Colorado State Treasurer Walker Stapleton and Democrat Congressman Jared Polis faced off at the gubernatorial debate at Colorado Mesa University Saturday. The debate was the first of the year to take place outside the front range.
During the debate, Stapleton stated that he doesn’t support tax increases for education because he doesn’t believe the tax money that is already collected is used wisely. He said that, as long as money is being siphoned off to other places from the taxes meant for education, the priority should be to better use the money they have.
Stapleton’s opponent, U.S. Representative for Colorado’s Second Congressional District Jared Polis, on the other hand, supports a tax raise for more money for education. He said that he has a plan to end decades of underinvestment in education and that he’s going to put the middle class first.
At the debate, which was moderated by Moderator of RMPBS’ “Insight” John Ferrugia, Daily Sentinel Political Reporter Charles Ashby and Former Daily Sentinel Editor and Instructor at CMU Denny Herzog, the questions covered education, as well as economic development, water and energy options, transportation, healthcare and immigration.
On the subject of water, Stapleton stated that he is pro water storage, whereas Polis wanted to look for alternatives. Stapleton supports farmers selling their water rights and accused Polis of trying to run the energy industry out of Colorado, which, according to Polis, will lose 230,000 jobs and $32 billion of economic impact.
Polis, on the other hand, stated that water and energy aren’t bipartisan problems. According to Polis, his goal is to give farmers other options and reward incentives for smart water usage, ensuring that they don’t have to sell their water rights short term.
While Stapleton accused Polis, who is against fracking, of not having Colorado’s best interests in mind, Polis said that he would never do anything unless it benefitted Colorado.
On the subject of energy, Stapleton said he supports all forms of energy for different needs while Polis envisions a world where we have no fossil fuels. Polis countered this by saying that he envisions using 100 percent renewable energy by 2040 and that compensation for those who use it exists. He said that, according to Xcel Energy, it costs 20 percent less to build new wind energy than it does to use existing coal.
Regarding transportation, Stapleton stated that Colorado’s needs are around roads and bridges, not prioritized toward bike lanes. Polis said his priority in Colorado is on strengthening the commute between eastern and western Colorado, mainly Interstate 70 and Highway 50.
Polis supports affordable healthcare for everyone, and said that his main goal was to save everyone money. Stapleton said that Polis’ healthcare plan was more expensive for Colorado.
According to Stapleton, we have chronically underfunded mental health in Colorado, and he said he’d make mental health a priority in terms of healthcare.
The debate can be found online at https://www.coloradomesa.edu/debate/#navigation-video. The Colorado Gubernatorial Election will take place on Nov. 6.
