Market Wrap, Thursday, June 11, 2009 9:11:51 AM
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Another article
by Jurijs Girtakovskis
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HAVING TROUBLE PRINTING?
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Yet, he acknowledged he needs to "do a better job" when it comes to communicating what he's done and that he will continue to travel the state to make his case directly to Colorado voters.
"I am mindful that some polling shows it's been a tough year," he said. "(But) I really trust Colorado voters. I don't say that to pander to them. I have watched them time after time after time do things that make me believe they get it, they understand it and so for me, far more important than polls is making the case directly to the people of this state how we've moved it forward... I don't believe the people of this state want to go back."
Ritter said he knows there are those who supported his campaign in 2006 who may now be shopping for a Democratic candidate to challenge him in a primary. He's read the reports quoting the pundits who say he's politically vulnerable.
"If I'm challenged, I will deal with that," he said. "You deal with the hand you're dealt. I'm willing to face a challenge if there is one. Hopeful, very hopeful that there's not."
Recently, firefighters accused Ritter of reneging on a campaign pledge to support a measure that would have given certain agencies the right to collectively bargain. His veto of Senate Bill 180 led some firefighters to protest and carry signs calling him a "liar." He said the bill would have overridden the decisions of some local voters who already rejected the concept for their firefighters.
"In campaigns, you can't deal with every nuance (of a bill) but it's important as the governor that you think about public policy from (a greater Colorado) perspective," he said.
The public spat with the firefighter unions came after grocery store workers criticized him vocally at one of his bill signings for vetoing a measure that would have given locked-out employees access to unemployment benefits. The governor said it would have placed the state in the middle of on-going negotiations between Colorado's grocery stores and its workers.
He said his record supporting working families includes measures in 2009 alone that helped struggling families avoid foreclosure and one that gave unemployed Coloradans longer access to benefits.
"I think there's a lot of labor that are very supportive, some are very disgruntled, I understand that," he said. "I believe in this job I'm in now, it's about focusing on Colorado and for me, it is important when I look at issues, I ask how does this impact Colorado families or Colorado workers and not just how does it impact one small group."
The former Denver District Attorney says he sees his State of the State address as analogous to an opening statement in a court trial and how you measure your success in any trial is whether you proved by the end what you alleged in the beginning. Using that measuring stick, he says he won the case surrounding the 2009 legislative session even if the media doesn't report it.
"I've said again and again and again over the last couple of months that I feel we've made historic progress on all these fronts (energy, education, health care and transportation), he said. "When you veto a bill, you get far more attention for that than if you sign four really significant measures that involve really big things for the people of this state."
