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FOX 31 political reporter Eli Stokols recognizes Colorado legislators at the mid-session mark for their achievements both on and off the playing field.
REP. JACK POMMER, (D) BOULDER - MOST CONTROVERSIAL As House sponsor of several controversial bills to close existing tax exemptions, Pommer has drawn the ire of the GOP for his high-volume rhetoric both in favor of the budget-balancing proposals and for stating that "businesses don't care about Colorado" during one contentious debate on the House floor. Pommer, who chairs the Joint Budget Committee, argued passionately that in light of all the sacrifices made by public employees -- forgoing pay raises, benefit increases, and absorbing furlough days -- that it is time the private sector shares in their sacrifice.
Pommer: "We've cut about as much as we can cut. The only thing we can do now is cut schools more. Taking 260 million out of schools means teachers are going to get fired; classes are going to get bigger. Basically it's just having to balance the budget and knowing that we've cut so much in some areas that we had to look for money somewhere else."
SEN. SHAWN MITCHELL, (R) BROOMFIELD - SENATE TROUBLEMAKER
Nearly all the members of the Senate's Republican caucus have taken their turns at the microphone to emphatically state their opposition to Democratic measures, everything from closing those tax exemptions to raising the state's renewable energy standard. But none have done so with Shawn Mitchell's panache, or, in the majority's view, his poor taste. During a debate on the tax credit bills, Mitchell referred to Sen. Bruce Whitehead as "Sen. OneYear", implying that the newly appointed Democrat from Hesperus is going to lose his seat in November. The comment drew stern rebukes from many Democrats, pointing out a pattern of over-the-line comments from Mitchell, who told someone testifying before the Pinnacol Interim Committee to relax, as he often does, by picturing the chairwoman, Sen. Morgan Carroll, in her underwear.
Mitchell: "I'd like to thank the Academy for recognizing my efforts and ability to annoy the majority as they pass a heavy-handed, tax-heavy, big-government agenda. When you're out-voted, the only thing you have is the ability to make the other side uncomfortable and look hard at their policies. I try hard to do that and sometimes I'm a little too successful and they don't like it. I called a vulnerable senator "Senator OneYear," because he's passing a bill that will probably make his uphill climb steeper to get reelected. I guess it's always important to pretend that politics isn't part of politics."
SEN. JOSH PENRY, (R) GRAND JUNCTION - TEAMWORK AWARD
It's unusual that the youngest member of a party caucus would also be its leader, but that's the case with Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry, the former college quarterback who, at 34, is now calling plays for the GOP on defense, hitting back against the Democratic agenda at the Capitol. Penry, who called off his own 2010 run for governor prior to the start of the session, is known for his often blistering speeches on the Senate floor. But, he's turning over a new leaf this year by showing a willingness to build consensus across the aisle as he did on Senate Bill 1, which shored up PERA, the retirement system for state employees that would have otherwise gone bankrupt in 20 years. In the second half of the session, look for Penry to team again with Democrats, specifically Majority Leader John Morse, on legislation to give Colorado's public colleges universities more flexibility to raise and adjust tuition rates and financial aid.
Penry: "You have to be able to compartmentalize. There are some days where, on big issues, you disagree and you go down and you mix it up and things can get pretty heated. But, to get things done, you've got to be able to change course on the next issue and reach across the aisle and cut a deal when it's in the best interests of the state. I think it's our obligation to come down here and fight when we disagree, but also be smart enough and men and women enough to reach across the aisle when it's the right thing to do."
REP. TOM MASSEY, (R) PONCHA SPRINGS - "MOST CONFUSING BILL"
When the governor's office went shopping for a Republican state representative to co-sponsor legislation to regulate medical marijuana, they set their sights on Rep. Tom Massey, a moderate Republican from Poncha Springs in Chaffee County. Massey, who keeps a much lower profile at the Capitol than his Senate co-sponsor, Democrat Chris Romer, has done yeoman's work to balance the wishes of law enforcement while protecting the chronically ill's legal access to medical marijuana, and to write, re-write and re-write again House Bill 1284, which aims to create a regulatory framework for dispensaries. The bill remains a work in progress -- and maybe the most confusing bill at the Capitol; but Massey believes he can see the light at the end of the legislative tunnel.
Massey: "It's a very pressing issue and I was glad to jump in and look at it. This isn't something frivolous. It's something necessary. We want to get these folks out of basements and have some regulatory oversight."
"The core of the final bill will allow a patient to grow their own, or they can appoint a primary caregiver who can grow and provide for them, and each caregiver can have up to five patients; and then we've crafted the center model and that will have a vertically-integrated grow operation."
