It's time for the "big solution," leadership
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, November 1st, 2011
DENVER: Learning this evening of the unfortunate defeat of Proposition 103, ProgressNow Colorado, the state's largest online progressive advocacy organization, called on elected leaders on all sides to come together and work toward a comprehensive solution to this state's massive and unsustainable fiscal challenges.
"We and our friends at the Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute, the Bell Policy Center, Great Education Colorado, the Colorado Education Association, and the rest of the broad coalition in support of Proposition 103 knew we faced long odds--for a short term patch on the state's long-term budget crisis," said Alan Franklin of ProgressNow Colorado.
"We at ProgressNow Colorado will fight every time, for every initiative or legislation that moves our state in the right direction," said Franklin. "We knew that Proposition 103 wasn't a long-term solution, and we received significant feedback from our nearly 200,000 email subscribers lamenting the fact that Proposition 103 didn't do more. Our public schools in Colorado have seen nearly $700 million dollars in cuts in just the last few years. The Denver Post's editorial board said it wanted a more comprehensive budget solution as a reason they could not endorse Proposition 103."
"To every Coloradan whose heart is in the right place, and wants these devastating budget shortfalls our state has faced for years solved once and for all, we say the time has come. With all this talk about the need for the 'big solution,' now is the time for our leaders to step up and show it to us so we can get to work passing it next year. Colorado can't wait any longer. More people than ever in Colorado understand that our state's tax burden is well below the national average. There is a direct relationship between that fact and our perpetual struggle to pay for essential services like education."
"The next election is one year away," said Franklin. "We're going to find out if the elected officials who said we need to wait for the 'big solution' meant what they said. Because there's no giving up on Colorado's future."
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