by the Denver Post editorial board

Dr. Antonio Salazar, longtime ruler of Portugal, once observed: "No one can govern in the name of doubt."

Gov. Bill Ritter needs to ponder that advice as he nears the end of his second legislative session. Unless he becomes a more forceful advocate on vital issues, he risks being saddled with the motto: "No one can govern in the name of further study."

Or worse, he risks becoming known as our do-nothing governor.

For a chief executive who entered the governor's office with no previous experience in state office, Ritter started out fairly strong, turning in a vigorous performance in his 2007 legislative debut. But, as one veteran Democratic lawmaker observed, he seems to have "run out of steam" this year.

His State of the State speech in January left us uninspired but hoping that his public reticence on important issues such as transportation was meant to mask some sort of backstage negotiations with business and community leaders that would later produce a major new initiative.

Alas, nothing.... 

Read the full editorial:  http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_8855922

By The Denver Post editorial board

After 15 months in which the only contribution Gov. Bill Ritter and most state legislators have made to solving Colorado's mounting traffic woes was a call for further study of previous studies, a plan to impose tolls on Interstate 70 offers the only remaining hope to unsnarl that vital east-west artery.

The tolling plan won a 5-2 approval in the Senate Transportation Committee last week and now faces a precarious future in Appropriations. The Post favors Senate Bill 213 as revised by its architects, Sen. Andy McElhany, R-Colorado Springs, and Rep. Mike May, R-Parker.

The legislature's excuse for dithering last year was that Ritter had named a bipartisan committee to study transportation and make recommendations to this year's General Assembly. But when the committee reported this year, the governor didn't endorse any of the four options it recommended — and lawmakers also ignored them with a vengeance....

Read full editorial: http://www.denverpost.com

Colorado Springs Gazette editorial

John Morse, a freshman lawmaker who represents the Springs area’s Senate District 11 at the Capitol, has managed to become a patron saint of unpopular causes after only his first term in the Statehouse. For example, he championed the bureaucracy over the citizenry by criticizing (and, at first, voting against) a bill to lower copying fees for public documents. Morse was among a handful of lawmakers in either party to oppose, vehemently, a bill letting grocery chains offer gasoline discounts to motorists. Fortunately, both measures became law anyway, winning bipartisan support.