As former CD3 Congressman John Salazar's District Director, you would think CD3 candidate Sal Pace would know something about the 3rd district. You would be wrong. In missing a key vote on energy development, crucial to employment in CD3, and making categorically false statements at a recent campaign stop, Pace's lack of preparation and knowledge is beginning to shine through.
Reports Colorado Public Radio's Megan Verlee via Twitter:
Rep Jones' HB1277, giving local gov'ts more of a say in oil and gas dev fails 4-6 on party lines with Pace absent. #coleg:
Will Pace also be absent in Washington, DC when issues important to CD3 come up for a vote? When Pace missed two days of work at the Capitol to fundraise in Washington, DC in January, he wrote it off as missing unimportant votes.
Rep. Pace: Was this an unimportant vote?
Perhaps even worse was Pace's recent display of outright ignorance on healthcare in CD3.
Recent accounts of Pace's campaign stop in Montrose on Saturday paint a picture of a candidate woefully unprepared for the West Slope.
His stop in Montrose earned derision from both sides of the aisle, with a post on liberal Colorado Pols slamming him for not knowing a thing about health care in Grand Junction, and a guest post here on the Peak hitting him for not understanding a thing about energy jobs on the West Slope in general.
From the Pols post:
When mentioning health care, Pace attempted to compare Grand Junction with his hometown of Pueblo. You could feel the room atmosphere change when he said that in Pueblo you see billboards advertising hospitals all over town because there were two hospitals competing for business. He said that because Grand Junction has only one hospital, we don't see that here.
For the record there are three hospitals in Grand Junction: Community Hospital, St. Mary's Hospital, and the V.A. medical center. We frequently see both billboards and television advertising for the two private hospitals.
Politicians who grandstand on false facts don't sit well with swing voters. It shows that the politician doesn't understand the district, yet is willing to make grand arguments about issues based on downright incorrect facts.
From the Peak post, it's clear that Pace is still holding onto the generic trope about "renewable energy" solving all of our woes. Yea, that worked out so well for one term Governor Bill Ritter:
Pace repeatedly talked about "focusing on solving problems, not ideology," but gave no specific solutions to the pressing employment problems, and crushing regulations that are now effecting Western Colorado. The only idea he offered as a solution to the employment problem in CD3 was "renewable energy," and a reference to a wind turbine plant in his hometown of Pueblo. Not once, when asked about what he would do about Western Colorado's bleak employment outlook did he mention mining, natural gas, oil shale, or any of the other mineral or fossil fuel industries that are so critical to this end of the state.
Missing votes and making up facts is no way to begin an election year in a tight race.
Pace better shape up fast, or his opponents' campaign will begin to make him pay for it.