Watching the election ads in the race for Colorado governor, you’d think that the voters want more population and economic growth. Both Jared Polis and Heidi Ganahl, the two main candidates for governor, are running ads promoting more economic growth and promising to lure and subsidize more growth into Colorado.

However, both politicians would do well to actually poll voters on this issue rather than blindly promote more growth. A very recent poll on that exact topic, performed by reputable pollster “Rasmussen Reports,” indicates that both Polis and Ganahl are extremely out of touch with voters on the issue of growth. The survey results are astounding.

For example, 62% of likely voters said “worse” when 1,024 likely Colorado voters were recently asked: “The U.S. Department of Agriculture calculates that Colorado, over the last four decades, has turned more than 1,250 square miles of open space, natural habitat, and agricultural land into housing, shopping malls, streets and other urban development. On balance, has this made Colorado a better place to live, a worse place to live or did it not have much effect?”

In addition, 76% of likely voters said “more negative” when asked: “If recent trends continue, Colorado demographers project that the state’s human population of 5.8 million will grow by another 1.8 million by 2050, joining Colorado Springs, Denver and Fort Collins together into a single mega-city.’ Do you find this prospect to be more positive or more negative?

And it only gets worse from there.

Long a contentious issue in Colorado, traffic snarls along the Front Range and Interstate-70 have gotten far worse over the last decade. When responding to the question, “If Colorado adds another 1.8 million residents, do you expect traffic to become much worse or would the government be able to build enough extra transportation capacity to accommodate the extra residents without more congestion?” 81% of likely voters said “traffic will become much worse.”

And then to drive it all home, 63% of likely voters said “yes” when asked: “A major source of Colorado’s population growth is people moving in from other states, especially California. Should local and state governments in Colorado make it more difficult for people to move to Colorado from other states by restricting development?”

Coloradans simply don’t like the continued rapid population growth and the majority of the public wants to shut growth down to protect the environment and their quality of life. In fact, Coloradans love their mountains, open spaces, flowing rivers, forests and farms – the very natural resources that growth is devouring across the state. When asked, “from an environmental standpoint how important is it to preserve Colorado’s mountains, native grasslands, rivers, forests, and canyons?” 78% of likely voters said “very important.”

Because the political apparatus, on both sides of the isle, is so entrenched with the growth industry in Colorado, these types of question are hardly ever asked in public opinion polls, and never asked in polls of candidates and elections. As such, this Rasmussen Reports poll indicates that elected officials at the federal, state and local level in Colorado are very out of touch with one of voters’ biggest concerns.

What can you do about it?

First, support regional and local groups that promote growth control. In Boulder County, the group “PLAN Boulder County” has been supporting growth control for more than 50 years. Other local groups have flared up in Fort Collins, Lakewood, Westminster, Glenwood Springs and elsewhere battling against developments that propose to bulldoze local natural landscapes. Consider starting your own group as well, because almost all of the state’s well-known environmental groups are also disengaged on the issue.

Second, talk more openly about how growth is devouring Colorado’s landscape and quality of life, and how you don’t want more of it. Until politicians start hearing more of these public conversations, they will continue to ignore the issue, and we will continue to hear and see bland drivel in political ads promoting more growth.

Finally, remember that you are not alone. Though the political apparatus is completely sold out to the Growth Machine, the people of Colorado don’t want it. The endless traffic jams, the density and crowding in our cities, and the crowds at trails and ski areas in the mountains, are all shared concerns by the voters that you have a right to oppose and are not alone in doing so. There’s confidence in numbers – and confidence to take action.

The next time you hear an elected official prattling on about supporting continued population and economic growth, speak up and say, “hey, not so fast.”

Gary Wockner, Ph.D., is a Fort Collins-based environmental activist supporting river protection, climate action, and population stabilization. Contact: GaryWockner.com