DURANGO State Rep. Mark Ferrandino, D-Denver, could go from one end of his urban district to another in a long walk.
But as the newly elected House minority leader, he set out on a much longer jaunt Tuesday that took him from Colorado Springs to Durango and points beyond.
He and two staff members spun out on an icy Wolf Creek Pass shortly before he sat down with the Herald editorial board.
But he was in high spirits after getting news earlier Tuesday about Gov. John Hickenlooper cancelling his planned cuts to public schools thanks to a better outlook for the state budget.
Ferrandino backed the move, especially in light of a court ruling this month that declared the school finance system unconstitutional because of low funding.
The more we dig our hole deeper, the harder its going to be to get out of that hole, Ferrandino said.
But appellate judges in the case should have to take into account pressures on the state budget, including prison costs, medical spending and other restrictions.
I think that needs to be in their thought process if theyre going to rule our current School Finance Act is unconstitutional. They need to think through that, Ferrandino said.
Democrats this year will bring bills to create preferences in state contracts for firms that hire Colorado workers or sell local goods.
Democrats also want to limit enterprise zone tax credits to $250,000 each and study the credits to see if they truly do help local economies, he said.
Ferrandino was elected to lead his caucus when Rep. Sal Pace, D-Pueblo, left the post to concentrate on his run for Congress.
He is the first gay man to lead a Colorado House caucus, and last year he sponsored a bill to allow gays and lesbians to enter civil unions. It passed the Senate but failed in the House.
Senate Democrats will bring the bill next year, but Ferrandino will not sponsor it. Instead, supporters will look for a House Republican sponsor to increase its odds of passage, he said.
Ferrandino served on the Joint Budget Committee and was a budget expert at the state department of Health Care Policy and Financing before he joined the Legislature.
He said he prefers hard analysis and negotiation over the hyperbole that often grips the Legislature.
Im a numbers guy. Let me see the numbers and Ill tell you what the answers are, he said.
House Republican leaders visited Durango in October and pushed a message of lower taxes and less government spending.
Reach Joe Hanel at joeh@cortezjournal.com.
