Gazette article quoted misleading GOP criticism of Ritter, omitted "free-market" group behind mill-levy lawsuit

Summary: In an article about Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter (D), The Gazette of Colorado Springs on January 6 reported that the state "is facing a lawsuit over a property-tax freeze for schools that Ritter signed into law" and uncritically quoted a Republican legislator's criticisms that the governor showed "no agenda during his first year." However, the Gazette did not mention that the group behind the suit is the Independence Institute, which has a track record of bringing legal actions to promote its "free-market" agenda. Further, the article did not indicate that Ritter has accomplished a number of the major goals that he outlined in January 2007.

A January 6 article in The Gazette of Colorado Springs -- headlined "Honeymoon is over for governor" -- reported that "[t]he state is facing a lawsuit over a property-tax freeze for schools that [Democratic Gov. Bill] Ritter signed into law" without noting that the Independence Institute is behind the lawsuit. As Colorado Media Matters has documented, the "free-market" think tank has a history of bringing legal actions to advance its ideological agenda.

The Gazette also uncritically reported the attacks of state Senate Minority Leader Andy McElhany (R-Colorado Springs), who "criticized the governor for showing no agenda during his first year in office, despite the campaign goals he referred to as the 'Colorado Promise.' " The article quoted McElhany as saying, "Right now the only agenda I see is that he [Ritter] wants to raise a tax, but he doesn't know which one and he doesn't know what he wants to use the money for." However, as Colorado Media Matters has pointed out, Ritter during his first months in office signed numerous pieces of legislation related to his "Colorado Promise" agenda. Further, as the Associated Press reported on October 10, 2007 (accessed through the Nexis database), of the "28 commitments" Ritter made in his January 2007 State of the State speech, the governor "kept 18 and 10 are pending."

As the Gazette article by Ed Sealover reported, Ritter "used his first year in office to pass many largely popular renewable-energy measures and to appoint or add onto commissions studying the state's major problems: health care, education and transportation funding. Four months after the session ended, he was sitting on a 71 percent approval rating." The article continued:

Now those commissions have reported back their needs, and the best estimates just in those areas are $3 billion more a year. The state is facing a lawsuit over a property-tax freeze for schools that Ritter signed into law, and business groups that had backed the Democrat are angry over a November executive order he signed giving state employee unions more power.

The honeymoon is over.

However, the Gazette failed to point out that the lawsuit over Senate Bill 199 -- which freezes mill levy rates in order to redistribute sources of education funding between the state and individual school districts -- was filed by the Independence Institute and its president, Jon Caldara, who has a track record of bringing legal actions or initiating ballot campaigns to advance the think tank's ideological agenda.

The Gazette also uncritically reported McElhany's criticisms of the governor:

Senate Minority Leader Andy McElhany, R-Colorado Springs, criticized the governor for showing no agenda during his first year in office, despite the campaign goals he referred to as the Colorado Promise. Ritter seems to have no road map on how to meet even his worthy goals, such as reducing the high school dropout rate and insuring more Coloradans, he said.

However, the article did not indicate that in addition to signing legislation related to the Colorado Promise agenda unveiled during the 2006 gubernatorial campaign, Ritter last year reportedly accomplished a number of the goals outlined in his 2007 State of the State address. As the AP reported, Ritter's spokesman, Evan Dreyer, "emphasized that the Colorado Promise consists of long-term goals" and further noted that "[a] better way to measure the governor's performance, he said, is by promises Ritter made in his state of the state address in January [2007]." The AP further reported:

Of 28 commitments the governor made in January, Ritter kept 18 and 10 are pending, according to lists compiled by the AP and a separate list the governor's office is keeping.

Promises kept include adopting a Western Governors Association's resolution calling for a 20 percent improvement in the efficiency of electricity use by 2020, and creating a Clean Energy Fund to help transfer technology to the marketplace. For health care, Ritter set up a multistate drug purchasing pool to lower costs and provided more money for mental health services for people in jail.

Since the publication of the AP's October 10 article, Ritter also has fulfilled some of the other major promises made in his 2007 State of the State address:

• As the Post reported on October 16, 2007, "Gov. Bill Ritter on Monday unveiled a series of reform measures that he said could save the state nearly $150 million over the next five years. The efforts range from top-dollar efforts to detect Medicaid fraud to seemingly small savings that would eliminate multiple signature requirements for some human services programs."

• On November 20, 2007, Ritter unveiled the recommendations of his Transportation Finance and Implementation Panel, which seeks to identify "long-term sustainable programs and funding sources for transportation in Colorado."

• On November 27, 2007, Ritter's P-20 Education Coordinating Council issued its list of education reform proposals, "including new ways to pay teachers, different student achievement tests and more emphasis on preschool and kindergarten," as the Rocky Mountain News reported.

—C.H.