Pollster and former Colorado Democratic Chair Floyd Ciruli, never one to pull punches when speaking about his own party, expressed doubts that the Democrats’ $1 billion tax hike would be a success in an interview with the Colorado Statesman.  Calling the proposed tax hike that would allegedly go toward education “major”, Ciruli expressed doubts about the future of the initiative:

“The historical track record for statewide tax increases doesn’t bode well for the campaign, he said this week. ‘The presumption is against them… very few have had any luck raising taxes statewide.’ People are much more willing to support local school boards, bonds and mill levy overrides than statewide tax increases, Ciruli explained. He pointed to the effort in 2011 by Sen. Rollie Heath, D-Boulder, to ask voters to approve a measure similar to Initiative 22. The 2011 measure, Proposition 103, sought to increase income tax rates from 4.63 percent to 5 percent, but it also included a temporary increase in sales taxes. More than one million votes were cast on the issue, but voters resoundingly rejected it, 64 to 36 percent.”

Let’s hope Ciruli is right.  Coloradans can’t afford another union bailout.