There’s no issue more partisan in Colorado than energy production, so it’s not surprising that opinions of Gov. John Hickenlooper’s draft executive order on climate change are divided right along party lines. But some observers are surprised the governor is going there at all.

“We do not have a state record of governors using executive orders the way the president of the United States does, and therefore I would characterize Hickenlooper’s actions as unusual for the Colorado chief executive,” said Bob Loevy, professor emeritus of political science at Colorado College. “Governors don’t ordinarily use administrative orders for things that are politically controversial in Colorado.”

A spokeswoman for the governor declined to comment further on the draft order, which was reportedly leaked on Aug. 24 and intended to spur conversation, according to gubernatorial staffers. Hickenlooper has not finalized or signed the order, and his spokeswoman said no timeline has been set for doing so. The initial draft, which parallels the EPA’s Clean Power Plan, calls for a 35 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from power plants by 2030.

Federal and state lawmakers representing Colorado’s coal-rich Western Slope pointed to Hickenlooper’s draft order as yet another salvo in the Democrats’ war on coal and accused the Democratic governor of executive overreach.

“I do have an issue with chief executives, be they governors or presidents, unilaterally making decisions when we have a legislative process that I think creates an opportunity to have thoughtful dialogue and be able to reach a consensus,” Republican U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton said. Tipton’s 3rd Congressional District includes most of the Western Slope.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, whose 2nd Congressional District is loaded with oil and gas but home to virtually no coal production, backs any means of reducing carbon emissions and combatting global climate change. Several coal-fired power plants have been shut down or converted to cleaner-burning natural gas in recent years.

“I’m supportive of any and all routes to get there. I’m supportive of the Clean Power Plan rules, and I would be supportive of the governor using the authority he has to meet those goals,” Polis said, although he too prefers legislative action because it’s more permanent. “It’s much better to have it in the law, but if you can’t have it in the law because Congress won’t pass it, then it’s better to have an executive action than nothing.”

The EPA’s Clean Power Plan, which orders a 32 percent cut in carbon emissions from 2005 levels by 2030, is currently stalled in the courts by a multi-state lawsuit joined by Republican Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman and opposed by Hickenlooper.

Republicans in control of the Colorado Senate by a single seat last session successfully sought to slash funding for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s air quality division, which was actively working on Clean Power Plan compliance despite the federal legal impasse.

“Basically the governor is trying to do what the United States federal government has decided not to do as far as the Clean Power Plan,” said Republican state Sen. Randy Baumgardner, whose Senate District 8 includes major underground coal-mining operations and coal-fired power plants in Routt and Moffat counties.

“[Hickenlooper’s] taken it on himself to say, ‘Well, we don’t care that the EPA at the federal level says we’re going to hold off on this to see what needs to be done.’ He’s saying that as a state we’re going to implement this sooner,” Baumgardner added.

His Democratic opponent in the Nov. 8 election, Summit County educator Emily Tracy, counters Coloradans value clean air and water aesthetically and economically as a driver of the state’s outdoor recreation economy.

“Regardless of all the other issues associated with the Clean Power Plan at the state or federal level, we have to look at it as an economic issue,” Tracy said. “We don’t even have to talk about it in the context of climate change. We can just talk about it in the context of our economy.”

And she was dismayed by the state Senate’s budget battle over the Clean Power Plan last session.

“It was unfortunate that the Senate Republicans took that approach and tried to be punitive toward the air pollution control division,” Tracy said. “We don’t live in smog-filled China. We live in Colorado, and people here value their clean air and their clear skies and want to keep it that way and keep it improving.”

Baumgardner points to severe economic hits in places like Craig and Nucla, where coal-mining jobs have been slashed precipitously the last several years. The damage has already been done, he says, pointing to recent legal deals to close down even more coal-fired power plants.

“I’m not sure the governor needs to sign [his executive order] since the deal has been made with [Westminster-based utility] Tri-State, the EPA and [environmental group] WildEarth Guardians, and all that other stuff,” Baumgardner said. “I’m not sure where we go from here.”

In an Aug. 30 editorial, the Denver Post opined that Hickenlooper’s draft order presents an “unavoidable perception” problem because of his rumored interest in a cabinet post if Democrat Hillary Clinton is elected president. Some environmentalists have gone so far as to accuse Hickenlooper of greenwashing as he angles for U.S. Secretary of Interior.

But at a Colorado Public Lands Day bill-signing ceremony in May, where he also discussed global market forces impacting the coal industry and the state helping transition Colorado coal miners to new jobs, Hickenlooper denied any interest in a cabinet post.

“Those are obviously noble jobs, but I don’t think there’s a single cabinet job that can match what I get to do my last two and a half years in Colorado,” the term-limited Democrat told The Statesman. “Finding the balance of public lands, really working on workforce training. How do we retrain [miners] for new industries? We’re in a place where I think we’re going to have the opportunity to be a national model. That’s fun.”

Colorado College’s Loevy doubts Hickenlooper’s draft order is aimed at procuring a cabinet post but he does question the timing.

“It may have been timed for the election on the assumption that these kind of environmental issues, particularly in Colorado, will work for the Democrats and against the Republicans,” Loevy said. “I’d raise the issue that it may have been timed to the presidential election.”