At the Colorado legislature, high-profile battles that divide along partisan lines are the exception rather than the rule. Though these disputes earn the most media coverage, beneath the turmoil on the surface are struggles that rarely engage more than a few lobbyists as unpredictable alliances among legislators form across party lines. Pundits have long noted there are no Republican or Democratic theories for plowing snow or filling potholes. Much the same can be said for turf battles that emerge between local governments and the state itself. The more dollars at stake, the nastier the fights.
A pair of initiatives which originated from the governor’s office appear headed on a collision course. Last week the Denver Post reported the Front Range Passenger Rail District (FRPR) is readying a TABOR funding question for the 2026 November ballot. It will seek voter permission to levy an as yet undetermined mix of taxes to launch passenger service on existing tracks between Trinidad and Fort Collins. Initially, however, planning is only underway for deployment of a “northern segment” between Denver and Fort Collins, including a starter connection to Boulder that could provide passenger service by 2029. FRPR has estimated this starter service will require $885 million, although it isn’t clear whether this also covers the extension to Fort Collins.
Sal Pace, an experienced former Pueblo County commissioner and House minority leader, who has served on the FRPR Board, was elevated to the project’s general manager position several months ago. Pace is reported as claiming advancing its ballot measure will be dependent on the Regional Transportation District (RTD) providing funds to help pay for the initial service. The Denver Post correctly points out, “RTD’s 15 elected board members have faced pressure behind the scenes and have been discussing whether to help fund the starter service.” This pressure has included legislation submitted in 2024 to abolish the elected board in favor of a board controlled by the governor’s appointees. That bill failed. The late state Sen. Faith Winter ran a bill in 2025 creating an interim RTD Accountability Committee to study and make recommendations for restructuring the agency’s governance.
To understand the motives in play it is necessary to recount 50 years of Colorado transit history. After a series of scandals in the late 1970s on the part of an incompetent and corrupt appointed RTD board, Rep. Jack McCroskey and I introduced bills to convert the district to an elected board during the 1979 and 1980 legislative sessions. Each year, our bill received more than 50 votes in the 65-member House but failed to receive a hearing in the Senate, where each was killed with a “pocket veto” as was permissible then. Common Cause’s “Gavel amendment’ would remedy this practice some years later. We then decided to place the question on the 1980 ballot as a citizens’ initiative. Relying on volunteers, we collected 150,000 signatures in 90 days. Since there was no provision for a regional transit entity under the Special District law at that time, RTD was born as a quasi-state agency. Seventy-three percent of voters statewide approved our initiative creating an elected RTD Board. I am the sole remaining survivor among the petition sponsors.
There is no logical reason why legislators from Rifle, Cortez, Trinidad or Julesburg should be passing judgment on RTD’s ballot questions, salaries or organization. Front Range legislators have no such say over the Summit Stage, Eagle Transit or RFTA, which were each created more recently and enjoy full governing authorities as independent units of local government. Returning to consideration of the RTD Accountability Committee, of which I was a member this past year after appointment by Senate President James Coleman. We agreed transit riders deserve a well-balanced elected board that represents the residents in RTD’s service area. A longtime friend, I approached President Coleman for an appointment to assure a minority report favoring retention of the elected board would advance. It’s important to recognize the concerns the accountability committee examined originated with a small cadre of elected officials from the U.S. 36 corridor between Westminster and Boulder, as well as Gov. Jared Polis, who resides in Boulder.
Their complaints harken back to the FasTracks ballot question approved by district voters 20 years ago. The proposed development plan called for a light-rail link from Denver to Boulder. FasTracks revenues generated with a sales tax boost proved inadequate to complete all the segments originally promised. As with any ballot initiative, the board had to adjust its ambitions to actual resources. The Boulder connection fell out as the least cost effective with the fewest riders, yet Boulder County still enjoys ample special transit services, including the Flatiron Flyer and a pair of circulator routes serving its downtown and the university campus. Nonetheless, political leaders have nursed a grudge for decades against RTD, claiming they were cheated. There are, of course, no legal grounds for these complaints. The Accountability Committee has included a recommendation further discussion of FasTracks should cease and transit planning be directed forward. When still serving in Congress, Jared Polis represented the Interstate 70 Mountain Corridor counties. At a meeting in Frisco I also attended, the then-congressman asked me what Boulder would have to do to obtain a rail link to Union Station? I counseled him it was unlikely RTD would find the money to build such a low priority line for another 30 or 40 years — and advised him his best bet was to pursue a Front Range rail project as a substitute.
This brings us full circle to last week’s FRPR announcement it requires RTD’s money to jump start its intended service and explains the arm-twisting mentioned in the Post. There is close to $300 million held in RTD’s infrastructure reserve account and, as you might suspect, several higher priority projects with greater ridership are awaiting funding. Instead of diplomatically approaching the RTD board for help, which likely would have afforded them consideration, this Boulder/north Jeffco cabal introduced legislation to eliminate the elected board. Sen. Winter explained at a 2024 meeting with elected officials in Broomfield, repeal had become necessary to “…force RTD to cough up money for light rail to Boulder.” In fact, speaking with RTD board members, a formal, courteous request would likely have received a sympathetic response. There is a recognition on the RTD board the district bears an ethical, if not fiscal, responsibility to assist FRPR’s program. Yet no public hearing was scheduled, nor did we meet with board members despite substantial public opposition to repealing 45 years of an elected system.
The majority recommendation for governance reform at RTD contemplates a nine-member board, five elected and four appointed by the governor. The newly constituted districts will have 750,000 residents, nearly as large as Colorado congressional districts. Critics of the current board’s composition attack the “parochial” agendas carried by 15 district representatives. Of course, this is true, but it is also the rationale for representative government. During the past 45 years, the RTD board has consistently included an African-American and Hispanic member — representing communities that rely heavily on its services. Voters have also elected a number of disabled members to the RTD board. This representation would end if the proposed five elected candidates had to raise huge war chests for their campaigns. What could be more parochial than a handful of elected officials attempting to repeal elected governance in hopes of looting RTD’s treasury?
The governor has seemingly painted himself into a political corner. He has a chance of securing immediate funding before November for a ballot initiative, but not if he continues trying to jerk RTD board members from their chairs. Otherwise, he can prioritize a slaughter of the board, and his successor can wait a few years to receive any money. Gov. Polis won’t get both. Sal Pace indicated there is “significant voter mistrust,” implying discontent with RTD. In four months of hearings, not a shred of evidence confirming this “groupthink” mantra was presented. I’ve never been more encouraged by the RTD board than I am now. It’s fully as capable as any of its predecessors.
We wouldn’t enjoy the light-rail system we have today if voters hadn’t opted for an elected board in 1980. Apparently, it will take the consent of the elected board at RTD to move FRPR forward. Newly elected board president Patrick O’Keefe seems hopeful FRPR can succeed. He is not obstinate, but thoughtful and analytical, when he raises concerns regarding future liability for operational costs, system maintenance expenses and potential capital overruns. These are questions requiring answers. Pace and his own board have work to do and little time to accomplish it. These are not mere “details” but building blocks needed in place before RTD puts a check in the mail. It also wouldn’t hurt to let voters and their communities know what will be in a proposed tax package. Local governments don’t want another competitor for their funding sources. Appointed boards, like FRPR’s, tend to often mistake cooperation for coordination.
Miller Hudson is a public affairs consultant and a former Colorado legislator.