{"id":37623,"date":"2022-10-26T21:08:06","date_gmt":"2022-10-27T03:08:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/polis-ganahl-highlight-rural-and-western-colorado-concerns-in-final-face-off\/"},"modified":"2022-10-27T03:08:06","modified_gmt":"2022-10-27T03:08:06","slug":"polis-ganahl-highlight-rural-and-western-colorado-concerns-in-final-face-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/polis-ganahl-highlight-rural-and-western-colorado-concerns-in-final-face-off\/","title":{"rendered":"Polis, Ganahl highlight rural and western Colorado concerns in final face off"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Colorado
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis responds to questions during the Colorado Mesa University Candidate Forum on Tuesday on the CMU campus in Grand Junction. (Christopher Tomlinson\/The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel via AP)<\/span>Christopher Tomlinson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Heidi
Heidi Ganahl, Republican candidate for Colorado's governorship, speaks at the Colorado Mesa University Gubernatorial Candidate Forum. (Christopher Tomlinson\/The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel via AP)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Democratic Gov. Jared Polis and his Republican challenger, Heidi Ganahl, met for their final joint event on Tuesday night in Grand Junction. They shared their views on issues vital to Western Colorado and the state as a whole at a forum that covered everything from water and climate, to transportation and crime.<\/p>\n

The two painted starkly different perspectives of their visions for Colorado and views on the current quality of life in the state.<\/p>\n

Ganahl described herself as a \u201cmom on a mission.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am mad,\u201d Ganahl said. \u201cI am a mad mom. We have skyrocketing crime, out-of-control inflation, a huge fentanyl problem that\u2019s killing our kids, and our kids can\u2019t read, write or do math at grade level. I have a right to be angry and I represent a lot of parents.\u201d<\/p>\n

Polis responded, \u201cmy opponent identified herself as a mad mom. I identify myself as a happy dad of two great kids, 11 and 8, raising my kids in the best state of all the states, great outdoors. We love our freedom. I will always protect our freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n

The forum was held at Colorado Mesa University which hosted the event along with Colorado Public Radio and the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel<\/em>. U.S. Senate candidates Joe O\u2019Dea and incumbent Sen. Michael Bennet also debated shortly afterward.<\/p>\n

The debate was testy at times as Ganahl sought to make her case why voters shouldn\u2019t return Polis to the state capitol. There are two weeks left until Election Day, and with voting already underway, Ganahl trails significantly in the polls and in financial firepower.<\/p>\n

On water policy in the drying West:<\/div>\n

\"Colorado
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, left, looks on at the Colorado Mesa University Gubernatorial Candidate Forum as Republican challenger Heidi Ganahl, right, responds to a question Tuesday at the CMU campus in Grand Junction. (Christopher Tomlinson\/The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel via AP)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The Colorado River Compact governs how Colorado and six other states use one of the West\u2019s most important water sources. It\u2019s set to undergo major changes and negotiations as key guidelines expire in 2026.<\/p>\n

The two candidates described how they would lead efforts to renegotiate that agreement amid worsening drought throughout the West.<\/p>\n

They both pledged to ensure Colorado gets the water it is due.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re in a stronger legal position and also a stronger position because of the nature of water as an upper basin\u201d state, said Polis. \u201cThe states that are going to have the harshest cutbacks are of course California, Nevada, and Arizona.\u201d<\/p>\n

Polis added that he does not support diversion of water from the Western Slope and across basins and that he would make sure that \u201cone part of Colorado is not pitted against another part of Colorado.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ganahl described conservation as important and said Colorado has to make sure to \u201cprotect what\u2019s ours.\u201d She also wants to see the state rapidly increase its reservoir capacity.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we talk about water, we have to talk about storage, storage, storage,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to store the water that\u2019s rightly ours. And you\u2019ve got to have a governor who won\u2019t cede control to the federal government, but will hold firm and stand strong against the federal government and the other states who want to take the water.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t store your way out of a drought,\u201d Polis shot back in his rebuttal. \u201cThe water simply isn\u2019t there.\u201d However, the governor did also say increased storage is part of the solution.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we also need to make sure that we have best practices in ag, increasing profitability for our farmers and ranchers who have more water efficient practices. And we also need to connect for the first time in Colorado, our housing policy with our water policy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

On economic opportunity in rural Colorado:<\/div>\n

Jason Hunter, the vice president of the student body for CMU, told the candidates that he hopes to build a career in Western Colorado when he graduates, but said he would face fewer opportunities compared to young people living along the Front Range. He asked the candidates how they would address the rural\/urban divide that exists in the state.<\/p>\n

