Boulder chamber lists its election preferences

BOULDER — The Boulder Chamber of Commerce has come out in favor of four ballot items and against four ahead of November’s election.

The Chamber said it came to its conclusion through input from its members, meeting with representatives for the opposing perspectives and discussing the ballot issues with people who have strong background knowledge on the items.

“With a Boulder Chamber membership that reflects the diversity of opinions across our community, you can be sure there was significant debate on all the ballot measures we considered,” Chamber president and CEO John Tayer said in a prepared statement. “Ultimately, though, our positions reflect the Boulder Chamber’s consistent appreciation for prudent investments in the infrastructure and programs that strengthen our state, region and community.”

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The Chamber said it supports:

• Colorado Amendments Y&Z, which the Chamber said “together present an innovative solution that replace partisan politics with a more transparent and inclusive redistricting process.”
• Colorado Proposition 110, or “Let’s Go Colorado,” which the Chamber said “delivers a statewide transportation infrastructure solution that addresses Colorado’s highest transportation priorities through a sustainable funding mechanism, while also dedicating significant funding for transportation investments in Boulder and Boulder County.”
• Boulder County Ballot Question 1A, the Alternative Sentencing Facility and Jail Modernization Tax, which would extend the 0.185% flood recovery sales tax to provide for the construction of an alternative sentencing facility and address overcrowding, remodeling and upgrades to the jail.

The Chamber also opposes several items:

• Colorado Proposition 109, or “Fix Our Damn Roads,” which the Chamber said “fails to identify a sustainable revenue mechanism to fund the planned transportation improvements, while creating a debt obligation that will compete against other statewide funding priorities, like healthcare and education.”
• Colorado Amendment 74, which provides compensation to property owners due to regulation and which the Chamber said would create regulatory chaos and more litigation from the state to the local level.
• City of Boulder Ballot Issue 2D for sugar sweetened beverage tax revenues, which the Chamber said it opposes in order to honor the original tax limitation voters approved in order to avoid over-taxing and to minimize the impact the initiative has on small businesses.
• City of Boulder Ballot Issue 2E, the initiative, referendum and recall process, for which the Chamber said “the sheer complexity of the multiple Charter amendments in this initiative, which also lowers petition signature thresholds, deserves greater individual scrutiny to ensure we are adequately protecting the integrity of our elections”

The Chamber also said it is neutral on two items. It is neutral on Colorado Amendment 73, which would make a graduated income tax for education. The Chamber said it feels school districts across the state are under-funded, but that it was concerned the financing mechanism in the amendment would create additional burden for small businesses. It is also neutral on City of Boulder Ballot Issue 2G, for electronic and online petitions, which the Chamber said runs the risk of opening the door for petition scamming and a floot of ballot initiatives, although it supports innovations in voter engagement.