Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Shortly after the election, I gave you election results for
lots of stuff, including the Colorado State House of Representatives,
but a couple of races at least ended up.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Going to recount, and one of them ended.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Up in what is the closest election that I've ever
heard of, and the results are very interesting and important.
And joining us to tell us what happened is Rose Puglici,
who is the House Minority Leader, which is to say,
the Republican leader in the Colorado State House of Representatives
and a fellow graduate of the leadership program in the Rockies. Hi.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
Rose, good morning, Ross, Thanks so much for having me
on this morning.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
Okay, so first let's talk big picture and then we'll
do the micro especially about that one very close election.
But in the big picture, what do we now know
about who's got how many seats in the state House?
And why is the particular numbers are so important?
Speaker 3 (01:02):
Yeah, So, after all the recounts and the election results,
the Colorado House Republicans have picked up three seats in
the state House, which is amazing. It has been able
to take us out of the super majority or end
the supermajority for the Democrats out of the super minority,
and so it's really exciting. And why that's really important,
(01:23):
especially for our listeners, is that this ending the supermajority
means that the Democrats do not have a two thirds
vote to refer constitutional amendments. And that'll be really important
in a tight budget year where you know, we always
talk about the tax payer Bill of Rights, and I
think our caucus is incredibly dedicated to protecting the tax
(01:45):
payer Bill of Rights. We believe that's what the Coloraditans want,
and so ending the supermajority is really important to protecting
the tax payer Bill of Rights.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
So can could the state House if they had a supermajority,
could they refer something to the ballot without needing a
super majority in the state Senate.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
So they would still have the state Senate as a backdrop,
So that is correct, but in the House they could
just refer it over. So for us being able to
stop that in the House and not going to the
Senate is also incredibly important.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Okay, So there were how many went to recounts? How
many elections went to recounts.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
So there were two out of our three targeted seats
that went to recount and we were successful in both.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
Of those recounts, right, and so one of them was
Dan Woog, Right, that's and that one wasn't that close
to one hundred votes or something like that. Tell us
about the other race, which is I think House District sixteen.
Maybe tell us about that one, because this is an
unbelievable story.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
Yes, it's incredible to kind of watch how these recounts
went through. Yes, House District nineteen was successful about one
hundred and ten votes. Rebecca Kelty and Colorado Springs and
mind you rock. Her district abuts my district, so you know,
and my district is pretty conservative, full of military and veterans.
(03:15):
Her district. She won that seat by three votes. So
if you think your vote doesn't count or that you
can't knock one more door, make one more phone call.
Rebecca Kelty is the example as to why the grassroots
needs to continue to engage and push forward in an election.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
That district does that have Manitou Springs in it?
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Sixteen? It does not, Okay, and so three votes.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
So first of all, that that's unbelievable, But the story
is even crazier than that, Right, Like, for a moment,
didn't it look like it was actually a tie?
Speaker 3 (03:48):
Yeah? But ultimately the Canvas Board, you know, through their process,
which is comprised of both Republicans and Democrat all were
in agreement and certified that Rebecca won by three votes.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
Yeah, just as far as the roller coaster though, if
you can imagine, you know, they're going through all this stuff,
it looks like a tie.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
And then these election officials who.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
Have to go check out these other ballots and just
try to make sure they understand the voter's intent on
the ballot.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
And again the bipartisan things.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
So it's not just Republicans or just Democrats deciding, they
do their best to determine, all right, this voter meant this,
and then they count them that way, and Rebecca Kelty
ended up winning by three votes. And by the way,
the person Rebecca Kelty beat, Steph the Heel.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
I think that's how you pronounced her last name.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
It's spelled like vigil for me, and you can either
comment on this or not Rose, But for me, Ms
the Heel is one of the very very worst members
of the House of Representatives as far as just being
a true radical.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
She's incredibly progressive for a district in Colorado Springs. That
abouts my very conservative district.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
All right, that's a polite way to put it. That's
a polite way.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
All right, give me one minute, literally one minute, on
a policy thing.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
You you mentioned that this is going to be a
tight budget year. There's already all kinds of stories in
the news. Governor Polis wants to do this.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
And wants to protect that, and Democrats want to do
this and that. What are we What does it mean
when you say we're gonna have a tight budget year
and what's going to have to happen.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
Well, it looks like there'll be about a one billion
dollars shortfall, and that's because of all the money that
came in from the federal government during COVID and now
that money is going away. And so as you know,
you know, government continues to grow and there's money, and
now that there's not. I think there's a real great
opportunity for Republicans, especially the House and the Senate, to
(05:48):
be able to have some good policy conversations about the budget,
the proper role of government, what we should be funding funding,
and what we should be defunding in the state budget.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
So, just to be clear and tell me if I'm
misstated what you said. The Democrats, who are in control
of everything, knew that money that was coming in from
the federal government was temporary.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
But set up spending as if.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
It were permanent, and now are acting like they're surprised
that they have to cut spending.
