In The Denver Gazette, reporter Marianne Goodland details how Gov. Jared Polis abruptly canceled an unpublicized Friday morning meeting with the legislature’s Joint Budget Committee minutes before it was set to begin. The article says the 9 a.m. Capitol sit-down was scratched at 8:55 a.m., with a text between JBC Chair Jeff Bridges and Rep. Rick Taggart indicating the governor pulled the plug because a member had invited the media.
Goodland reports the JBC gathering was never publicly noticed as Colorado’s open meetings law requires, even though both Bridges and Taggart talked about it the day before. Colorado Politics still appeared for the meeting. After canceling, Polis gave an abbreviated budget briefing, meeting Taggart in person and Bridges remotely, ahead of his scheduled 12:30 p.m. press availability on the FY 2026–27 proposal due Nov. 1.
The Bullet Point Brief
- Five minutes before go time, Polis nixed a 9 a.m. JBC meeting because press might attend. That is not confidence. That is skittish.
- The meeting was not publicly noticed, as the open meetings law requires, yet it was discussed in a public hearing the day before. That is messy.
- After the cancellation, Polis briefed Taggart in person and Bridges online. Patchwork transparency is not transparency.
- Context: the JBC had just weighed a $10 million ask for food banks after SNAP’s freeze. Members questioned both the amount and raiding the general fund reserve.
- Alternatives existed. JBC notes say a disaster emergency reserve once held $475 million, and food banks can leverage dollars 3 to 1. Scale the response.
My Bottom Line
Polis is a ninny. If your budget plan cannot survive a few cameras, maybe the problem is not the cameras. Canceling a meeting five minutes before start time because journalists might watch sends one message: this administration prefers curated theater to accountable governance. Rep. Taggart drives 250 miles to show up. The governor should, too.
Here is the bigger tell. When the money gets real and the questions get pointed, this crew reaches for the dimmer switch. Open meetings are not optional. They are the job. If the plan is solid, say it out loud, on the record, with the public in the room. If it is not, fix it before breakfast instead of ducking at 8:55.
Source: The Denver Gazette
