Bob Randall is the new Department of Natural Resources chief, a pick by Gov. Hickenlooper that was immediately hailed by envirogreenies so that’s always suspicious.
However, we’re going to ignore that for now, and focus instead on what we hope to see under a Randall regime.
Randall proved that he was a capable leader under the former DNR chief, Mike King, so we expect him to continue to be a moderate, pro-energy implementor, and to continue to see progress from that department in developing Colorado’s energy.
What doesn’t need to happen is for Randall to suddenly bow to the forces of evil, also known as radical environmentalists and the anti-fracking crowd. He will have to show some serious metal and stand his ground when it comes to that overly emotional crowd, whose idea of scientific facts does not extend beyond a Saturday morning rerun of Bill Nye the Science Guy on PBS.
It would not bode well for Coloradans if Randall suddenly decides to shed his western, moderate schtick and shift to the left.
The eyes of the nation are on Colorado to see how it handles the growing problem of our brain-washed youth and their environmental overlords in their quest to turn off the lights, the heat, and our cars by banning energy.
That would be equally disastrous for his boss the governor, who is desperate to land a position in a (gasp) Hillary administration as her running mate or as a cabinet secretary. Although Sanders has declared he would ban fracking outright, Hillary is positioning herself as sometimes quasi pro energy, mostly when she campaigns in the oil and coal fields of the nation.
So while the jury is still out on how Randall will walk this tightrope, we’re going to put our marker down on this pick as “hopeful.”