McInnis asked on his plans to balance budget

Liberal group wants concrete details, but McInnis campaign says it’s too early

Peter Marcus, DDN Staff Writer

Monday, December 28, 2009

Former Congressman Scott McInnis is being asked by his opponents for concrete details on how he plans on balancing the budget if elected governor.

But the McInnis campaign maintains that it is too early to be suggesting specific budget-balancing measures, noting that the budget McInnis might receive as governor in January 2011 would likely be drastically different than what lawmakers are currently working on.

The issue has become a talking point for Democrats who are fighting McInnis’ chances to beat Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter in 2010. ProgressNow Colorado sent McInnis an “early Christmas present” last week when they showed up at his campaign headquarters in Greenwood Village with the state budget in hand. The group is citing a recent interview with McInnis in which he said he wouldn’t have an accurate budget to work with for at least a year.

“When I heard about Scott’s problem, I knew exactly what he needed for Christmas this year: a complete, printed copy of the Colorado budget — wrapped in a lovely red bow,” said a ProgressNow member last week dressed as Santa Claus outside McInnis’ headquarters in Greenwood Village. “Next time Scott is asked about his budget plans, he won’t be able to say he ‘can’t get his hands on them.’ And remember, boys and girls, it’s naughty to tell a lie.”

But McInnis campaign spokesman Josh Green says his opponents are taking the comment out of context. He said what McInnis was referring to is that the current budget doesn’t give a truly accurate picture of what McInnis would need to begin balancing in 2010 if elected governor.

“We’re still nearly a year out from the election — it’s been one of the earliest cycles in memory — Scott naturally is not going to come out with a detailed plan for the budget, and frankly, as the legislative session goes forward, the budget is going to change and everything’s going to change itself,” said Green. “To say Scott doesn’t have a plan, that’s not quite accurate.”

When asked by reporters last month about his budget-balancing plans at a Republican “unification” rally in Denver, McInnis reiterated that he won’t have a truly accurate budget picture for quite some time.

“I don’t know what the product’s going to look like,” he said. “But I can assure you that once we get our hands on the product, we will prioritize.”

Meanwhile, Sen. Josh Penry, R-Grand Junction, who dropped out of the Republican primary gubernatorial race last month in the interest of party “unification,” said the state needs to reform the Public Employees Retirement Association plan as part of the overall budget-balancing picture.

Penry, who is rumored to run on the McInnis ticket as his lieutenant governor, is advocating for a change in the minimum age for retirement and a “reasonable” cost of living adjustment. Penry says because of the current 3.5 percent retirement benefit increase in cost of living every year, taxpayers bear a greater financial burden than PERA members themselves.

“A pension program gone bad can bring a large institution to its knees,” Penry said recently.

But Democrats keep turning their attention back to McInnis’ budget-balancing strategies, arguing that the former congressman from Grand Junction has no real ideas.

“If he’s going to criticize his opponent’s position, then he needs to actually have positions of his own,” said ProgressNow member Bobby Clark. “It’s a cop-out to say he doesn’t have a copy of the budget.”

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