Proposition HH wasn’t just defeated Tuesday. It was demolished. Even after the state’s center-left political establishment locked arms in support of the ill-fated tax hike – disguised as property-tax relief – it barely captured 40% of the vote on Election Day.

There were takeaways aplenty for Colorado’s political leadership, as has been observed repeatedly in the hours since ballots were tallied. Among the hard lessons: Don’t promise tax relief – then hand taxpayers the tab. Don’t cobble together a proposal so convoluted it’s harder to follow than the programming instructions for a 1990s VCR. And, of course, don’t mess with Coloradans’ refunds under the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights in the state constitution.

Yet, one member of the political leadership likely knew all of that well before the votes were counted. It’s Gov. Jared Polis. He even might have sensed Prop. HH was doomed all along.

Sure, he obligingly championed the Legislature’s ballot measure alongside the state House and Senate leadership and the rest of Colorado’s political firmament, dominated by Polis’ fellow Democrats. He is his party’s standard bearer and had to stand up for its handiwork.

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But Polis, a rumored presidential hopeful, must have known better – given his political instincts as well as his freewheeling philosophy. After all, he’s the “liberal Democrat” from Boulder who famously called for an end to the state’s income tax.

So, why did he stay in lockstep?

Even if the governor suspected HH was going down hard, he might not have fully appreciated until this week how much collateral damage his party stands to do to him from the Legislature.

It holds lopsided majorities in both chambers and seems to think it knows what it’s doing – in a, “Look, Ma, no hands!” sort of way – as it veers to the left. On transportation. On business regulation. On its environmental agenda. On law and order. At some point, it’ll cross the yellow line into oncoming traffic – i.e., the electorate.

Polis surely doesn’t want to follow them as they drift further from mainstream voters. And the meltdown of the Legislature’s Prop. HH, which it placed on the ballot, is a potent reminder. It never was ready for prime time. It was the work of bumblers – sorry, someone had to say it – and it was destined to fail.

Someone with presidential aspirations doesn’t need that albatross dangling around his neck.

So, here’s a Tuesday takeaway tailored especially to Polis as he ponders his political future: Rein in the Legislature. He must take greater control of his party up on the second floor at the Capitol – and squelch its loopier notions before they gather steam. To do that, he ought to forge workable alliances with the more reasonable members of both parties upstairs.

He has a golden opportunity with HH’s demise. He should call a special session of the Legislature – as we and many others have urged – to pass a simple, straightforward property-tax cut for Coloradans. It would be the cut HH had promised but never would have delivered.

No vote by the public is necessary for a cut; lawmakers can get it done fast if the governor decides to make it happen.

While HH was the wrong answer, the need for property-tax relief is real and urgent. Real estate values continue to soar, and property-tax assessments soar with them. The sticker shock will be stunning for rank-and-file homeowners when property-tax bills arrive this spring.

Let’s address it now.

Polis can side with hard-pressed taxpayers or oblivious lawmakers. After Tuesday’s election, the choice should be easy.

Denver Gazette Editorial Board