State Senate District 8 is energy country. From the gas fields of Garfield County to the oil fields of Rangely, from coal mines to coal-fired power plants, energy has come to define northwest Colorado, and energy issues are defining the open race for the district.
The territory stretches from Basalt to Parachute, north to the Wyoming state line and west to Utah. With Sen. Jack Taylor, a Republican, ousted by term limits, the seat is up for grabs. The race pits state Rep. Al White, a Republican from Hayden, against Steamboat Springs Democrat Ken Brenner.
White comes in with name recognition. As an eight-year state representative, he comes with a record to stand on, and to defend, and in his career he has represented most of the district.
Brenner has been attacking White’s record, and as a relative unknown, the former Steamboat Springs city councilman has been trying to combat the issue of name recognition by knocking on doors — a lot of them. Brenner figures he’s talked to some 20,000 constituents, and he’ll talk to more before Election Day, after giving up his sports medicine career to campaign full time.
Concerns about oil and gas development have dominated those conversations, he said, and they’ve dominated his campaign.
“My opponent is a subtle but staunch defender of that industry,” Brenner said.
White downplays their differences.
“My view and Ken’s view is the same,” he said. “We’ve got to develop the resource, but we’ve got to be responsible how we do it: that we’ve got an undamaged environment left when the industry is gone.”
Differences emerge in some areas, though. White favors Gov. Bill Ritter’s plan for drilling on top of the Roan Plateau, which would allow drilling on much of the area above Rifle while protecting some key landscapes. Brenner opposes drilling on the top of the plateau. Brenner also favors Amendment 58, which would increase oil and gas severance taxes and devote the money to a variety of areas. White said he supports increasing severance taxes, but he opposes the way the amendment would spend the money. He said local communities deserve a bigger share of severance taxes.
“I believe if [oil and gas companies] were brought into the process, they would willingly consider a question that would increase their taxes if a major portion of those dollars went back into the areas they impact,” White said.
Before becoming a full-time legislator, White owned a trio of ski shops, a bike shop and a ski lodge. He left his home in Winter Park 2 1/2 years ago for a townhouse in Hayden, which he now calls home. That’s been a source of controversy from both parties. Critics, including his former campaign manager, allege White moved to Hayden solely to run for the Senate seat because he’s being term-limited from his House seat, and Winter Park lies outside the Senate district.
White dismisses the allegations. He says he moved to Hayden because it was a more central location to represent his House district. With the exception of Glenwood Springs, he said, he has represented all of the Senate district at one time or another amid the shifting borders of his House district.
“With 36 years in northwest Colorado, I think I have a full, firm understanding of the issues at play,” White said.
White sits on the powerful Joint Budget Committee, a seat that requires him to meet with legislators throughout the year and spend more time in Denver than other legislators. White acknowledges he keeps a home in Denver, but he said Hayden is home.
“If Ken or others believe this job can be done without going to Denver, they better hire someone else,” he said.
Taking a page from Republican presidential candidate John McCain’s playbook, White has cast himself as a “maverick,” sometimes bucking his own party on legislation. He irked social conservatives for backing a bill to outlaw discrimination against gays in places of public accommodation, like hotels and restaurants. He was the only Republican to support this year’s state budget.
“I’m kind of a maverick,” he said. “I’ve cast votes that Republicans grumble about. But you know, I’ve been equally successful in a Republican majority and a Democratic majority.”
Both White and Brenner were endorsed by the League of Conservation Voters, which advocates for environmental issues.
Brenner earned an A rating from the National Rifle Association, an unusual credential for a Democrat. White got a C-minus.
Brenner, who grew up on a ranch, said he opposed any gun restrictions.
“My vote has to reflect northwest Colorado,” he said. “I’m not getting elected to represent Denver.”
White attributes his grade to his support for a bill intended to make it easier to carry concealed weapons. A provision would have let sheriffs enter the names of permit holders on a state database. Without that provision, he said, the state sheriff’s association wouldn’t have endorsed it and it would have failed.
“The NRA got mad at me,” he said. “You know there are some conspiracy theorists who believe if your name is on any list, the government’s going to take your guns away. I tend not to be one of those.”
White stresses passing bills that boosted tourism promotion, school funding, county open space protections and that barred communities from condemning property in the name of economic development.
Brenner is emphasizing environmental protection in his campaign. He criticizes White for opposing a bill to grant water rights to Steamboat Springs for recreational uses, and for carrying a failed bill he says would have essentially deregulated gas industry waste pits, where energy companies store the toxic byproducts of drilling.
It’s an indication, he said, of White and other Republicans failing to rein in the oil and gas industry.
“I’ve heard hundreds of times, probably thousands of times, that we don’t need to be subsidizing the most profitable business in the world,” Brenner said. “They need to be paying their fair share. It’s a very beautiful place we live in. Let’s take care of it.”
dfrey@aspendailynews.com