Jared Polis defeated a handful of Democratic competitors for governor of Colorado in the primary last June. He handily beat his Republican opponent in the general election this past November, carrying Democratic majorities in both houses of the state legislature into office with him. But Governor-elect Polis’s biggest battle may still lie ahead of him – the battle to cope with the strict limits on Colorado finances embedded in the state constitution.

The financial restrictions in the Colorado constitution are rigid. They are mainly found in TABOR, the Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights, which was put into the state constitution in 1992 by a vote of the people. It requires a vote on all tax increases and increases in public debt. There are other provisions in the state constitution that submit any state and local borrowing to a public vote.

Similar to his predecessors in the Capitol’s first-floor Governor’s Office, if Jared Polis wants to have a real impact on solving problems in Colorado, he will have to “lead the voters” into voting for selective tax increases and for major loans. If Polis does not do this, the state’s highways will continue to decay, K-12 education will be underfinanced, health care for low-income Coloradans will be progressively inadequate, and tuition at the state’s public colleges and universities will continue to go up. And we will not have all-day kindergarten, which was one of Polis’s campaign pledges.

Let’s take a look at the three men who were governor of Colorado prior to Jared Polis being elected. How did they handle the twin problems of a vote on all tax increases and a voter OK for borrowing money? What can we – and Gov.-elect Polis – learn from their examples?

Bill Owens, Republican, was governor from 1989 to 2007. Finding the state’s highways in woeful condition, he set about winning voter approval for $1.7 billion for 28 road improvement projects scattered throughout the state. Owens campaigned hard, urging voters to approve his and the legislature’s ideas on state road improvements. The highlight of the program was the legendary T-REX, which widened I-25 south of Denver to more than eight lanes in places. I-25 through Colorado Springs was upgraded to six lanes. T-REX earned Owens the nickname of “Ten-Lane Bill,” at least from some of his friends.

Governor Owens then turned his attention to TABOR and its limiting effects on state revenues. Joining with state Democratic leaders, Owens promoted Referendum C, a five-year “timeout” from the crippling effects of TABOR on state finances. Once again Owens threw himself into the campaign, touting its bi-partisan support. Referendum C was narrowly approved by the voters, showing that using the “bully pulpit” of the governorship to get voter support for needed state programs could work.

The Owens model was courageous and successful. Our incoming governor should similarly take the lead in creating major programs for the state and then have the legislature bring them to the voters for approval.

Bill Ritter, Democrat, succeeded Owens as governorin 2007. He made amajor effort to promote alternative forms of energy in Colorado, particularly wind and solar. He was very popular with environmentalists.

Governor Ritter tried to follow in Bill Owens’s footsteps. He developed and took to the voters an ambitious plan to raise money for scholarships at state colleges and universities by reducing tax breaks for the state’s oil and gas producers. Ritter campaigned hard, but the oil and gas industry raised big money to oppose Ritter’s scholarship plan and ran TV ads attacking Ritter personally.

The scholarship plan was voted down in 2008, the same year that a major economic recession had hit the United States and Colorado. The recession forced Ritter to start cutting the state budget rather than expanding it. Ritter ended his governorship after only four years, declining to run for re-election in 2010.

The Ritter model is a cautionary tale. Go to the voters to finance needed state improvement projects, yet make sure your plan has the support of the leadership of consequential business stakeholders.

That brings us to our retiring governor – Democrat John Hickenlooper. He has served two terms as governor, starting in 2011, and is term-limited to eight years in office. He will be replaced by Jared Polis in January.

Hickenlooper was forced to continue cutting the state budget, as Ritter had done, in the early years of his governorship. As the economy improved and state revenues weakly recovered, Hickenlooper was freed from the extreme budget pressures that characterized his early years in office. His careful budgeting earned him favorable approval ratings in public opinion polls. He has been particularly popular with the business community.

But unlike Owens and Ritter, Hickenlooper has been shy about going to the voters for major infusions of cash from tax increases and large loans. When the subject came up, Hickenlooper more than once said words to the effect that “Colorado is not ready for a tax increase at this time.” One result of this has been that, without new money for major road improvements, the state transportation department (CDOT) has turned to improving highways by installing toll lanes financed by private investors. Another result is some cash-starved school districts have been forced to adopt a four-day week.

The Hickenlooper model is to accept the reality that Coloradans do not like tax increases or borrowing money and want to make do with current revenues, no matter how meager some might consider those revenues.

Gov.-elect Polis has already recruited experienced state policy and financial experts in Wade Buchanan and Cary Kennedy. We trust that Polis, his advisory team, and legislative leaders will learn from the Owens model and, when appropriate, lead the voters into approving the moneys needed to improve state government in Colorado. The Ritter model gives us pause, however, because success in not guaranteed under the Owens model. It will be disappointing if we just maintain the status quo. But we acknowledge that is the safest most conservative choice.

A big “if” will be the state of the economy. Owens and Hickenlooper presided in generally prosperous economic times. Ritter did not have that good fortune.

Tom Cronin and Bob Loevy are retired political science professors who were longtime members of the faculty at The Colorado College in Colorado Springs.