Listen to 'RTD Off the Rails'

RTD and its Fastracks rail system are a mess. In his June 11 radio special, John Andrews asked why. The podcast is now up. As you remember, a big tax increase was proposed, then postponed. RTD’s general recently quit and left town. So what put this thing so far over budget? If we raise taxes again, what reason is there to trust the agency for this time? And what are the affordable alternatives for metro mobility that special interests ignore?

Click here to listen to "Under the Dome: RTD Off the Rails." This is John's hour-long conversation with State Rep. Spencer Swalm, a specialist in market solutions for transportation... Kevin Holst, Denver attorney and citizen activist... and Jon Caldara, former RTD board chairman who's now president of the Independence Institute.

It's the latest in our monthly series on key issues for Coloradans.

Dems' arrogant money grab worsens

If legislative Democrats in 2007 were devious for passing Gov. Ritter's infamous property tax hike without voter approval, the 2009 crop plunges to new depths. In an act of sheer arrogance, this year's Democrat majority poked taxpayers in the eye just for spite.

Recall that the aforementioned property tax hike increases the burden on local property owners while reducing the state's obligation to fund K-12 education.

Recall also that Colorado's constitution says that no "tax policy change directly causing a net revenue gain" can be enacted without a vote of the people and that this policy change increased property tax revenues by $117 million in the first year alone.

Finally, recall that crafty Democrats hinged permission for their tax hike on 174 separate, previous votes by taxpayers in all but four of the state's 178 school districts. Never mind that those voters were repeatedly assured by school and state officials that their taxes would not increase as a result.

Not satisfied that the Colorado Supreme Court slipped this nonsense through a previously undiscovered loophole in the state constitution, Democrats added arrogance to insult by swiftly passing bill to now prevent any of those 174 school districts from reconsidering.

That's arrogance, plain and simple.

For 13 years after voters adopted the Taxpayers Bill of Rights (TABOR), the Department of Education and local school districts reassured property owners that they could loosen revenue limits on their local schools without making themselves vulnerable to a tax increase by the legislature.

They took this position not because CDE or local school boards are staunch defenders of TABOR but because they were following state law.

Then in 2007, the legislature unilaterally decided to change the law, to impose an immediate tax increase on property owners - and to retroactively change the result of those 174 local elections, all the while arguing that it was precisely those elections that permitted the tax hike in the first place.

As a result, property owners in those districts are now paying higher taxes - not so their schools can receive more money, but so the state can take the money it previously spent on K-12 education and spend it on social welfare programs instead.

However, the four districts that never waived their school's revenue limits remain exempt from the legislature's shenanigans. In those districts, the growth of local property tax revenues is limited and the state must provide any additional money necessary to fully fund those schools.

A reasonable taxpayer - or school board member - in one of the school districts now being soaked by the state might see this disparity and decide that the local school district should reconsider its decision to waive all revenue limits. After all, it's one thing for property owners to permit local school to "keep the change" and quite another to permit the state to raise taxes, too.

Now thanks to Senate Bill 291, which was opposed by every Republican at the state capitol, districts that loosened the tax limits under the old law are forbidden from reinstituting those limits now that the law has changed. If they do, the state will punish their children by withholding funds from their school.

This from the party that claims to do everything "for the children." In reality, the Democrats do everything "for the government" and aren't above using your children as hostages in their extortion racket.

It's hard to imagine how the state's constitutional mandate to provide a "thorough and uniform system of free public schools" could be interpreted to allow one school to be penalized solely because of the way its residents vote.

However, Colorado Democrats have already proven that they will ignore the constitution when it's inconvenient and that the state supreme court can be counted on to back them up.

Mark Hillman served as senate majority leader and state treasurer. To read more or comment, go to www.MarkHillman.com

Deficit clouds mayoral race

Editor: Randy Pye, the only mayor the young city of Centennial has ever had, can't run again. Two hopefuls are already in the field to succeed him, Councilman Todd Miller and former Charter Commission Chair Cathy Noon. The election is this November, and others may jump in. Local taxpayer advocate Ron Phelps offers these thoughts: =====================

Like other municipalities, the city of Centennial faces tough financial decisions in the coming months. The City recently held a special meeting to ponder how to deal with the tough times ahead.

The City Council’s initial steps include cutting approximately $3M from public works from the 2009 adopted budget. Some public works will go forward, and no services or staff will be reduced. With anywhere from $200K to $1.7M more to resolve for 2009, they will meet again in July to make additional decisions.

For 2010, the City also needs to resolve the projected deficit of approximately $3M. This will also be discussed in July.

All of this falls right smack into the upcoming City elections. With two announced candidates for Mayor, I think it’s essential that all of Centennial’s citizens learn how the candidates propose to solve the City’s financial challenges.

How relevant are Tea Parties to GOP?

What next? The Tea Party movement is simply not going to be co-opted by the Republican Party. It's not a creation thereof, and it'ssimply not made for the kind of team politics required by any political party.

In order to benefit from the movement, the Republicans will have to earn their trust, and prove that they mean to live by what we say are our foundational principles - smaller government, lower taxes, more personal liberty. The Republicans can benefit from the movement, but they can neither control nor direct it.

In any event, the next elections are over 18 months away, the next nomination assemblies almost a year out. What can the movement accomplish in the meantime?

This is a movement tailor-made for the initiative process. To push initiatives that clarify for an intentionally myopic State Supreme Court that TABOR means what it says; that retain our control over an initiative process whose purpose is to rein in the legislature; that reassert our state's prerogatives as a sovereign entity, not merely an administrative district for the federal government.

