‘The Great Colorado Ballot-O-Rama’: Part I

Purplish

This episode of Purplish features a live game-show style event designed to demystify the complex and numerous ballot measures facing Colorad

Key takeaways

Initiative 177 seeks to establish a constitutional right for Coloradans to purchase natural gas for cooking and heating.
A proposed amendment aims to guarantee the right to hunt and fish within the state constitution.

Main topics

Colorado Ballot Measures
Natural Gas Rights

Notable quotes

This is like God tier law for Colorado.

Conclusion

The episode serves as a practical guide for voters to understand the s

Transcript preview

Speaker 5 (0:00) Hey there, it's Benta Birkeland, your Purplish host. And a quick note about today's episode. It's different from what you usually hear from the Purplish team. In late August, we hosted a live event, a game show. ish about all the measures on the ballot this year. The goal is to help you better understand the many, many questions that are going to be coming before you. Everything from increasing the penalties for fentanyl possession to making it a constitutional right to hunt and fish. A warning, we do have some fun. There'll be some music, but it is also complicated and tough stuff. A little laughter and community can go a long way. Speaker 3 (0:43) And a quick disclaimer before we begin. This is Jesse Paul with The Colorado Sun, by the way. Once the ballot is set, many of these numbers change. So while we talked about initiatives like 195 or 232 during the live event, the corresponding number you will see on your ballot will be different. I know, clear as mud. But know that the core issues in each of these measures that we're discussing have not changed. They just graduated into amendments and propositions with different numbers. Okay, with that... I hope you enjoyed the first part of The Great Colorado Speaker 5 (1:14) Ballad-O-Rama. Speaker 8 (1:20) This is Purplish Live. At the Buell Public Media Center in Denver, Colorado, I'm Ryan Morner from CPR News. I'm one of your emcees tonight in a purplish tracksuit, although it might be aubergine. Speaker 6 (1:43) Along with me, Gabriella Resto-Montero from Rocky Mountain PBS. You can tell us apart because I'm the one in the purple sequin. Welcome to the great Colorado Ballorama! Speaker 6 (2:01) We have an all-star lineup from the Colorado Capital News Alliance. These reporters will compete in the ballot showdown as we demystify the measures you'll vote on this fall. This Speaker 8 (2:12) year, you'll decide on competing tax questions and many other thorny issues. Our in-house experts, celebrity judges, and enthusiastic studio audience will help you make informed decisions come November. Speaker 6 (2:30) That's worthwhile. Yes, love it. That's the kind of enthusiasm we want to see. The reporter who makes their issue easiest to understand wins an all-expense pay trip to... Capital State Capital! Speaker 8 (2:53) Gabriella, that sounds golden. Speaker 8 (2:57) With us tonight, a woman who's always chatting with a source or breaking a story, CPR public affairs reporter, Benta Birkeland. I'm not sure why she gets hoedown music, but she does. Speaker 2 (3:21) Also Speaker 8 (3:22) with us, the only person even remotely capable of scooping Benta, Colorado Sun political reporter and elections editor, Jesse Paul. Speaker 8 (3:40) The two of you will ask questions of our reporter contestants sitting in the hot seat. You'll know it because there are flames. Speaker 6 (3:51) I didn't know it would be a heated rivalry here tonight, Ryan. What are some of the things that you guys will be looking for from our contestants tonight, Jesse and Benta? Speaker 3 (4:02) Brevity. Speaker 6 (4:06) He wants the shortest Speaker 5 (4:07) possible purplish episode. You know, so many competing measures. And as you said, Ryan, so many thorny issues. Who's behind it? What's the impact? And, you know, pro and con. Speaker 8 (4:18) What's the impact? That is huge. How is this going to affect our daily lives? Speaker 6 (4:23) So important. How about fun? Speaker 8 (4:27) I want to see who Speaker 6 (4:28) comes with props. Oh, I like that. Speaker 8 (4:31) Now audience, before you get too cozy, your time in the hot seat is coming too. But for now, it's time to spin. Speaker 3 (4:41) Spin. Wheel. That Speaker 8 (4:48) was anticlimactic. Let's meet the first contestant on Purplish Live. Benta, who is it? Speaker 5 (4:54) It is CPR's Dan Boyce. Dan. Dan. Speaker 3 (5:04) From Colorado Springs, Colorado. Dan Speaker 8 (5:08) is sporting the classic Colorado combination of a suit and sandals. So Speaker 6 (5:21) debonair. Speaker 8 (5:23) Oh, goodness. Just like a politician, he flip-flops. Ha! Oh. Speaker 5 (5:30) Welcome to Denver, Dan. Dan's our CPR reporter based in Colorado Springs in KRCC. Thanks for being here. Speaker 2 (5:37) Oh, it is such a pleasure. Benta, Jesse, such big fans. Thank you for being here. Speaker 3 (5:43) This note card says I'm your biggest fan, apparently. So thanks for making the drive and being in the hot seat. Speaker 2 (5:50) Hi, Mom. Sorry I'm nervous. It's my first time on the game show. Speaker 5 (5:56) So Dan, your measures are all about giving Coloradans rights. Let's start with the first one. A right to natural gas, life, liberty, and the pursuit of natural gas. Speaker 5 (6:10) Tell us about this initiative, 177, and why supporters think it's important. Speaker 2 (6:16) You basically already described the initiative, Benta. Initiative 177 is to the point. It is two sentences. Basically, Coloradans have the right to purchase natural gas for cooking and heating. Distributors and utilities have the right to sell it. That is the initiative. Speaker 3 (6:35) All right. Well, now you're cooking, Dan. So from this constitutional, this is a constitutional amendment. What makes that different from some of the other issues we're going to hear about tonight? Speaker 2 (6:44) Well, once something is in the state constitution, it becomes a lot harder to change or to get around, right? This is like God tier law for Colorado. In addition, it also means that it's harder to pass. So a constitutional amendment requires a 55 % yes vote in order to pass. Speaker 5 (7:07) And Dan, who's behind getting this on the ballot and why? Speaker 2 (7:10) So this comes from a group that we're going to hear a lot from tonight, a conservative nonprofit called Advance Colorado. And what Advance Colorado argues is that this is meant to protect consumers against rising energy costs. The state's liberal political elite have been trying to clamp down on natural gas for a long time. Let's get around them, put it in the Constitution. Our climate goals are ambitious, and as they ratchet tighter, moving more toward renewables and using electric heat and cooking appliances, Advance Colorado worries that people like you and me, average Coloradans, we are going to be stuck footing the bill. Speaker 3 (7:51) So it's no surprise that environmentalists probably don't like this measure. But talk to us about what they're saying in terms of natural gas using cooking and home heating and how that impacts climate change. Like, do we know how much it impacts climate change? And who are some of those environmentalists who are opposing this? Speaker 2 (8:08) Natural gas is a contributor to climate change. So opponents like the nonprofit Conservation Colorado, you know what they're saying? They're saying, you know, who's really cooking with gas? The atmosphere. Oh, no.