Gubernatorial candidates spar before Springs business crowd

DENVER – Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper made his first pitch to the Colorado Springs business community Wednesday during a session of dueling stump speeches that included Scott McInnis, the GOP frontrunner in the governor’s race.

McInnis told more than 100 members of the Greater Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce that he’ll cut spending to balance to the state’s budget gap and hold the line on taxes. Hickenlooper, unopposed in the Democratic primary, focused on himself and the Cascade Avenue brew pub he started during a 30-minute talk.

“Everybody thought downtown Colorado Springs couldn’t come back” Hickenlooper said of starting Phantom Canyon Brewing Co. in 1991. “We proved that it could.”

The Colorado Springs boosters were in Denver for the chamber’s annual day at the General Assembly.  During a luncheon, they got a preview of what is setting up to be one of the biggest races of the 2010 election.

It was Hickenlooper’s first address to a Colorado Springs audience since entering the governor’s race in January. He’s still trying to introduce himself to voters outside Denver and hasn’t tangled with Republicans on major issues.

McInnis has been courting Colorado Springs Republicans for months in his primary bid against Denver businessman Dan Maes. McInnis’ political lines are well-known and well-honed.

“No matter how you slice the pie, that’s job cremation, not job creation,” McInnis said in a jab at a $130 million expansion of state sales taxes recently approved by Democrats.

McInnis is running on his record as a Western Slope congressman and worked Wednesday to burnish his conservative credentials by voicing support of expanding Fort Carson’s Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site.
Hickenlooper, even under questioning from the Colorado Springs crowd, avoided taking anything that could be construed as a stance on issues facing the state.

He said business acumen learned from running a successful chain of restaurants, including the one in Colorado Springs, translates to running the state.

“It’s management,” he said. “It’s no different than your business.”

Hickenlooper bought the Phantom Canyon building at the corner of Pikes Peak and Cascade avenues to save it from the wrecking ball and turned it into a successful restaurant and micro brewery before selling his interest. The tale of his Colorado Springs success, which some say was key in the revitalization of downtown, may win him friends in the Pikes Peak region.

“He has a strong personality and is a successful businessman,” said chamber member Steve Hicks, an avowed McInnis supporter who still found something to like in Hickelooper’s style.

Jonathan Dorsey, a Colorado Springs financial planner, said he hasn’t made up his mind in the race, but liked the way Hickenlooper came across.

“He was the one I understood,” Dorsey said.

McInnis is having a hard time luring his likely November opponent into the traditional campaign war of words.
“The mayor and I have never had a cross word between us, but there is a difference, and there is a choice you have to make,” he said.

Hickenlooper could remain a no-show for traditional political battles.

“We will keep this a positive campaign,” he said.

“Business owners know there is no margin in making enemies.”