Governor Hickenlooper, who whispered his support for the billion dollar tax increase in a private meeting with CEOs, has continued his trend of talking about the ballot initiative behind closed doors.

Reports the Post Independent:

GLENWOOD SPRINGS — Gov. John Hickenlooper will be in town this afternoon to meet with local elected officials and business leaders for a discussion about economic development, education and health care.

The meeting is set to take place at 1:30 p.m. Friday at Glenwood Springs City Hall. It follows a similar community forum this morning in Grand Junction…

Invited to attend are several local elected officials, state legislators and representatives from area chambers, economic development organizations, school districts, colleges and health care organizations, said Linda Rice, public information officer for DOLA.

“The governor would like to reach out to local leaders and experts in these subject matters,” she said. “The conversation will be limited to the invited leaders, so it’s not come one, come all.” [Peak emphasis]

As a reader pointed out on Twitter, this appears to violate sunshine laws that require meetings of elected officials to be open to the public and not just “invited leaders.”

It also continues a growing trend of Hickenlooper hiding from the public on his tax increase position.

Earlier today, Hickenlooper’s chief political strategist, Alan Salazar, tweeted out a photo of Hickenlooper signing the tax increase petition at former Secretary of State Bernie Buescher’s house (see upper right) — another private discussion of the billion dollar tax increase on the public.

How long will Hickenlooper be allowed to continue whispering his support of a public tax increase in private? When will he be forced to talk to the public he’s asking to pay?