An epic battle is brewing between Gov. Bill Ritter and Big Energy, and come November it will be up to voters to settle the matter.
The warring parties have raised more than $12 million in the increasingly belligerent fight over Amendment 58, a ballot measure that six weeks before the election is already the costliest issue campaign in state history.
Ritter is leading a coalition of environmental groups, led by the Nature Conservancy, and higher education backers to kill a tax credit for oil and gas companies and generate more than $300 million for state coffers, the bulk of which would pay for college scholarships.
On the other side stand energy companies and their extraordinary economic clout. Giants such as Exxon Mobil, Chevron, BP, ConocoPhillips, EnCana, Williams and Anadarko have spent $1 million apiece - part of $10 million overall contributed by energy firms - in a massive effort to defeat the measure.
Amendment backers targeting those companies say the "world's richest industry" can afford to give up a lucrative tax loophole found in almost no other state. Opponents say the measure, combined with an ongoing overhaul of Colorado drilling regulations, amounts to a tax increase that will push up energy prices and hurt local economies.
Political analyst Floyd Ciruli calls the high-profile showdown part of an unfolding conflict pitting powerful energy companies and record fuel costs against a resurgence of Democratic politics and green concerns pushing for cleaner power.
Ritter "is taking on a huge interest group . . . a group that feels somewhat embattled and has made it clear they'll fight back," Ciruli said. "On his side he has this growing strength of the Democratic Party, large legislative majorities . . . and an empowered environmental community."
Full Story: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/sep/20
/blowout-brawl-over-oil-money/
