Thirty Years Ago this week in The Colorado Statesman … Cities across the country were facing challenges in the face of economic pressures – a recent study showed that 60 percent of 660 American cities surveyed were anticipating budget deficits in 1986 – but Denver was not demoralized, said Mayor Federico Peña in his State of the City address. “We will not decline. We are optimizing our resources so that basic services can be maintained. And we have a local economy that, while presently weak, is still basically sound and diverse,” Peña said. The stresses on Denver included a simultaneous two-thirds decline in the price of oil and the end of federal revenue sharing. “Throughout its history, Colorado has always been subject to the vagaries of a boom and bust economy,” Peña said. “When things are good, we assume that the boom will never end. When things slow down, we lurch to the opposite extreme and indulge ourselves in equally short-sighted pessimism.” The challenges had been constant, Peña said: “Do more with less. Deliver better services at lower costs. Build a stronger economic base for the future.” It hadn’t been easy, but Denver had cut the cost of running city government by $7 million annually all while increasing street sweeping, adding new police cars and restoring Sunday hours at the main library. There had been tough decisions, he said, including ordering Denver General Hospital to stop providing non-emergency care to those who were unable to pay but lived outside Denver. Planning for the proposed new airport was proceeding, but negotiations were far from over, he said. “We all recognize that the new airport must be a ‘win-win’ situation. Both Denver and Adams County must benefit. All we ask is that you keep an open mind,” Peña said. “We swill not ask for your trust, we intend to earn it.” …

… U.S. Rep. Mike Strang’s campaign manager Sean Conway was upset about a recent article in Frontier’s inflight magazine about Strang’s Democratic challenger, state Rep. Ben Nighthorse Campbell. The flattering profile, penned by AP writer Carl Hilliard – it covered Campbell’s run in the Olympics in judo, his prized Indian jewelry and the quarter horses he raised in southwest Colorado – landed Campbell’s picture on the cover of the magazine. Conway charged the article should count as a corporate contribution from Frontier Airlines. “Oh baloney, what a bunch of garbage,” Cambell responded, adding that he’d heard Conway was asking the airline for equal time and wanted a feature on Strang. No dice, Campbell said, explaining that an airline magazine didn’t fall under the FCC’s provisions for television stations. “The article gave him every opportunity to respond. Four hundred thousand people will be reading it and now he’s mad,” Campbell said. …

… A tax-limitation amendment could make its way to the fall ballot if organizers collected 100,000 signatures. The petition drive, spearheaded by the Association of Colorado Taxpayers, already had 2,500 petition gatherers in the field and was being run out of an office at Jake Jabs’ American Furniture Warehouse. The proposed constitutional amendment would require voter approval for any increase in state or local taxes and also require “the state to provide the funds for any increase in spending it mandates for a political subdivision.” Hundreds of taxpayers turned out for kick-off rallies in Grand Junction and the metro area featuring Paul Gann, a leader in California’s successful Proposition 13 tax-relief measure. “Taxes have grown two or three times faster than our personal income,” said Jabs, a spokesman for the effort. “At the beginning of the year, legislators had promised that they would work hard to prevent a tax increase, but they raised our taxes $160 million.” …

… Americans celebrated “Let Freedom Ring Day” on July 3, a result of a joint congressional resolution sponsored by U.S. Sen. Bill Armstrong of Colorado and U.S. Rep. Lynn Martin of Illinois. The resolution asked the president to issue a proclamation encouraging bells across the country to ring simultaneously at 8:53 p.m. Mountain Time, immediately following President Ronald Reagan’s lighting of the torch at the Statue of Liberty. “The sound of bells ringing in every state across this great land of ours would remind us that we are Americans who enjoy the values of liberty, freedom, justice and opportunity,” Armstrong said. …

… Gubernatorial campaigns were fully staffed and raring to go in the fight for the office, which would be open for the first time in a dozen years following Democratic Gov. Dick Lamm’s decision not to seek a fourth term. State Treasurer Roy Romer, the lone Democrat in the race, had hired former Lamm press secretary Sue O’Brien as his campaign manager. Mary Alice Mandarich was the campaign’s finance director and Terry Surguine was field director. Former Denver Post reporter Cindy Parmenter handled press, while Fran LeDuke managed the office and George Stapleton was running Romer’s constituent groups, including Women for Romer and Senior Citizens for Romer. On the Republican side, frontrunner state Rep. Bob Kirscht of Pueblo had tapped state Rep. Jim Scherer as his campaign manager and former state GOP staffer Polly Page as scheduler. Cynthia Dawson was finance coordinator and Carey Hughes ran press operations. Sean Murphy was Kirscht’s administrative assistant and Ed Quick was volunteer coordinator. Senate President Ted Strickland’s campaign was helmed by Bob Lee, and Barbara Card was deputy campaign manager. Rick Gallegos oversaw field operations, Hank Hahne was director of research and communications, and Mike Hesse was assistant research director. Melani Poundstone, daughter of Greenwood Village Mayor Frieda Poundstone, was special assistant on organization. The third candidate, Colorado Springs developer Steve Schuck, had just undergone a big reorganization and was being managed by Jerry Kashinski with deputies former state GOP Vice Chairwoman Mindy Meiklejohn and former Denver GOP Chairwoman Gloria Covlin. Sue McGinley was Schuck’s finance coordinator, Sally Mounier was handling Schuck’s schedule and Mary Jane Pirk was director of the metro area phone bank for the campaign.

– ernest@coloradostatesman.com