Speaker 3 (06:20):
You know, I think that's a very accurate, not nuanced approach.
But yees. I mean, when there's money, it's easy to
grow government, and then when there's not, you're going to
have to really take a look at what you need
to defund. I think those are great conversations for Republicans
to engage.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
Okay, so the last quick follow up, do you do
you think that they're going to that.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
The Democrats are going to come back.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
And say, well, you don't really you know, like puppies
are going to die, and veterans are gonna you know,
something bad's gonna happen to veterans, and you know all
the bad things that are going to happen unless you
agree to have your taxes raised so we don't have
to cut a billion dollars. Do you think they're going
to try to make that argument?
Speaker 3 (06:58):
I think this is where texting the tax payabill of
rights is going to be incredibly important because we know
it's been consistently under attack as to the reason why
government can't grow, why steak government can't spend more money,
And so I'm looking at tax credit. I think that's
going to be an important part of the conversation. So
I think there's a lot of opportunities to really look
(07:21):
at the budget and prioritize what falls down the proper
role of government.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
Rosepuglici is Colorado State House Minority leader and graduated the
leadership program of the Rockies. Rose, thanks for your time
and congrats on being out of the super minority.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
Thank you so much. I appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
We'll take you quick break. We'll be right back on
Kiawa
Shortly after the election, I gave you election results for
lots of stuff, including the Colorado State House of Representatives,
but a couple of races at least ended up.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Going to recount, and one of them ended.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Up in what is the closest election that I've ever
heard of, and the results are very interesting and important.
And joining us to tell us what happened is Rose Puglici,
who is the House Minority Leader, which is to say,
the Republican leader in the Colorado State House of Representatives
and a fellow graduate of the leadership program in the Rockies. Hi.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
Rose, good morning, Ross, Thanks so much for having me
on this morning.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
Okay, so first let's talk big picture and then we'll
do the micro especially about that one very close election.
But in the big picture, what do we now know
about who's got how many seats in the state House?
And why is the particular numbers are so important?
Speaker 3 (01:02):
Yeah, So, after all the recounts and the election results,
the Colorado House Republicans have picked up three seats in
the state House, which is amazing. It has been able
to take us out of the super majority or end
the supermajority for the Democrats out of the super minority,
and so it's really exciting. And why that's really important,
(01:23):
especially for our listeners, is that this ending the supermajority
means that the Democrats do not have a two thirds
vote to refer constitutional amendments. And that'll be really important
in a tight budget year where you know, we always
talk about the tax payer Bill of Rights, and I
think our caucus is incredibly dedicated to protecting the tax
(01:45):
payer Bill of Rights. We believe that's what the Coloraditans want,
and so ending the supermajority is really important to protecting
the tax payer Bill of Rights.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
So can could the state House if they had a supermajority,
could they refer something to the ballot without needing a
super majority in the state Senate.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
So they would still have the state Senate as a backdrop,
So that is correct, but in the House they could
just refer it over. So for us being able to
stop that in the House and not going to the
Senate is also incredibly important.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Okay, So there were how many went to recounts? How
many elections went to recounts.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
So there were two out of our three targeted seats
that went to recount and we were successful in both.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
Of those recounts, right, and so one of them was
Dan Woog, Right, that's and that one wasn't that close
to one hundred votes or something like that. Tell us
about the other race, which is I think House District sixteen.
