BY FREDA MIKLIN
GOVERNMENTAL REPORTER
Incumbent Colorado State Treasurer Dave Young (D) and challenger Lang Sias (R) engaged in a debate at the University of Denver Josef Korbel School of International Studies on October 11. Moderators were Seth Masket, Director of the Center on American Politics and Professor of Political Science at DU, Shaun Boyd, political specialist at CBS News Colorado, and Jesse Paul, political editor and reporter at the Colorado Sun.
Before being elected Treasurer in 2018, Young served in the State House for eight years beginning in 2011 and previously taught high school math and science for 24 years.
Sias serves on the legislative subcommittee that oversees the state’s pension fund and previously served in the State House for four years beginning in 2015. He also served in the U.S. Navy and the Air National Guard as a fighter pilot and attorney.
In his opening statement, Young pointed to his membership on the Joint Budget Committee “balancing our state’s budget year after year” while in the legislature. “As State Treasurer,” he said, “I work hard to invest the state dollar wisely, transparently, and for the best benefit of all Coloradans…and I work hard to make sure that the state’s credit rating stays strong to save money on interest for Colorado taxpayers.” Finally, he talked about the Colorado Secured Savings Program, a “retirement savings program for about million Coloradans who don’t have access to a retirement savings program at work.”
Sias said he is running “to restore balance to our statewide leadership on economic issues.” He pledged “to oversee the Treasury Department and its programs with an efficient and frugal mindset, be an independent voice as a member of the PERA (state pension fund) board,” and to measure the success of programs by their results.
In response to a question about the duties of the office, Young listed cash management, investments, debt management, and The Great Colorado Payback, a program to return unclaimed property.
To that list, Sias added that the Treasurer acts as a pass-through between the state and local governments and school districts in Colorado. He also said the office can be used as a bully pulpit “to weigh in on matters of economic significance.”
Asked about the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, which is now 30 years old, Sias said it gives taxpayers the right to weigh in on tax increases and tax refunds, thus provides a mandate for accountability. He added that Young sponsored legislation in 2019 to abolish TABOR.
Young pointed to “outcomes in the state directly related to TABOR,” including, “the lowest competitive salaries for teachers in the country; we can’t fund services for people with disabilities, we are struggling with health care, mental health, affordable housing; we have problems with infrastructure, including water and transportation. We have a slew of issues we need to address and limited capacity under the restrictions of TABOR to be able to address them. I (would like to see us) develop a rational tax policy that we could replace TABOR with and present it to voters.”
Sias responded that when the case can be made to the voters, taxes can be raised under TABOR, to which Young responded that a more rational tax policy, if approved by the voters, could see Colorado thrive, not just survive.
On the question of TABOR refunds, Sias said he preferred “the six-tier method” for determining refund amounts over the flat rate method that was employed by the state this year ($750 per person), but wasn’t overly concerned about it. Young said that the six-tier method preferred by Sias rewards the state’s wealthiest residents at the expense of working people. He also said people benefitted by the state sending the refunds out early so residents had the money sooner to meet their essential needs. Sias retorted that it was done “to take credit during an election,” and that the government was bloated and had grown too fast.
Asked by a student what the State Treasurer could do about inflation, Sias talked again about “running the office with a frugal and efficient mindset,” pointing to Young having increased the size of the Treasurer’s staff. Young pointed to a $250 million small business loan program he worked to get started, for businesses with less than 100 employees, to focus on helping small businesses “recover or expand.”
Sias said that the program Young described was projected to help 2,000 businesses but has only helped nine. Young responded that it a bipartisan program and, “We didn’t know that the Trump administration was going to flood the market with paycheck protection program loans that could be forgiven and had zero interest attached.”
To a question about a policy to not invest state pension funds in fossil fuel companies or those pursuing a social agenda, Young responded, “Everybody needs energy, but I think it’s a bad fiduciary decision,” and that PERA…should invest in businesses that have a sustainable future.” Sias said that political beliefs should play no role in determining investments from the left or the right, although acting to protect the State of Israel by not investing in companies that discriminate against Israel is an exception and is supported on a bipartisan basis.
When one of the panelists asked Sias, “Since 2010, you’ve run for state senate, Congress, and lieutenant governor, in addition for your tenure in the Colorado House–Is this a job you really want or do you see it as a stepping stone to higher office?” Sias responded, “I’m actually incredibly excited about this job,” noting that it fit well with the issues he worked on while in the state legislature and he “has a passion for service.”
Asked whether he aspired to higher office, Young said, “I consider the State Treasurer to be a higher office. I love doing this job. I think I have a great track record.”
In his closing, Sias said, “Colorado leads the state in the actual dollars paid for inflation. Denver was recently named the 5th least affordable city in the country… Colorado recently dropped from number 11 to number 29 on the list of business-friendly states…This has happened with one party controlling… Our state works better with balance. As your treasurer, I will work with anyone who is truly dedicated to reducing the cost of living for our families and our small businesses.”
Young said he was asked to run for Treasurer because of the work he did on the state budget in four years of being a member of the Joint Budget Committee in the legislature. He believes he has done a good job and should be re-elected based on his record of accomplishments in his first term.
fmiklin.villager@gmail.com