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A Late-Season Debate For Leing, Polis Ahead Of November

Challenger George Leing and Incumbent Jared Polis participated in a late-season debate, taped Tuesday at Colorado Public Television.
Colorado Public Television
Challenger George Leing and Incumbent Jared Polis participated in a late-season debate, taped Tuesday at Colorado Public Television.

The two candidates for Colorado's 2nd Congressional District, which includes Northern Colorado and the mountains west of Denver, faced off Tuesday during a CBS 4 and Colorado Public Television debate. It's the last TV exposure for a race that hasn't received much attention between incumbent Democrat Jared Polis and his Republican challenger, George Leing.

Bente Birkeland reports from the state capitol

The 2nd Congressional District has a variety of communities, from Fort Collins and Boulder to Breckenridge and Vail. It's a Democratic leaning district, which Leing said is tough to overcome.

"That is one of the problems with our political process," Leing said. "It's so hard for a non-incumbent to get the attention that you'd like to have."

http://youtu.be/lZ1wsOqaYEk

While Leing hasn't raised as much money as Polis, he has received some key endorsements from newspapers – including the Estes Park Trail Gazette and the Fort Collins Coloradoan. Polis however is considered the front-runner. The Denver Post endorsed him, and he's got statewide name recognition for being at the forefront of Colorado's fracking debate.

"My belief is it should be up to communities what they want to do," said Polis. "There are plenty of areas where fracking is not controversial, it's very popular. There are other areas where people don't want to have it and I don't think they should be forced to."

Until August, Polis had been backing two anti-fracking ballot measures that would've put the question to a statewide vote. He pulled the proposals when Governor John Hickenlooper created a task force to examine the issue.

In the debate, Leing was critical of the process.

"It was done in a way that was so antagonistic, we got to the conversation at the end instead of the beginning. And I think that is the wrong way to have brought this on," said Leing.

Polis disagreed, citing the influence and power of the oil and gas industry.

"They have for all practical purposes, all the money in the world in the political arena," Polis said. "So the only way to start a conversation is to introduce something new into the system."

Polis went on to say, if state lawmakers don't address the issue, he thinks another ballot proposal is inevitable in 2016. Leing, who worked as an attorney for Renewable Energy Systems Americas in Broomfield, said he wants to incorporate all types of energy because he believes energy independence is key.

"It helps us economically, and from a national security perspective, given all the upheavals in the world," Leing said.

On the topic of water, another important issue in the district, Polis said his priority is unifying a diverse group of interests, but he didn't outline any specific policies.

"It's an interesting district from a water perspective, we have Grand County, we have headwaters, we have downstream users, there are a lot of conflicts if you will," Polis stated. "The approach I have taken and would take is to assemble stakeholders together to make sure people's voices are heard."

Leing said he supports more water storage and conservation efforts. He'd also like to revisit historic water pacts on the Western Slope.

"We have the issue with the compact with the southwestern states. Water is mostly leaving our state," said Leing. "It's all on a specific number of gallons of water. It doesn't make sense to do that, because rainwater is different every year. A better approach is a percentage basis, rather than a strict number of gallons."

On current world events, the two candidates did find agreement on containing the Ebola epidemic. Neither is completely opposed to travel bans, but both note that they alone would not curb the epidemic. Polis said he's hopeful scientists can develop a vaccine.

In their closing statements, the two made a final pitch to voters, starting with Jared Polis.

"I was in business before I ran for office, created several companies, was an entrepreneur; I know how to balance budgets, know the importance of education, the importance of a good college degree at an affordable cost. So those are the issues I plan to work on for you," said Polis.

"I'm about solutions, and where we can go from where we are today to make our country better," said Leing. "We need to get beyond the gridlock and really represent the people of our district."

Copyright 2021 KUNC. To see more, visit KUNC.

Bente Birkeland
Bente Birkeland has been reporting on state legislative issues for KUNC and Rocky Mountain Community Radio since 2006. Originally, from Minnesota, Bente likes to hike and ski in her spare time. She keeps track of state politics throughout the year but is especially busy during the annual legislative session from January through early May.
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