Metro professor sounds off on C and D

By Brad Riggin
rigginb@mscd.edu

"Proponents of Referendums C and D need to throw harder blows at the opposition to gain ground in the political battle that will culminate when voters go to the polls Nov. 1," said Metro political science professor Norman Provizer.

Provizer said that the supporters of the referendums need to react more harshly to advertisements run by the opposition.

"They need to have harder-hitting advertisements," Provizer said. "When you are involved with this kind of campaign, with the stakes as high as they are, you have to respond in kind."

One of the more recent television advertisements supporting the measures shows Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper jumping out of a plane touting the benefits the referendums would bring to Colorado.

A television advertisement paid for by the Independence Institute, a free-market think tank in Colorado opposed to the referendums, shows an actor portraying a politician snatching an envelope marked "tax refund" out of the hands of a citizen and her family.

A recent poll conducted for The Denver Post showed that support for Referendum C holds a narrow lead of 3 percent over the opposition.

Support for Referendum D is running even with opposition, the poll showed.

Of the 625 randomly selected registered voters polled, 44 percent said they would vote in favor of the referendum and 45 percent said they would vote no.

The poll was conducted Oct. 11 to Oct. 13 and had a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points.

If passed, Referendum C would eliminate for five years the spending limits on state government imposed by the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights.

This would allow the legislature to spend $3.7 billion that would normally be refunded to taxpayers. That money would be earmarked for education, health care and transportation.

Referendum D would allow the state to borrow $2.1 billion against the money from Referendum C, which would be used for urgent road and school construction.

Provizer, a supporter of both referendums, said the poll numbers are less than ideal for those seeking a yes vote on the measures.

The opposition has had success in the campaign by playing to the public's fear, he said.

"What they've done right is playing one of the oldest games in politics, which is fear," Provizer said. "With the opposition, they try to make you think you're going to be mugged by a group of politicians in some wayward alley."

The proponents of the referendums are playing the fear card as well, but it is a fear based in fact, he said.

"To be fair, the opposition would say the other side is playing on fear as well. However, one fear is based in reality and the other one is dressed in a Halloween costume," Provizer said.

He said that, in these kinds of elections, voter turnout is critical and mobilizing voters will be essential for both sides.

The ability of community organizations supporting the referendums to get voters to the polls will be key to the passage of the measures, Provizer said.

"They have the support of hundreds of organizations in the community," he said. "They need to turn out the vote."