Aaron's Real Opinions (Yikes!)

MARC HOLTZMAN UNPLUGGED!
08-25-05

In an exclusive interview being broadcast this weekend, gubernatorial candidate Marc Holtzman talks about his background and accomplishments and focuses on why he is running for Governor for the State of Colorado (today, Friday, at 9:00 pm, and Sunday at 2:00 pm). The program is part of the special "Who Wants To Be Governor?" series being produced within "The Aaron Harber Show." Its purpose is to give Coloradans the opportunity to hear directly from the candidates for Governor.

Holtzman just finished serving as President of the University of Denver  and had been appointed the first Secretary of Technology for the State of Colorado. He worked closely with Governor Bill Owens and also served as the Co-Chairman of the Governor's Commission On Science And Technology. Holtzman also co-founded the New Schools Development Corporation in Colorado. He made his fortune as a financial entrepreneur in Eastern and Central Europe before returning to make his home in Colorado. 

Holtzman established a personal relationship with Ronald Reagan over a quarter of a century ago and traveled extensively with him during his first campaign in 1979-80. That firsthand exposure to Republican philosophy and raw political campaign shaped Holtzman into what he politically is today.

Holtzman was embroiled in a recent controversy in which he called on his chief (and to date only) Republican Primary Election opponent -- Congressman Bob Beauprez -- to join him and make their respective gubernatorial campaigns secondary to a new, primary effort focused on defeating Referenda C & D. Referendum C is a request by Governor Owens and the General Assembly to allow the State to keep and spend tax revenues it already is scheduled to collect over the next five years rather than refund them to taxpayers. Referendum D is a list of road, transportation, and other construction-related projects to which the tax dollars would be pledged so the projects could be bonded immediately after the approval of the referenda so as to facilitate their immediate construction. Holtzman addresses the issue of whether or not his call to make the fight against Referenda C & D his #1 project meant he was suspending his campaign for Governor.

The most surprising part of the program was not Holtzman's attack against Referenda C & D -- named by the General Assembly as the Colorado Economic Recovery Act. Holtzman's opposition to it has been well-known for some time. What was surprising was his belief that the $408 million gap projected for the State of Colorado 's next fiscal year was not credible. Hence, rather than criticizing the Referenda proposals themselves, Holtzman attacked the calculations which formed the underpinning for the proposals in the first place. Although the projections were made in a nonpartisan manner, Holtzman disputed their accuracy and, therefore, created the basis for questioning even the most basic need for the Referenda. On the program, Holtzman details his specific objections to the Referenda. Stay tuned for more!

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Aaron Harber hosts "The Aaron Harber Show," seen Fridays at 9:00 pm and Sundays at 2:00 pm on PBS Station KBDI-TV Channel 12. Please go to www.HarberTV.com for more information. Send your comments and topic suggestions for both columns and TV shows to Aaron@HarberTV.com. You also may view programs on a 24/7 basis via the "Broadcast Videos" section of the Website. Many of Aaron's columns also are available on the Website on the page entitled "Aaron's Opinions." You often can find them in The Colorado Statesman (www.ColoradoStatesman.com) as well as in The Denver Daily News (www.DenverDailyNews.com).

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