered pension fund.

He and GOP Gov. Bill Owens made fixing the $11.3 billion shortfall in the Public Employees Retirement Association a top priority during the 2006 legislative session.

Some of Hillman's and Owens' reforms embedded in a Democratic measure enacted this year included expanding a 401(k) pension option for new and current state workers and boosting the mandatory retirement age to mirror that of the private sector.

Kennedy, who portrays herself as a fiscal public watchdog, touts her long history "working with and managing Colorado's finances."

She co-authored the 2000 Amendment 23 school finance plan and worked as a fiscal analyst for former Gov. Roy Romer's administration.

She also served as a policy director for Democratic House Speaker Andrew Romanoff and helped craft Referendum C, a budget-bailout measure passed by voters last year and strongly opposed by Hillman.

"I have for 10 years been working with Republicans and Democrats and business leaders to build bipartisan solutions to the state's financial challenges," she said.

But Hillman assailed Kennedy's record, saying she and other supporters of Amendment 23 are largely responsible for the budget shortfalls that made it necessary for voters to bail out the state with Ref C.

The state, he said, has been forced to increase school spending each year as a result of Amendment 23, regardless of its financial condition.

"I'm the only candidate that tried to attack TABOR (the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights) and Amendment 23," he said. "Cary is supported by a group that doesn't believe Amendment 23 goes far enough."

Kennedy has come under fire for what some critics say is her propensity to want to put complicated measures into the state constitution.

Editorials endorsing Hillman point to Kennedy's latest support of two controversial Nov. 7 ballot measures: Amendment 42, which proposes to raise the minimum wage, and Amendment 41, which would ban lobbyists' gifts to elected officials and government employees and their family members.

Kennedy defended her efforts to improve school funding, stamp out big-money influence at the state Capitol and pad the paychecks of working-class Coloradans.

"Amendment 23 made education the first priority in our state's budget, not the last," she said. "It was always the first line item in the state's budget to be cut, which is why we fell so far behind in funding our public schools."

Kennedy also denounced her critics as putting the interests of big business over the needs of working families.

"I think far too many families are working long hours and not earning enough to pay the bills," she said. "The minimum wage in Colorado is as low as it has been in real dollars in more than 40 years."

She criticized Hillman for failing to open Colorado's books to taxpayers by not publishing a detailed annual report that shines a light on the state's finances and investments.

Kennedy proposes creating a Web site that would give taxpayers a comprehensive snapshot of the state's finances.

Hillman called Kennedy's plan a "publicity stunt" and one that would only duplicate information already available in the state's annual budget and on the treasurer's existing Web site.

Cary Kennedy

• Born: June 20, 1968, in Norwalk, Conn.

• Occupation: Former policy director for House Speaker Andrew Romanoff; resigned in December to run

• Education: Graduated from Manual High School, 1986; holds bachelor's degree in English from St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y., 1990; master's degree in public administration from Columbia University, 1993; law degree from University of Denver, 1995

• Work history: Budget officer for former Gov. Roy Romer's administration, 1995-1997; budget officer, Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, 1998-1999; policy director, Educare Colorado, 2000-2002

• Family: Married, two children

• Campaign issues: Plans to push for greater transparency in the treasurer's office. Proposes creating a Web site to detail the state's finances.

Mark Hillman

• Born: May 24, 1967, in Burlington

• Occupation: Owns and operates a family farm near Burlington; former acting state treasurer; former state senator

• Education: Graduated from Burlington High School, 1985; attended Colby Community College in Kansas, Morgan Community College and Regis College

• Work history: Sports editor and general assignment reporter for The Burlington Record, 1984-1994; freelance writer, 1994-present.

• Family: Married

• Campaign issues: Proposes to introduce long-term fiscal strategies that enable the state to meet current funding needs while setting aside more revenue in rainy-day funds to cushion the state during lean times. Pledges to foster economic development and job growth by phasing out "senseless taxes and regulations that punish businesses for creating jobs and investing in manufacturing and infrastructure."

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