Maybe tell us about that one, because this is an
unbelievable story.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
Yes, it's incredible to kind of watch how these recounts
went through. Yes, House District nineteen was successful about one
hundred and ten votes. Rebecca Kelty and Colorado Springs and
mind you rock. Her district abuts my district, so you know,
and my district is pretty conservative, full of military and veterans.
(03:15):
Her district. She won that seat by three votes. So
if you think your vote doesn't count or that you
can't knock one more door, make one more phone call.
Rebecca Kelty is the example as to why the grassroots
needs to continue to engage and push forward in an election.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
That district does that have Manitou Springs in it?
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Sixteen? It does not, Okay, and so three votes.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
So first of all, that that's unbelievable, But the story
is even crazier than that, Right, Like, for a moment,
didn't it look like it was actually a tie?
Speaker 3 (03:48):
Yeah? But ultimately the Canvas Board, you know, through their process,
which is comprised of both Republicans and Democrat all were
in agreement and certified that Rebecca won by three votes.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
Yeah, just as far as the roller coaster though, if
you can imagine, you know, they're going through all this stuff,
it looks like a tie.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
And then these election officials who.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
Have to go check out these other ballots and just
try to make sure they understand the voter's intent on
the ballot.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
And again the bipartisan things.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
So it's not just Republicans or just Democrats deciding, they
do their best to determine, all right, this voter meant this,
and then they count them that way, and Rebecca Kelty
ended up winning by three votes. And by the way,
the person Rebecca Kelty beat, Steph the Heel.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
I think that's how you pronounced her last name.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
It's spelled like vigil for me, and you can either
comment on this or not Rose, But for me, Ms
the Heel is one of the very very worst members
of the House of Representatives as far as just being
a true radical.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
She's incredibly progressive for a district in Colorado Springs. That
abouts my very conservative district.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
All right, that's a polite way to put it. That's
a polite way.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
All right, give me one minute, literally one minute, on
a policy thing.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
You you mentioned that this is going to be a
tight budget year. There's already all kinds of stories in
the news. Governor Polis wants to do this.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
And wants to protect that, and Democrats want to do
this and that. What are we What does it mean
when you say we're gonna have a tight budget year
and what's going to have to happen.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
Well, it looks like there'll be about a one billion
dollars shortfall, and that's because of all the money that
came in from the federal government during COVID and now
that money is going away. And so as you know,
you know, government continues to grow and there's money, and
now that there's not. I think there's a real great
opportunity for Republicans, especially the House and the Senate, to
(05:48):
be able to have some good policy conversations about the budget,
the proper role of government, what we should be funding funding,
and what we should be defunding in the state budget.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
So, just to be clear and tell me if I'm
misstated what you said. The Democrats, who are in control
of everything, knew that money that was coming in from
the federal government was temporary.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
But set up spending as if.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
It were permanent, and now are acting like they're surprised
that they have to cut spending.
Speaker 3 (06:20):
You know, I think that's a very accurate, not nuanced approach.
But yees. I mean, when there's money, it's easy to
grow government, and then when there's not, you're going to
have to really take a look at what you need
to defund. I think those are great conversations for Republicans
to engage.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
Okay, so the last quick follow up, do you do
you think that they're going to that.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
The Democrats are going to come back.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
And say, well, you don't really you know, like puppies
are going to die, and veterans are gonna you know,
something bad's gonna happen to veterans, and you know all
the bad things that are going to happen unless you
agree to have your taxes raised so we don't have
to cut a billion dollars. Do you think they're going
to try to make that argument?
Speaker 3 (06:58):
I think this is where texting the tax payabill of
rights is going to be incredibly important because we know
it's been consistently under attack as to the reason why
government can't grow, why steak government can't spend more money,
And so I'm looking at tax credit. I think that's
going to be an important part of the conversation. So
I think there's a lot of opportunities to really look
(07:21):
at the budget and prioritize what falls down the proper
role of government.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
Rosepuglici is Colorado State House Minority leader and graduated the
leadership program of the Rockies. Rose, thanks for your time
and congrats on being out of the super minority.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
Thank you so much. I appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
We'll take you quick break. We'll be right back on
Kiawa
The Ross Kaminsky Show News
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