This answer will make Republicans uncomfortable, since by definition, it doesn't involve getting them elected. But it does involve teaching these newly-created activists how to organize for action, getting them savvy about the political process, and creating results that will get them taken seriously by those who matter right now. It's a valuable tool in the maturation process of a movement that should be the party's natural allies in showing - again - that our ideas, when present free of personal political ambition,win.

It's one reason why the Democrats - even now - are plotting to make the initiative process, the one process in state government they don't control - subject to as much rule-bound litigation as possible. They are co-opting Republican goodwill in cleaning up potential fraud, spinning it as a mutual belief that the citizenry needs to be brought under control.

At the end of the day, Republicans have enough institutional staying-power to be there when the movement has matured. Libertarians are simply not going to get elected to anything, although libertarian-leaning Republicans can. The party may have to wait to reap the benefits of this movement, and certain team members may find themselves uncomfortable with certain agenda items they have to sign onto. News flash: not all Democrats are socialists, although that's the agenda of the party.

Too many Republican office-holders and office-seekers will be unhappy with this answer. But if the party tries and fails to control the movement, it will be seen as irrelevant and meddling. If it tries and succeeds, it will only strangle the baby in the cradle. Colorado has one of the most open and welcoming citizen initiative processes in the country, for the time being. Let's make the best use of it for our ideas, and if we deserve it, the elected offices and day-to-day governance will come our way.

Tea reports from across Colorado

From Colorado Springs, Steamboat Springs, and Loveland, along with a terrific photo essay on Denver, here are more party reports as compiled by Karen Kataline and John Andrews. Sean Paige of Colorado Springs posted his report here. Reach him seanpaige@msn.com

Jennifer Schubert-Akin filed copy from Steamboat as shown below. Reach her at jschubertakin@marathonaccounting.com

Jack Rudd checked in from Loveland, also as shown below. Reach him at jgrudd@comcast.net

Plus a fotog friend of Karen's provides these pictures you'll love from the State Capitol event.

Today in Loveland, Colorado our "tea party" had about 1000 people...

lining the very busy streets near the intersection of federal highways 34 and 287.

For three hours there was very enthusiastic sign waving, flag waving, jumping and hollering, which a large percentage of motorists reciprocated with honking and waving and thumbs-up. There was a fife and drum group but no speakers. There was one guy trying (with not much success) to collect an e-mail list for the county Republicans, but (unlike at Denver) there were no politicians in evidence. This group was not "led" by anyone; although (like the other tea parties) it was probably inspired by Rick Santelli's famous rant on CNBC.

It was a very tidy group. People picked up their own trash, except that I did see a couple of teabags in the street.

I saw no pro-Bush or pro-Obama signs, and only one pro-Paul sign. About one car in 100 had a pro-Obama bumper sticker, and the drivers of these cars tended either to look puzzled or to scowl or to flip an obscene gesture.

Everyone seemed to be aware of the silly DHS "report" in advance of today's protests "warning" about all manner of potential right-wing extremism. Napolitano and company were so clueless (or politically clumsy, take your pick) that even the White House is reported to be distancing itself from the report. Thus many folks at today's rally were commenting jocularly about the great turnout of "right-wing extremists" and what a good omen that is for America.

Among the signs being waved:

"I'm the right-wing extremist that DHS warned you about."

"Government is the biggest pirate."

"Elephants and asses screwing the masses"

"Liberty is all the stimulus we need"

"Big government sucks"

"No to Socialism"

"You spent all the money we had"

"Born free, becoming slaves"

etc., etc., etc. There must have been 100 or more unique messages on the signs.

As expected, nobody I talked with saw any media presence at this protest. I guess the liberal MSM will just try to pretend that we were never here. Some protesters were taking pictures and film to prove otherwise on the Web.

Congratulations, all 200+ of you tea partiers who turned out in Steamboat Springs today!!!

We had downtown Steamboat Springs rockin' with calls for an end to HIGH TAXES AND OUT-OF-CONTROL GOVERNMENT SPENDING!!

With our Tea Party located immediately next to U.S. Hwy 40, which runs through the heart of downtown, we had constant horns honking and pumped fists from passing motorists and, especially, the truckers!!

And, our crowd loved the personalized recorded messages from Steve Moore at the Wall Street Journal and Dan Mitchell and Chris Edwards of The Cato Institute, as well as the inspiring messages delivered live in person by our local citizens.

And...Denver's NBC affilliate, 9News, even remarked on "the large protest outside the Routt County Courthouse in Steamboat Springs"!!

Now...to answer the dozens of you who came up to me after the rally and asked, "where do we go from here" and "how can we keep this going?".....

ANNOUNCING THE FORMATION OF THE: "1773 CLUB" This will be an informal, non-partisan group of citizens who will meet regularly to discuss the important issues facing our country. Please reply to let us know if you would be interested in participating and, if so.....

* How often would you like to meet? Monthly, bi-weekly, or other? * What time of day would work best for you? Breakfast, lunch or after work?

If there is sufficient interest, we will design "1773 Club" hats and shirts, which will surely annoy lots of liberal tax-and-spenders!!

Stay tuned for future announcements........

Jennifer Schubert-Akin jschubertakin@marathonaccounting.com Director - The Steamboat Institute (www.steamboatinstitute.org) Steamboat Springs, Colorado 970-871-9936