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Colorado Democrats fired back at Republican U.S. Senate candidate Jane Norton yesterday after remarks she made to a local broadcast over spending cuts.

Speaking to KDVR-TV Fox 31 Tuesday night, Norton said her state general fund budget at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment when she was executive director was about $6.4 million less than when she started.

But critics say there is more to the budget than just money from the general fund. Pat Waak, chairwoman of the Colorado Democratic Party, told reporters yesterday that Norton actually increased the CDPHE budget by over $55 million, $10 million of which came directly from taxpayers.

“We are not going to let her get by with this,” Waak said during a conference call yesterday with reporters. “Clearly we’re going into primary mode, but the Colorado Democratic Party is not in the meantime going to let Jane Norton make such remarks to the public, and we think she has to be held accountable for every statement she makes.”

Waak also states that Norton’s spending when she was lieutenant governor under Republican Gov. Bill Owens increased by over $10,000, including reimbursements for travel, flowers and meals, and another $2,000 for a new desk.

“Which was probably lovely,” Waak quipped about the desk.

A spokesman for Norton’s campaign pointed out that Norton only had control over the money directly from the state, not additional funds such as federal dollars and grants. Nate Strauch said it only makes sense to look at the budgets she oversaw.

“No one denies that general fund appropriations in both offices went down during Jane Norton’s tenure, and that’s what she controlled,” Strauch said in an e-mailed statement. “You wouldn’t judge a sports GM based on revenue sharing and league-wide television contracts; you would judge him on what he controls: the budget of the team and the results on the field.”

Democrats yesterday also lashed out at Norton for a recent comment that Social Security is nothing but a “Ponzi scheme.”

“I’m not sure whether she knows what a Ponzi scheme is or not, but clearly she is a candidate that is out of step with Colorado and out of step with the issues she is trying to raise as she moves around the state,” said Waak.

Norton is believed to be the frontrunner in the race, beating out Republican primary opponents Tom Wiens and Ken Buck, as well as likely Democratic challenger U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet and his opponent, Andrew Romanoff.

Strauch took offense to Waak’s comments over Norton’s remarks concerning Social Security, firing right back at the Colorado Democratic Party chair.

“Pat Waak should know all about ‘schemes.’ She traffics in them everyday,” said Strauch. “In a Ponzi scheme, new investors are used to pay off old investors, which is exactly how Social Security works. Ponzi schemes end when the money runs out, and that’s what’s projected to happen to Social Security.”

Waak, however, believes Norton’s view on Social Security is out of touch with Colorado voters, especially those who rely on it.

“To take something like Social Security that people have paid into for years and years and are getting their Social Security benefits from, and to turn around and say it’s like a Ponzi scheme Ń I don’t get it,” she said.

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