SEN. CHRIS ROMER, (D) DENVER - MOST LIKELY TO GET HIS NAME IN THE PAPER
REP. JACK POMMER, (D) BOULDER - MOST CONTROVERSIAL As House sponsor of several controversial bills to close existing tax exemptions, Pommer has drawn the ire of the GOP for his high-volume rhetoric both in favor of the budget-balancing proposals and for stating that "businesses don't care about Colorado" during one contentious debate on the House floor. Pommer, who chairs the Joint Budget Committee, argued passionately that in light of all the sacrifices made by public employees -- forgoing pay raises, benefit increases, and absorbing furlough days -- that it is time the private sector shares in their sacrifice.
Pommer: "We've cut about as much as we can cut. The only thing we can do now is cut schools more. Taking 260 million out of schools means teachers are going to get fired; classes are going to get bigger. Basically it's just having to balance the budget and knowing that we've cut so much in some areas that we had to look for money somewhere else."
SEN. SHAWN MITCHELL, (R) BROOMFIELD - SENATE TROUBLEMAKER
Nearly all the members of the Senate's Republican caucus have taken their turns at the microphone to emphatically state their opposition to Democratic measures, everything from closing those tax exemptions to raising the state's renewable energy standard. But none have done so with Shawn Mitchell's panache, or, in the majority's view, his poor taste. During a debate on the tax credit bills, Mitchell referred to Sen. Bruce Whitehead as "Sen. OneYear", implying that the newly appointed Democrat from Hesperus is going to lose his seat in November. The comment drew stern rebukes from many Democrats, pointing out a pattern of over-the-line comments from Mitchell, who told someone testifying before the Pinnacol Interim Committee to relax, as he often does, by picturing the chairwoman, Sen. Morgan Carroll, in her underwear.
Mitchell: "I'd like to thank the Academy for recognizing my efforts and ability to annoy the majority as they pass a heavy-handed, tax-heavy, big-government agenda. When you're out-voted, the only thing you have is the ability to make the other side uncomfortable and look hard at their policies. I try hard to do that and sometimes I'm a little too successful and they don't like it. I called a vulnerable senator "Senator OneYear," because he's passing a bill that will probably make his uphill climb steeper to get reelected. I guess it's always important to pretend that politics isn't part of politics."
SEN. JOSH PENRY, (R) GRAND JUNCTION - TEAMWORK AWARD
It's unusual that the youngest member of a party caucus would also be its leader, but that's the case with Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry, the former college quarterback who, at 34, is now calling plays for the GOP on defense, hitting back against the Democratic agenda at the Capitol. Penry, who called off his own 2010 run for governor prior to the start of the session, is known for his often blistering speeches on the Senate floor. But, he's turning over a new leaf this year by showing a willingness to build consensus across the aisle as he did on Senate Bill 1, which shored up PERA, the retirement system for state employees that would have otherwise gone bankrupt in 20 years. In the second half of the session, look for Penry to team again with Democrats, specifically Majority Leader John Morse, on legislation to give Colorado's public colleges universities more flexibility to raise and adjust tuition rates and financial aid.
Penry: "You have to be able to compartmentalize. There are some days where, on big issues, you disagree and you go down and you mix it up and things can get pretty heated. But, to get things done, you've got to be able to change course on the next issue and reach across the aisle and cut a deal when it's in the best interests of the state. I think it's our obligation to come down here and fight when we disagree, but also be smart enough and men and women enough to reach across the aisle when it's the right thing to do."
REP. TOM MASSEY, (R) PONCHA SPRINGS - "MOST CONFUSING BILL"
When the governor's office went shopping for a Republican state representative to co-sponsor legislation to regulate medical marijuana, they set their sights on Rep. Tom Massey, a moderate Republican from Poncha Springs in Chaffee County. Massey, who keeps a much lower profile at the Capitol than his Senate co-sponsor, Democrat Chris Romer, has done yeoman's work to balance the wishes of law enforcement while protecting the chronically ill's legal access to medical marijuana, and to write, re-write and re-write again House Bill 1284, which aims to create a regulatory framework for dispensaries. The bill remains a work in progress -- and maybe the most confusing bill at the Capitol; but Massey believes he can see the light at the end of the legislative tunnel.
Massey: "It's a very pressing issue and I was glad to jump in and look at it. This isn't something frivolous. It's something necessary. We want to get these folks out of basements and have some regulatory oversight."
"The core of the final bill will allow a patient to grow their own, or they can appoint a primary caregiver who can grow and provide for them, and each caregiver can have up to five patients; and then we've crafted the center model and that will have a vertically-integrated grow operation."
SEN. CHRIS ROMER, (D) DENVER - MOST LIKELY TO GET HIS NAME IN THE PAPER
