John Hickenlooper Toughens Rhetoric In Favor Of Oil, Gas Regulations

Gubernatorial candidate John Hickenlooper is toughening his rhetoric regarding oil and gas regulations in Colorado and deflecting criticism that he's flip-flopping on the issue.

The Denver Mayor and former oil industry geologist has faced criticism in the past from environmentalists--and from the current Democratic governor--for making comments that appeared to side with the energy companies against stricter oil and gas regulations that took effect in 2009.

In particular, many members of the Democratic base were incensed by comments the mayor made to the South Metro Chamber of Commerce.

Hickenlooper then described the new regulations as "flawed," saying "the environmentalists went way overboard, I think, and pushed very hard -- I shouldn't say overboard, I'll get myself in trouble -- but they pushed very hard for certain things they thought were very important."

However, in a Sunday editorial for the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, Hickenlooper expressed his support for the regulations, which were enacted by Governor Bill Ritter after months of public debate.

Hickenlooper wrote that scrapping the new regulations, as his likely Republican opponent, Scott McInnis, has said he would do, "would be a mistake:"

In general, the state rules include the best practices of the oil and gas industry. Both of my opponents want to rewrite the rules, but that would be a mistake. I would not throw out or roll back rules regulating oil and gas extraction in our state. Looking back would only reduce the predictability businesses need to operate successfully and undermine protections for our health and environment.

I learned from running small businesses that there is always room for improvement in any enterprise, and the same is certainly true in government. The current rules allow the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to examine and modify regulations as issues arise. I have heard from several operators that there are opportunities to cut red tape or tailor regulations for specific basins. As governor, I would encourage the commission to carefully consider these specific concerns and explore ways to address them, so long as protecting our health and environment remains paramount.

The editorial, coupled with statements made earlier this week at an energy forum earlier this week (viewable below), prompted accusations from McInnis that Hickenlooper is doing an about-face on the issue. McInnis spokesman Sean Duffy told the Denver Post that the views Hickenlooper articulated at the forum were "the fourth variation of his position."

In an interview with the Colorado Independent, Hickenlooper defended his consistency on the issue, saying "I do think that some of the rule making went too far. I do think that some of them can not be applied statewide, but I never said I wanted to repeal them."

Quick Poll

Has Hickenlooper been consistent in his statements on oil and gas regulations?

No. His rhetoric has changed as political opinion shifts

Yes, this is just Republicans playing politics

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WATCH HICKENLOOPER'S INTERVIEW:

WATCH MCINNIS'S INTERVIEW:

Comments

[GirlOutWest]

10:40 PM on 07/10/2010

Hickenloop­er will be one of the best Governors we've ever had.

[DenverBigDaddy]

06:19 PM on 07/08/2010

Dude thinks Van Jones is "A Rockstar".­.....that should tell you how unqualifie­d he is to hold office.

[mgbrand]

07:57 PM on 07/08/2010

Not to mention the tax policies Denver has embraced under his leadership­. He is driving business away from the city with comparativ­ely high rates of taxation. They are going elsewhere to surroundin­g areas where they wont have to pay as much. And then he will wonder why tax revenue is going down instead of up...

[SteveDenver]

10:21 PM on 07/09/2010

You must be new to Colorado, Denver has always had higher rates of taxation.

[gulopartisan]

03:29 PM on 07/08/2010

Wouldn't it be nice to hear from a Repug that he had a plan, and what the plan is? They got us into this mess. Never, ever, forget that.

[mgbrand]

04:01 PM on 07/08/2010

Yeah it had nothing to do with the liberal sacred cows Fannie and Freddie consolidat­ing all the risky debt into a massive ticking time bomb. Or regulation­s forcing banks to make riskier loans to those who ordinarily wouldn't get a loan in the name of social justice. Stop acting like Democrats did not have a hand in building this house of cards right there beside the Republican­s. Nobody is blameless. Democrats want to over-regul­ate to the point where the government becomes a player in the game it is only supposed to referee, and Republican­s want to under-regu­late to the point where it is acceptable to cheat. You're both wrong. Never, ever, forget that.

[ProudAmericanLiberal]

04:33 PM on 07/08/2010

Try, try, try again to make the Dems culpable. Your efforts are so transparen­t and full of holes. Dems don't want the government to be a player, they just want everyone to play fairly and to have an equal chance. That's what I want and I will hold my leader's feet to the fire when they stray. All you guys know how to do is point fingers and whine.

[Telemachus]

04:49 PM on 07/08/2010

Now tell us the one about how the Dems lied us into a war and let the oil companies turn the Gulf of Mexico into their private sewer. That'll be a good one.

[BeasleysMom]

03:23 PM on 07/08/2010

Now we know what McInnis thinks about Hick. It would so refreshing to hear any gop tell us what their solutions are for the problems we face both here in Colorado and across the nation instead of the relentless effort to discredit Democrats. Blaaaaaaaa­aaaaaah.