Building a Better Colorado

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When it comes to conducting our work, even at the Capitol, we aren’t big on party lines. We’re about smart, practical solutions that benefit all Coloradans.

And HOW we work matters, too: We’re about collaborating and bringing people from across aisles, throughout the state and with different points of view together so that we truly understand all sides of an issue. That’s why we’re working with Building a Better Colorado, a nonpartisan organization that’s focused on finding out what kind of government voters want.

The issues being explored through this effort are so important:

  • Engaging all voters: Today more than 1 million voters can’t participate in primary elections because they’re selecting “unaffiliated” when they register to vote. These voters often refer to themselves as being registered as “Independent.” In fact, this group makes up the largest block of the electorate, at 35 percent of active voters (outnumbering both registered Democrats and Republicans). In fact, Colorado leads the nation in the percentage increase in unaffiliated voters since 2008.
  • Cleaning up the clutter: Our state constitution is one of the easiest to amend in the country, making us an enticing target for out-of-state interests to test their policy agendas, and creating a complicated web of often conflicting amendments.
  • Addressing our state’s fiscal policy: With the number of competing revenue and spending mandates in our Constitution we’re hamstrung to pay for critical needs like roads, bridges and education.

As you can imagine, the business community doesn’t lack opinions about what solutions would best serve Colorado in these three areas.  But, we also know we don’t have all the answers. So, we joined this effort with the faith that when others understand these issues and the challenges we face, we will all come to similar conclusions about what will build a better Colorado.  We hope you will get involved and share your views. There are two ways you engage. First, join us at a summit—we’re hosting them across the state, including a young professional’s event in Denver on Nov. 12 at EXDO Events Center. (And, don’t pretend you don’t know if you qualify as a young professional.) The other metro area meetings are:

And if you can’t attend in person, no problem. The second way to get involved is to weigh in online.

We’ve seen time and again that when we come together we find the best solutions to our challenges and we create new opportunities. Join these discussions and help build a better Colorado.

Kelly Brough is president and CEO of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce.