Veto politically smart, observers say

Governor needs business backing for his initiatives

Lynn Bartels And Stuart Steers, Rocky Mountain News

Saturday, February 10, 2007

Gov. Bill Ritter's bombshell veto - at first blush a big gamble - was a politically astute maneuver that influential Democrats outside the Statehouse have been lobbying him for weeks to make, observers said.

These behind-the-scenes power brokers reminded the new Democratic governor that he needs the business community's support for his initiatives on health care, on transportation, on prison recidivism.

When Ritter spoke to the Colorado Contractors Association last month, Denver attorney David Foster, a Democrat, appealed to the governor afterward to veto the controversial labor union measure.

"I said I thought that at this particular time his role should be to first do no harm," Foster said Friday. "I just didn't know that there was a compelling reason to change the Labor Peace Act."

What ramifications the governor may face because of the veto remain to be seen.

Fewer than 8 percent of private-sector workers are unionized in Colorado, some argue, so the union vote is a relatively small constituency.

Others say labor's influence should not be underestimated.

Some pundits have pointed out that if Ritter had signed the bill, it could have triggered a backlash in support of a right-to-work ballot measure.

Republicans outnumber Democrats in Colorado, but some say a right-to-work initiative still could succeed with voters.

In the end, Ritter went against the lawmakers in his own party who had spent weeks defending the measure.

"Shock and awe," said Preston Oade, a labor affairs lawyer with Holmes, Roberts & Owens.

"The governor's veto is a strong display of statesmanship, which prevailed over politics. He is leading, not following."

Republicans, for their part, were clearly happy.

The unusual skirmish so early in the session signals that the Statehouse is a different political arena for Ritter, who previously served in the less partisan position of Denver district attorney.

Ritter took office Jan. 9, succeeding Republican Gov. Bill Owens.

"In the first term of the Owens administration, the rule was if he had to veto a bill, his lobbyists weren't doing a good job," said GOP political consultant Katy Atkinson.

"This bill just got away from Ritter. It definitely was not what he wanted to see happen."

Atkinson said she believes the fight cost Ritter political capital.

In order to get major health care reform through the legislature - a top priority for Ritter - he will need the support of both business and labor.

"Now he's made both of them mad," she said. "Labor doesn't trust him and neither does business."

But the reality is that labor leaders still would rather have a Democrat in the governor's office.

Even disappointed Democratic lawmakers said they understood Ritter's motives.

Sen. Jennifer Veiga, D-Denver, said she still believes her union proposal was modest and practical, but it became impossible to fight the perception that it was ruinous for business.

Compare that to eight years ago when Republicans controlled the legislature and Owens vetoed five bills - all sponsored by the GOP. He hosted a kiss-and-make-up luncheon at the Governor's Mansion to smooth over the ruffled feathers.

After Ritter's veto was announced, various Republican factions elbowed each other getting to the front to take credit for the defeat.

"We led the campaign to educate Coloradans how this proposal would have taken choices away from workers," bragged Jon Caldara, president of the Independence Institute.

"Ritter heeds GOP-led outcry," crowed the headline on the Senate Republicans' press Web site, noting their eight-hour filibuster last week on the measure.

Sen. Josh Penry, R-Fruita, always the statesman, was more contained.

"This veto proves that a well-organized and spirited minority can change the course of events in this Democratic controlled Capitol," said Penry, who helped lead the filibuster.

"We deserve credit for fighting, and the governor deserves credit for making the politically tough but necessary decision."

All 20 Democrats in the Senate supported the bill, as did 36 of the 39 Democrats in the House.

Only Reps. Bernie Buescher, of Grand Junction, Cheri Jahn, of Wheat Ridge, and Alice Borodkin, of Denver, voted against it.

What they're saying

"I know it had to be an extraordinary decision for him to make. I'm encouraged by the governor. He was very thoughtful through the process. He said that if we are going to do something that changes labor law in this state, we're going to go through more thoughtful process. I have tremendous respect for a decision on that basis."

Walter Isenberg,

Denver hotel magnate and Democratic power broker

bartels@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5327