{"id":800462,"date":"2019-10-17T17:30:53","date_gmt":"2019-10-17T23:30:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/?p=373146"},"modified":"2019-10-17T17:30:53","modified_gmt":"2019-10-17T23:30:53","slug":"opinion-susan-knopf-your-election-run-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/opinion-susan-knopf-your-election-run-down\/","title":{"rendered":"Opinion | Susan Knopf: Your election run-down"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

The most important
\nitems on your ballot are at the bottom. You save money and enhance the quality
\nof life in your community by not having tax money returned to you. Let\u2019s start
\nwith the issues. The candidates will be in an upcoming column.<\/p>\n

Proposition CC: yes  <\/strong><\/p>\n

Retain state government revenue for schools, higher education, roads, bridges and transit.<\/p>\n

We already paid the
\nmoney. It costs money to collect taxes. It costs money to return tax money.
\nWouldn\u2019t you rather spend our money on better schools, better roads, higher
\neducation and transit? I would! Colorado Department of Transportation has
\nmillions of dollars in projects deferred for lack of funds<\/a>. Check out the link online to see where
\nyour CDOT money goes.<\/p>\n

Proposition DD: <\/strong>yes<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Legalization and taxation of sports betting to fund water projects and obligations.<\/p>\n

Proposition DD does
\nthree things: legalizes online and in-person sports betting, taxes sports betting
\nand commits the tax revenue largely to water projects. It\u2019s endorsed by
\nagriculture associations and environmentalists. The tax doesn\u2019t come from the
\nbettor\u2019s side. The tax is on the casino proceeds, which is different than the
\nfederal excise tax which comes off the top of the entire amount wagered. The Blue Book<\/a> has a good explanatory graphic.<\/p>\n

Bill Hudson, of the
\nPagosa Daily Post, asks in his editorial<\/a>, \u201cWill gambling addicts pay our water debts?\u201d Yes
\nand no. For the record, the National Council on Problem Gambling<\/a> says a lot of people gamble but only about 2-3%<\/a> can be called addicts. The council reports 85% of American
\nadults have gambled at least once in their lifetimes, 65% in the past year.<\/p>\n

According to the nonpartisan Legislative Council of the Colorado
\nAssembly, the new tax is expected to generate $16 million and as much as $29
\nmillion per year. That would go a long way to helping fundColorado\u2019s
\nWater Plan<\/a>. <\/strong>Advocates sayit willwork like the lottery<\/a> <\/strong>pays forColorado parks and open space.<\/p>\n

A tax on industry profit to pay for Colorado water seems good to me.<\/p>\n

 Measure 1A<\/strong><\/a>: heck yes!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Authorizing a special sales tax on cigarettes, e-cigarettes and vaping products.<\/p>\n

According to Tobacco Free Kids, citing a U.S. Surgeon General study,
\n\u201cincreasing price is proven to reduce smoking, especially among
\nkids.\u201d That\u2019s a good thing. The last time Colorado tried to pass a tobacco
\ntax, Big Tobacco spent more than $18
\nmillion<\/a> to defeat it. Don\u2019t buy into their propaganda. Summit Daily
\nNews reporter Sawyer
\nD\u2019Argonne<\/a> did a great story on this issue.<\/p>\n

Measure <\/strong>1B<\/strong><\/a>:
\nyes (not a new tax)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pays for open space, trails, natural areas and other purposes previously approved by tax payers.<\/p>\n

You may not remember how Summit County looked before we had
\na great recreation path system, before the mining tailings in front of
\nBreckenridge were cleaned up and the great linear park was created. I do. I\u2019m
\nreally proud of what we\u2019ve done. It still needs to be maintained, and we still
\nneed to do more. So yes!<\/p>\n

Measure 4A: yes! (not a new
\ntax)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Use current taxes allocated for full-day kindergarten to increase teacher pay, and enhance school counseling and mental health programs.<\/p>\n

Thank you Gov. Jared Polis for allocating state funds to pay
\nfor full-day kindergarten. That frees up our local tax dollars for other
\nimportant priorities: retaining our teachers and taking care of our students\u2019 mental
\nhealth needs, doing everything we can to prevent violent issues from occurring
\nin our schools.<\/p>\n

Colorado ranks 32nd in average teacher pay and lower than
\nthe national average, according to Education
\nWeek<\/a>. We can fix that.<\/p>\n

The most important thing is register<\/a> and vote. Follow the online link to the Colorado Secretary of State\u2019s office.
\nAll you need is a Colorado driver\u2019s license. If you don\u2019t have one, there are
\nother ways to establish your eligibility. It\u2019s all explained clearly at the
\nsite.<\/p>\n

This is a democracy. It only works if you participate.
\nEducate yourself on the issues and vote. Or just use the rundown. Links to more
\ninformation can be found in the online edition of this column.<\/p>\n

More on candidates in two weeks. Check out the Summit Daily News\u2019 online site for more information at summitdaily.com\/election<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Susan Knopf\u2019s column \u201cFor The Record\u201d publishes Fridays in the Summit Daily News. Knopf has worn many hats in her career, including working as an award-winning journalist and certified ski instructor. She moved to Silverthorne in 2013 after vacationing in Summit County since the 1970s. Contact her at sdnknopf@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

via:: Summit Daily<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The most important items on your ballot are at the bottom. You save money and enhance the quality of life in your community by not having tax money returned to you. Let\u2019s start with the issues. The candidates will be in an upcoming column. Proposition CC: yes  Retain state government revenue for schools, higher education, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-800462","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-27 05:30:27","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSMT The Mountain","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/800462","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=800462"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/800462\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=800462"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=800462"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=800462"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}