Ganahl said she supports creating high-paying jobs in the energy sector to make sure the \u201ceconomy is thriving\u201d in western Colorado.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe produce the cleanest energy here. We have the strictest regulations. So if we want clean air, clean land, clean water, let\u2019s produce it here and get our industry back on track.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also said if elected she would relax state regulations for residential construction, in an effort to create more affordable housing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can make sure that we have a reasonable approach to green energy regulations on housing,\u201d she added. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to be realistic. We can go green. We can also provide affordable housing if we reduce regulations and provide innovations and new ways of doing housing. \u2026 There\u2019s a lot of exciting stuff happening around cohousing, community development, small houses, tiny houses.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gov. Polis said there are a lot of great economic opportunities in western Colorado and he wants to build on them by continuing to support the outdoor recreation industry, and to ensure the infrastructures in place to allow remote work to settle in rural areas.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause many people want to live in and around the world class outdoor recreation areas of Mesa County, of Western Colorado,\u201d said Polis, \u201cand be able to work for a major global company or in Denver. \u2026 Those opportunities continue to increase.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also took aim at Ganahl\u2019s focus on increasing natural gas drilling, arguing that it\u2019s lucrative because the prices paid by consumers are currently high. Instead, Polis said he wants to wean the state\u2019s power grid off natural gas.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to make sure that we chart our energy independence in Colorado and across the country. We\u2019re blessed with great solar and wind resources in addition to our traditional energy resources, as well as geothermal resources,\u201d said Polis, who noted several times that CMU has installed an extensive geothermal system.<\/p>\n

On wolf reintroduction:<\/div>\n

\"Colorado
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, left, responds to a question at the Colorado Mesa University Gubernatorial Candidate Forum with Republican candidate Heidi Ganahl, right, looking on Tuesday at the CMU campus in Grand Junction. (Christopher Tomlinson\/The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel via AP)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Nearly two years ago Colorado voters narrowly approved a ballot initiative to bring gray wolves back to the state by the end of 2023. Most of the yes votes came from the Front Range, but the initiative said the canines must be reintroduced on the Western Slope, a process that has proven tricky. The candidates were asked how they would try to make the program successful for everyone.<\/p>\n

Polis reiterated that he never took a position on the ballot initiative, but said he does respect the will of the voters and thinks the state is going about the process of reintroduction in a thoughtful way.<\/p>\n

\u201c(We\u2019re) working to give farmers and ranchers the tools they need to reduce predation. By the way, there are wolves in Wyoming. There are wolves in most neighboring states that have strong ranching economies. We need to make sure we learn from that experience to make sure that wolves don\u2019t jeopardize our livelihoods in rural Colorado.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said he will do that to the best of his ability irrespective of whether he backs the policy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to administer the law of Colorado as effectively and efficiently as I can with the integrity that I owe to the people of Colorado. And I\u2019ll do that on every issue regardless.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ganahl said wolf reintroduction would decimate farmers and ranchers in rural Colorado.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it is a tragedy for ag, for game, for citizens here in Colorado that this was done,\u201d said Ganahl. \u201cUnfortunately, the citizens of Denver and Boulder don\u2019t quite understand the implications of the vote they did. But, you know, we\u2019re going to do our best to make sure that we deal with it and support our farmers and ranchers.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also used her answer to bring up a ceremonial declaration Polis signed last year designating March 20 as \u201cMeatOut Day,\u201d a day devoted to discouraging meat consumption. The declaration prompted the Colorado Cattlemen\u2019s Association to launch its own campaign to make the 20th a \u201cMeatIn Day,\u201d and rural counties and neighboring states joined the movement with free beef-based events.<\/p>\n

\u201cI won\u2019t be hosting a Meat Out Day anytime soon,\u201d said Ganahl, who owns a chain of barbecue restaurants with her husband. \u201cI\u2019m married to one of the top barbecue cooks in the country and I won\u2019t be poking the eye of the farmers and ranchers who produce amazing food across our state.\u201d<\/p>\n

Polis seized on Ganahl\u2019s boast, noting that he distributed his personal recipe for brisket rub for people to use at their MeatIn celebrations.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can google \u2018Jared Polis brisket,\u2019\u201d he said, urging the audience to search for his recipe. \u201cI\u2019m a novice, your husband\u2019s a professional, but after the election, maybe for charity, we can have a brisket taste test and see whose brisket is better.\u201d<\/p>\n

To read more stories from Colorado Public Radio, visit cpr.org<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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