Stan speaks about his legislative record  enlarge photo read Stan's responses As Opponent Slings Mud, Stan Sets the Record Straight "In hard times like these, voters want leaders who will put petty differences aside and get the job done. They want legislators who are willing to find the common ground and hammer out common-sense solutions." "What they don't want is petty partisan bickering that just leads to extreme positions and, ultimately, legislative gridlock." "My latest polls, I'm happy to say, show that my campaign is pulling ahead. Apparently my opponent is getting a little nervous, because her campaign has started running TV ads that step over the line between fact and fiction." "There's an old expression in politics—throw enough mud, and maybe some of it will stick. Well, I don't think the voters in the Fourth District can be fooled so easily. Hard-working people in rural areas have seen enough mud to know it when when they see it. So I'm not going to sling any mud back in the other direction—that's not my style." "Instead, I respectfully invite you, the voters, to look at my record and make up your own minds. I am confident that partisan tactics and "politics as usual" will be repudiated by thoughtful voters when we all go to the polls on Tuesday, November 5th." Sincerely,

Myth or Fact? . . . Let the Voters Decide
Click on a topic below to get the facts:    Cutting income tax    Taxes and assessments on farmers    Balanced budget amendment    Water storage    Pay raise for legislators    Gas tax increase
Cutting Income Tax
Myth:  Stan Matsunaka raised taxes       Fact:  Stan has voted over 30 times to cut taxes
I have a proven record as a fiscal conservative who supports tax cuts. I have voted over thirty times to cut taxes on Colorado's working families, and consistently supported leaner, more efficient government. I have voted to cut income taxes, sales taxes, property taxes, and eliminate the marriage tax penalty. My voting record demonstrates very clearly that I have consistently supported tax cuts and tax credits for educational, business, non profit, transportation, rural, and agricultural purposes. I'm proud of my record of providing tax relief, and have posted it right here on my website:    Matsunaka and Musgrave on Taxes    Matsunaka and Musgrave Voting Records Marilyn Musgrave says she supports cutting taxes, but fails to mention that she favors special-interest tax breaks, as opposed to tax cuts for Colorado's working families. For example, while Stan Matsunaka has voted for tax cuts to make housing affordable for low-income families, and Governor Owens has signed these bills (HB01-1334, HB00-1302, HB99-1383), Marilyn Musgrave has repeatedly voted against tax cuts for low-income Coloradans. Once again, she is out of step with the voters of the Fourth District.   If you like Stan's record, email this page to your friends and family!   The "tax cut" (HB99-1207, 5/3/99) cited by the Musgrave campaign as an example of her tax cutting was a fiscal shell game that merely moved money around—and out of Colorado. In 1999, legislative analysts estimated that as a result of HB99-1207, the federal government would receive an extra $40 million to $50 million per year in income taxes paid by Colorado taxpayers. By voting for this "tax cut," Marilyn Musgrave voted to take money away from state-level programs and give them to an already-bloated federal government. She voted to worsen our state's budget crisis and decreased Colorado's ability to improve education, transportation, and health care for Colorado families.
Taxes and Assessments on Farmers
Myth:  Voted to raise taxes on farmers' homes       Fact:  Stan voted to lower assessments and taxes
At best, Marilyn Musgrave misunderstands Senate Bill 95-025. At worst, her claim is an outright distortion. There is no basis to the Musgrave claim that this bill would increase agriculture property taxes. In fact, tax assessments on farmers' and ranchers' homes would have decreased. By redefining the amount of agricultural land included in tax assessments, the bill would have lowered taxes on farmers' homes. Unfortunately, SB95-25 never became law. Kirvin L. Knox, Retired Vice Provost for Agriculture and University Outreach at Colorado State University, analyzed the impact of the bill and had this to say: "I have reviewed Senate Bill 95-025 and I don't see where there is any basis to the claim that it did/would increase agriculture (farm and ranch) property taxes. In fact it might even reduce the tax on the agricultural land, as it defines agricultural land to exclude a one-acre parcel of land underlying and adjacent to any residential improvement located on such land. That would reduce the value of the ag land and thus the tax assessment, when the definition was changed. There is, insofar as I can determine, no validity to any claim that passage of Senate Bill 95-025 increased taxes on agricultural land." My vote to support SB95-25 is consistent with my other votes to create property tax exemptions and tax credits on behalf of farmers and ranchers on the eastern plains of Colorado.
