A leading Republican senator ran into a wall of union solidarity in a Senate committee today when he tried unsuccessfully to stop the governor's controversial executive order extending the reach of organized labor deep into state government.

The GOP's Sen. Shawn Mitchell, of Broomfield, pleaded with ruling Democrats on the

VIDEO: Pro-union order draws fire

Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee to consider the order's longterm cost to the state's budget and the taxpaying public. He also told committee members that since Gov. Bill Ritter signed the order last fall--granting collective-bargaining power to unions representing state employees--union reps have been aggressively soliciting new members by contacting state employees via mail and even in person at their homes.

Nevertheless, Mitchell's Senate Bill 86, sponsored in the House by Rep. Cory Gardner, of Yuma, was voted down along party lines. The measure would have repealed the executive order.

"This leaves taxpayers holding the bag," Mitchell said.