Sandra Hagen Solin, spokesperson for the Fix Colorado Roads economic-development coalition, worked the legislative trenches all year to bring Capitol leaders to a place where they could make a deal to pass a major transportation funding proposal.

After months of back and forth, leadership this session brought out House Bill 1242, which failed spectacularly. Critics called it a mess of conflicting impulses and ambitions. Republicans hated it for being centered around a sales tax hike, and few observers on any side of the political spectrum believed that voters would even approve the tax hike if it made it to the ballot — which made the whole exercise feel academic, like it was a deal and a proposal in theory only.

The Colorado Statesman sat down with Solin to briefly survey the wreckage. The exchange has been edited lightly for clarity.

The Statesman: The big bill failed, of course, but lawmakers did pass Senate Bill 267, the “rural sustainability bill,” which will make available $1.8 billion for transportation upgrades across the state. How are you viewing this legislative session now that it’s hours away from ending?

Solin: Well, okay, I’ll say we had a great conversation about transportation — and that’s significant. We also found $1.8 billion to spend. That’s good, although not nearly enough to address our interstate and larger regional projects.

But we were asking a lot of this Legislature. We were demanding a lot of good will and compromise, and I think lawmakers showed a lot of that, and I think that level of political courage can be a long time coming and the results can take a long time to show.

That’s important, because the $1.8 billion only begins to nick at the problem. It might satisfy voters for a year… So it’s important that we continue the conversation and continue to highlight the transportation needs in the state. We have to see what has happened at the Legislature this year — all the talking and wrestling with the topic and dealmaking and pushback — we have to see all of that as a beginning in what has to be a sustained dialogue.

What about the ballot initiatives that have already been proposed to raise transportation money — the contractor industry has some proposals lined up and so does Jon Caldara at the Independence Institute, the libertarian group. His proposal would raise no taxes. It would cut into the state budget instead…

If any of the initiatives pass, we think that’s a good thing. It will be another step forward.

Including Caldara’s? His would have lawmakers reallocate hundreds of millions from the budget every year for 20 years to pay off $2.5 billion in debt — and it covers work on just roads and bridges,no new transit options…

Yes, you know, I think it would be a step forward. Caldara’s initiative would force consideration about where transportation fits in relation to other state programs and priorities.

Look, we’re still in a transportation crisis. We haven’t solved the problems. We can’t be complacent.

Looking back, where could lawmakers have done better this year?What’s the roadmap for a deal next year?

What really challenged us this year was high expectations about what could be delivered. I guess I just don’t think it was realistic. Depending on what happens with the ballot initiatives in November, I would say we need to step back and assess what is actually possible to do. In fact, we could learn from the initiatives in November. If they make it to the ballot and none of them passes, we will have a lot of valuable information to analyze and think about as we plan the best path forward.

I think in the future, it’s really important that we don’t underestimate the reality — I mean the dynamics of a split Legislature and what’s possible in the realm. Where can Democrats who control one chamber and Republicans who control the other meet to simply move the ball forward?

I’ve seen you hopeful some days and deeply frustrated other days in the halls of this building this year. Clearly there have been ups and downs. On a scale of one to five stars, what do you give this legislative session?

There’s the near-term view and the longer-term view. I’d say… 2.5 stars. The lawmakers fleshed out the issues and found out where people stand on a really major topic. I have to think that’s significant.

— john@coloradostatesman.com