Last week, Majority Leader KC Becker endorsed the disastrous Proposition 112, which is, in effect, a ban on oil and gas development in Colorado. We scratched our heads. Usually Becker is a more reasonable legislator, not prone to irrational acts.
Then, we saw the 5280 piece, which was her take on the ouster of Democratic Rep. Lebsock, after a colleague accused him of inappropriate behavior. Spoiler alert: she did everything right, in contrast to Crisanta Duran, who actually promoted Lebsock after he had been accused of wrongdoing. In fact, the 5280 piece was so glowing about her leadership, it got us thinking. And we realized that all of this is a lead-up to Becker running for Speaker next year.
And then we realized just how self-centered and terrible Becker is. She would help destroy Colorado’s economy to advance her own political career.
Who does that?
If passed, Prop 112 mandates a 2,500-foot setback from any structure in oil and gas development, which would eliminate 85 percent of potential drilling locations in Colorado. According to a Protect Colorado study, Proposition 112 would eliminate over $26 billion annually in state GDP, more than $1 billion in tax revenue, and as many as 147,800 jobs by 2030. In fact, 77% of all jobs lost would be outside of the oil and natural gas industry including health care, retail, construction, real estate, hotel and food services.
Not to mention, it would send a very clear signal to businesses in Colorado that the state is closed to business.
But, hey, who cares about almost 150,000 jobs when you could be Speaker, right?