I had lunch today with Rollie Heath - we both had brats at the Boulder Beer brew-pub (which is very good).
Rollie's a bit different duck from the other candidates I've talked to. Every other candidate I have talked to is on their way up. Many probably don't view themselves that way but with every other there is the likelihood that after serving in the office they are running for, eventually they will run for a higher office. That's not necessarily a good or bad thing, it's just part of the human condition.
But in the case of Rollie I think this is it. He sees the Senate seat as a place where he can bring his expertise to improve the state - and it ends there. And I think that can be a strong incentive to be as effective as possible in the Senate - because there is no need for him to make sure he is lining himself up for the next office he runs for.
The other big difference that struck me is Rollie's view is that of an executive, not a legislator. He's been in upper management for the last several decades. And he was the Democratic candidate for governor in 2002 which got him totally immersed in the job of the executive of the state.
This comes across in his discussion - in many ways he talks about how to approach it in terms that would make more sense of a gubernatorial candidate than a legislator. He never discussed the effort involved in creating and moving legislation forward but rather the big picture of why certain items needed to be accomplished.
He started off drilling me about my background. It's a common approach in business, but rare in a politician where they tend to prefer to sell themselves. It's a nice attribute personally but I don't know if it's effective in a legislator.
After the fast laundry list of important issues, he talked at length about how TABOR, etc. makes it impossible to accomplish anything and is aimed to devastate the state economy. He showed a very good understanding of all the pieces of this problem, why it had to be addressed, etc. And he understands that the voters of this state will insist on keeping the requirement of approving tax increases.
Ok, this is all good.
But then his solution is some Univ of Denver proposal to give 33 non-partisan individuals the right to propose amendments to 1/3 of the constitution every 10 years. So for the biggest political problem facing the state, he wants to take a very political question (what is in our constitution) and remove it from the legislature.
I asked what if that wouldn't pass or was declared unconstitutional (single issue requirement). He had no backup plan. It concerns me that Rollie understands that this impacts everything, and yet he has no backup plan and does not know if the plan he supports would be constitutional.
He then talked at length about how this region is becoming a nexus for renewable and alternative energy R&D and why we might be at a tipping point for this. Very spot-on observations about what this means for the state and why he thinks it is happening. It's not something that needs a lot of attention from the legislature but it is good that he sees it happening and understands its benefits and effects.
The last thing that he spoke at length on was education, primarily pre-K and post-secondary. He would like to see all-day pre-school for 3 and 4 year olds and all-day kindergarten. And more funding for higher-ed. But nothing about what they should be doing, how they should operate, etc.
Yes the legislative effort starts with funding. But without requirements, measurement, etc the money will usually end up being very inefficiently used. Considering his business background, it was surprising that nothing came up about how to implement such an effort.
I think Rollie shows a good understanding of what the state is facing and why these issues need to be addressed. I think most people in this district would find his priorities and votes agreeable. But I worry that he would be a back-bencher - a reliable vote, but not involved in the heavy lifting required to craft legislation and move it forward. On the flip side, a choir needs the chorus every bit as much as it needs the soloist.
note: I had coffee with Cindy Carlisle scheduled for later this week but she had to postphone it until after the county convention.
