Governor Ritter was gracious enough to give me ½ hour of his time for an interview this morning. When I walked in he was writing an email on his PDA so he's definitely technically literate. (But it wasn't an iPhone so that adversly impacts his coolness level.)
Most politicians are loquacious to a fault. Some of my interviews have consisted of me going uh-huh every 5 minutes and otherwise just listening. Governor Ritter is at the other end – short to the point answers. Nothing extra, no tangents, just a short clear answer to the question. He clearly has never been in private practice where they bill by the hour.
Generally I appreciate short concise conversations. But in these interviews I try to get the individual to go on and on because what's most interesting is what the veer off in to. I never got that in this case – I don't know if that speaks to who Bill Ritter is or just how he handles press interviews. He definitely isn't giving up any information that isn't requested. With that said, he was very friendly and open in his answers.
So I started off asking him what his priorities are this year and he told me he has three:
- Jobs
- Jobs
- Jobs
He said that in our present situation everything revolves around improving the job picture. What's interesting is he didn't talk about the other pieces of this, not about a robust economy, not about companies surviving – it was just boosting employment. I think he understands that there is a lot that goes in to increasing employment but he clearly is focused on one key result – more jobs. And short term that probably does make the most sense for a governor.
He sees that state efforts on this front as threefold, the transportation bill, the set of economic development bills moving through the legislature, and making the most effective use of the federal money that's coming. He went on at some length about how it is the duty of the state to make sure that the federal money is spent on the projects that make the most sense and is spent responsibly. He spoke to the fact that this is taxpayer money and therefore the state must treat it responsibly.
With all the recent stories of political corruption we have heard throughout the country, and even here in Colorado, it's nice to listen to someone who sees his primary job with all of the federal money we are about to get to be that we handle it effectively & responsibly. It sounds almost trite when he says it, yet it is all too rare that our political leaders take this approach.
I asked him if he could have any bill he wanted passed what would it be. And he instantly answered the transportation bill. He sees it as a needed step today to resolve major problems that we already have. And it is a needed part of a long term solution, but not sufficient to cover everything. He sees that long term gas taxes won't cut it because of the move to better mileage and alternative fuels. He talked a bit about cars paying taxes based on weight and mileage driven over a year as the most likely future.
He talked a little about health care, virtually not at all about alternative energy, and some about making sure we keep the industries of the future we here in business and investment coming in. He said high-tech is in the best shape (so apparently I don't have to worry). This wasn't a discussion about growing any of this, just holding our position through this crisis. And I think that is a good approach to take on this.
He had nothing else that the state could do to address the economic mess we are in. I would have liked to hear something, but I'm not sure there is anything significant we can do (aside from decriminalizing drugs) that would have a major effect. The smart thing would be to approve a major bond for infrastructure improvement across the state – but TABOR is written so that is impossible for 2 years (thanks Doug).
So what do we get with Bill Ritter? He definitely comes across as a straightforward no-nonsense guy who is focused on the nuts & bolts of running the state. No soaring rhetoric, no grand proposals to address major problems in new ways. What we do get is someone running the state well and doing the best he can with the tools available to him. And a single-minded focus on jobs. After the disasters wreaked upon our state by the economic idiocy of Bill Owens/Doug Bruce/etc. quiet competence looks damn good to me.
