2007 was the year of the study:
Other legislative watchers say he must do more this year than just discuss how to solve problems. After 12 months of study and talk, he and legislative Democrats must prioritize among the big three topics and pass some laws that at least begin to address the funding gaps in these areas, they say.
“I think it’s going to be a very important year . . . ’08 will really be the test,” said Floyd Ciruli, the pollster who came up with the 71 percent approval rating in September. “The first year went pretty well with the exception of the labor union issue. Now he’s got everything teed up, and he has to strike some balls.”
They got a quote from the ever quotable Senator Andy McElhany:
Senate Minority Leader Andy McElhany, R-Colorado Springs, criticized the governor for showing no agenda during his first year in office, despite the campaign goals he referred to as the Colorado Promise. Ritter seems to have no road map on how to meet even his worthy goals, such as reducing the high school dropout rate and insuring more Coloradans, he said.
“Right now the only agenda I see is that he wants to raise a tax, but he doesn’t know which one and he doesn’t know what he wants to use the money for,” McElhany said.
OK, if the honeymoon is over, where are we likely to go from here? While The Gazette was silent on the subject, they did find someone to opine on the impact of 2008 on Bill Ritter in 2010:
John Straayer, a political science professor at Colorado State University, said Ritter and the Legislature will be expected to make at least incremental progress this year but not gargantuan steps on all issues. This year may help to determine whether Ritter will face major opposition when he is up for re-election in 2010, but it will not seal his fate, he said.
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