Guest Columns

In towns and counties all over Colorado, we’re seeing candidates emerge for local posts: city councils, county commissions, school boards and all the other offices that represent our most direct form of democracy. In these days of complicated issues and stark budgets, we need the best possible minds solving our collective problems.

Economic recovery begins with responsible access to credit. Banks know that businesses and consumers need credit, and that they aren’t always getting the credit they need. That leaves many asking, “Why?”

Here’s why.

In a recent column in The Colorado Statesman, state Rep. Kevin Lundberg, R-Berthoud, took issue with Sen. John McCain and me regarding the Senate National Parks Subcommittee field hearing that we held in Estes Park on the impacts of climate change on our national parks.

Coloradans own a conservatively estimated $500 million per year unfunded liability on public bridge, highway, interchange and tunnel infrastructure. That’s a staggering sum in any single year, and the cumulative effect year after year undermines road safety and our state’s economic recovery. That Colorado’s people, families, businesses and leaders continue accumulating a $500 million annual deferred maintenance debt is unsustainable.