Balanced Budget Amendment
Myth:  Stan opposes a balanced federal budget       Fact:  Stan firmly supports a balanced federal budget
Growing up on the eastern plains of Colorado, I learned that you have to pay your own way and make every dollar count. As a state Senator, I helped to pass eight balanced budgets in the state legislature. I firmly support a balanced budget at the federal level, but not through an amendment to the United States Constitution. If a balanced budget amendment had already been in place, for example, President Bush could not have passed his tax cuts, and Congress could not have funded the current War on Terror. I strongly believe in the idea of a fully balanced federal budget, and I will work in Congress to ensure that it becomes a reality. But we don't need to chisel an amendment into the United States Constitution in order to make it happen.
Water storage
Myth:  Stopped water storage bill       Fact:  Stan voted for $10 million in new water  storage
I have always favored more water storage as part of a comprehensive water plan that includes greater conservation and dredging to increase capacity. I voted in favor of the $10 billion water storage bill (SB02S-1022), and I also support an aggressive program of repairs and dredging the silt buildup in Colorado's 167 current storage facilities—a program that will increase Colorado's total water capacity by 40% in the next two to five years. As Senate President, it has been my job to assign bills to the appropriate State Senate committee. Marilyn Musgrave criticizes me for sending a water storage bill (HB02S-1022) to the Committee on Appropriations. However, as a fiscal conservative and as Senate President, it was my duty to the taxpayers to send this $10 billion spending bill and other bills to the appropriate Senate committee for public discussions before taking a vote. A person would have to be fiscally negligent—in addition to ignorant of basic legislative procedures—to suggest that a $10 billion spending bill should leave the Senate without first going through the Committee on Appropriations.
Pay raise for legislators
Myth:  Musgrave is morally opposed to the pay raise       Fact:  Musgrave has pocketed her pay raise
In 1997, when Senate Bill 97-201 came before the Senate, legislators were making only $17,500 a year. This low pay made it difficult for anyone who was not independently wealthy to serve as a legislator. By paying our state lawmakers a more adequate salary, we attract a better cross-section of candidates, and make them less beholden to big-money lobbyists. Ultimately, Colorado achieves more independent and better qualified legislators. I voted in favor of the raise, and I was up-front and honest about both the vote and the raise during my 1998 re-election race for the state Senate. The voters showed appreciation for my candor and approval of my vote by re-electing me. Marilyn Musgrave voted against the pay raise, but took the extra money once it was approved. If she has moral objections to the pay raise, she would have more credibility if she returned to Colorado taxpayers the extra money she has taken since January of 1999. Actions speak louder than words.
Gas tax
Myth:  Supported higher gas tax       Fact:  Owens-Matsunaka plan had no gas tax
I never pushed any kind of boost in the gas tax. I never sponsored a bill or voted to increase any gas tax, and no one in Colorado is paying one penny more for gas because of any action or proposal made by me. Stan Matsunaka never raises taxes, period. In the face of a budget shortfall and no way to finance transportation improvements earlier this year, I mentioned in passing that a gas tax is one way that other states pay for transportation improvements. At the end of the day, I worked across party lines with Republican Governor Bill Owens to create the bipartisan Owens-Matsunaka transportation plan that provides $15 billion to aid Colorado's rural and urban transportation systems for the next twenty years without raising taxes one cent. The Owens-Matsunaka transportation plan will also provide twenty years of good-paying construction jobs for working families in Colorado. As a fiscal conservative, it is my firm belief that government leaders should make better use of the money they have, not raise additional taxes. I have voted to lower income taxes, sales taxes, property taxes, and eliminate the marriage tax. My voting record demonstrates very clearly that I have consistently supported tax cuts and tax credits for educational, business, non-profit, transportation, rural, and agricultural purposes. I am proud of my record on taxes, and invite you to see it for yourself:    Matsunaka and Musgrave on Taxes    Matsunaka and Musgrave Voting Records

 
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