The Gazette reports that four gubernatorial candidates from both parties gathered in Glendale this week and, remarkably, found agreement on two things: Colorado has a business-climate problem, and Colorado has a housing affordability problem. That alone is notable because for years many members of the political class treated both concerns as either exaggerated, partisan, or somebody else’s problem. Now even major candidates are openly acknowledging what working Coloradans have been living.
The forum featured Attorney General Phil Weiser, U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, state Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer, and Victor Marx discussing housing, business regulation, permitting, energy policy, and economic competitiveness. There was plenty of agreement that Colorado faces challenges. The harder question is who intends to own the causes and, more importantly, what they are willing to change.
The Bullet Point Brief
- Candidates from both parties acknowledged Colorado has become less business-friendly and less affordable. Congratulations. Colorado politics has finally bumped into reality.
- Weiser pointed to permitting delays that take months or years in Colorado while other states approve projects in days. Turns out businesses enjoy hearing “yes” occasionally.
- Kirkmeyer argued eight years of one-party control have left Colorado unaffordable and pledged to claw back excessive regulations. She also emphasized predictability and stability for businesses making investment decisions.
- Bennet warned Colorado is losing businesses and competitiveness while pointing to housing, child care, and education costs as key barriers to growth.
- Everyone agreed there is a problem. The unanswered question is which sacred cows they are willing to slaughter to solve it.
My Bottom Line
This forum highlighted something that has been obvious to ordinary Coloradans for years.
Housing costs are crushing families. Businesses are questioning whether Colorado remains competitive. Young people wonder whether they can afford to stay here. Employers are battling labor shortages, regulatory drag, permitting delays, and rising costs.
And yet for years, much of the political conversation sounded like a press release pretending none of that was happening. Now suddenly everybody agrees there is a problem.
Wonderful.
The next question is far more important. Who caused it? Because Colorado did not become unaffordable by accident. It was managed into this ditch.
Housing prices did not magically explode. Construction costs did not materialize out of thin air. Permitting delays were not delivered by meteorites. Regulatory creep was not an act of God.
These were policy choices.
Years of boutique regulations. Endless permitting hurdles. Local obstruction. Fee creep. Energy mandates. Lawsuit bait. Bureaucratic expansion. Legislative experiments. Capitol theatrics marketed as compassion.
The bill eventually arrived.
And now families are paying it.
What struck me most about this forum was the gap between consensus and courage.
Consensus is easy.
Everyone can say housing is expensive.
Everyone can say business conditions are challenging.
Everyone can say affordability matters.
Courage requires naming the machinery that created the problem.
Which regulations get repealed?
Which permitting processes get streamlined?
Which mandates get reconsidered?
Which fees disappear?
Which local veto games end?
Which energy policies get rebalanced?
Which bureaucracies get told “no”?
Those are the questions that matter.
And frankly, I would extend some gentle criticism to the business community as well.
Too often business leaders ask for “certainty.”
Certainty is nice.
Sanity is better.
Businesses can adapt to almost any set of rules if those rules make sense. The bigger problem is when government keeps changing the rules, adding new layers, and treating economic growth like a side effect instead of a goal.
Colorado still has enormous strengths. We have incredible people. A skilled workforce. World-class industries. Energy resources. Agriculture. Aerospace. Technology. Higher education. Quality of life.
What we increasingly lack is policy discipline.
The next governor should be judged less by applause lines at forums and more by whether they are willing to tell activists, bureaucrats, special interests, and donor tribes something they rarely hear in modern politics:
No.
Because Colorado does not need another governor who can describe the problems.
Colorado needs one who is willing to dismantle some of the machinery that created them.
Source: The Gazette
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