Supporters of a state ballot measure to set a 10-year time-out on TABOR revenue restrictions called it quits Tuesday, blaming what could be a crowded fall ballot, the high cost of getting across a complicated argument to voters and an “uncertain political climate.”

“In November, Colorado voters are going to be asked to decide on up to 10 statewide ballot initiatives, dozens of candidates as well as local ballot initiatives,” said Colorado Priorities co-chairs Dan Ritchie and Al Yates in a joint statement. “The crowded ballot has made it difficult to secure the resources necessary for us to win in November.”

The ballot measure would have asked voters to approve spending tax revenue – regardless of restrictions on revenue growth under the Taxpayer Bill of Rights – on education, transportation, mental health and services for seniors.

The proposal was one of several that emerged from Ritchie’s Building a Better Colorado effort, which was aimed at determining what state residents want from government and charting a course to get them there.

While Ritchie and Yates said they were confident they had a “winning issue,” citing polling that shows 61-percent of voters support the proposal, they called it “far too important of an issue to risk the possibility of failure due to an uncertain political climate and the lack of resources necessary to communicate on such a complex issue.”

Ballot watchers say the one-sentence version of TABOR – voters have to approve any tax increases – is wildly popular across the political spectrum in Colorado, but that the amendment to the state constitution also includes all kinds of complicated provisions, trapdoors and pitfalls that are difficult to communicate to voters.

“The crowded ballot has drained the funding necessary to win in November,” the campaign said in an email sent to supporters on Tuesday afternoon.

“Though we are suspending this campaign, the challenges facing our state and the need to invest in these priorities continue to grow,” Ritchie and Yates said in their statement announcing the end of the campaign. “We are committed to continue working with the thousands of Coloradans, businesses and organizations from every corner of the state to ensure we find a solution for investing in Colorado’s priorities.”

An opponent of the measure cheered the news.

“Having this issue off the table is a big win for taxpayers,” Michael Fields, state director of Americans for Prosperity Colorado, told The Colorado Statesman.

“While the assault on the Taxpayer Bill of Rights never ends, it’s clear that Coloradans simply have no appetite for bigger and bigger government. If the Legislature properly prioritizes, the current $27 billion state budget provides more than enough money to fix our roads and fund education,” Fields added.

The director of the Colorado Fiscal Institute, a prominent backer of the ballot measure, said the progressive-leaning organization lamented the decision to suspend the campaign.

“Coalitions to pass a ballot measure are difficult to build and maintain, and that’s especially true for coalitions that are looking to even partly address Colorado’s profound fiscal challenges. Because of our system, it means millions of dollars and months, if not years, of manpower devoted to a ballot initiative,” said Carol Hedges.

“CFI is disappointed the effort to pass the Colorado Priorities ballot measure did not successfully make it to the finish line. All signs indicate there is broad public support for the changes proposed in the ballot measure and that it would benefit communities across the state. And the ballot measure itself was a very modest step that represented an enormous political compromise among various interests.”

Organizers had until Aug. 8 to turn in just under 100,000 valid petition signatures in order to make the fall ballot. To be safe this year, political professionals have said, groups backing initiatives have been planning to collect at least 150,000 signatures.

“We had tens of thousands of signatures and felt confident we could have gotten enough in,” a spokesman for the Colorado Priorities campaign told The Statesman.

Numerous supportive organizations, including Great Education Colorado and the Colorado Fiscal Institute, have been organizing volunteer petition gatherers all summer.

Lisa Weil, executive Director of Great Education Colorado, called the announcement “devastating” in a statement.

“Over the last two months, hundreds of public education supporters throughout the state volunteered thousands of hours to gather well over 15,000 signatures for Colorado Priorities,” she said, adding, “We are disappointed for those volunteers and for the students for whom they were working. And we are disappointed that Colorado’s communities will not benefit from the improved investment in classrooms, roads, mental health and senior services that would have resulted from passage of this initiative.”

She said the organization’s volunteers found that Coloradans were excited to “have this opportunity to support their schools, mental health services and other priorities in their local communities.”

The Colorado Priorities committee reported raising $710,000 through the most recent campaign finance reporting period, which ended on June 22. The group had $49,184 on hand.

Hedges added a wistful note to her reaction to the decision to halt the campaign.

“In our current system, voters are supposed to be the decision makers on issues such as this one, but in 2016, they will not have the opportunity to let their voices be heard,” she said. “We believe there will always be distractions and reasons to not do the bold things that are needed to propel our state forward, and it is tough to let such an important opportunity slip away.”

– ernest@coloradostatesman.com