If you are still quasi-catatonic following November’s election, never fear, 2026 is just around the corner. Two candidates already announced their intention to succeed Gov. Jared Polis as Colorado’s governor. Attorney General Phil Weiser, whose six years as the state’s chief prosecutor have been characterized by a marked propensity to depart Denver for the hinterlands, precisely no one was surprised when he announced his candidacy. State Rep. Scott Bottoms, one of the legislature’s super-MAGA conservatives, provided more of a shock. In normal political times it would be easy to dismiss his candidacy as a non-starter with our periwinkle blue electorate, yet that would be a mistake. With the tangerine terror back in the White House, it’s a risk to rule anyone unelectable.

Gossip and rumor point to a stable full of potential candidates, to be sure, more of them Democrats than Republicans. Secretary of State Jena Griswold has apparently launched an exploratory committee which may or may not have complied with the Secretary of State’s own legal announcement rules. Attorney Suzanne Taheri’s violation complaint is sure to pull Griswold through a grommet. This is surely unwelcome news after Jena’s own staff exposed passwords for Colorado election machines in 2024. So, she might be well advised to sit out the next election, or, alternatively, use her considerable campaign skills to challenge newly elected Gabe Evans — pleasing Democrats while annoying Republicans. Better yet, she could take on U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, who will almost certainly poison the well with her new constituents, just as she did with her Western Slope voters.

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A recent poll, paid for by someone with an agenda, indicates U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse might be the strongest Democratic candidate for governor. This is likely true, and chatter at the Capitol indicates much of the Polis team has been lobbying him to return home and run for the job. Joe is young enough, however, to run for the governor’s mansion anytime between now and 2050. It’s likely national Democrats will recapture the House majority in 2026, elevating him into the ranks of the truly powerful in Congress where he already enjoys a leadership post. I suspect he’s smart enough to stay put and pursue the sure thing. Neguse seems more likely to win a place on a presidential ticket than any Colorado Democrat since Gary Hart. Also lurking in the weeds is Ambassador to Mexico and former U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar. He’s no kid, but still a decade younger than the president and has repeatedly proven more popular with voters than pundits or consultants.

This raises the question of what we should be looking for from our next governor. It needs to be something a little more concrete than “saving Coloradans money.” Yes, Gov. Polis has been somewhat successful at the margins, but our state has been smacked by inflation along with the rest of the country. Health care has not gotten any cheaper. Our hospitals are the most profitable anywhere. Not so long ago we were one of the fastest-growing states in the nation, we now see more neighbors moving out than moving in — and their departures are about more than the price of eggs. We need to start investing in the infrastructure required to drive our economy — better roads and transit, better schools and a better quality of life. This requires more money. It’s instructive to look at what Mara Healey has accomplished in Taxachusetts.

As the Boston Globe reports, “Like a magician, Governor Healey pulled a rabbit out of her hat this week with her task force on transportation funding.” Bill Ritter convened a similar “blue ribbon commission” nearly 20 years ago and all we got from them was a vehicle registration fee to fund a bridge replacement program. Nice,  but nowhere near enough. Healey was aided by a voter approved “tax on millionaires” in 2022 that levies a 4% surtax on Massachusetts incomes exceeding $1 million. It was forecast to generate $250 million dollars annually but has been spitting out triple that amount. Now the governor can fund an $8 billion transportation plan, half of it dedicated to refurbishing Boston’s beleaguered subway system. Fifty years ago, the Kingston Trio was whining about service on the MTA.

Healey doesn’t have to raise a nickel in new taxes for this because the revenue is already rolling in. Oddly enough, it was the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, which opposed the millionaires’ tax, that suggested the funding plan. Doug Howgate, president of the Taxpayers Foundation and a member of the funding task force, told the Globe, “The reality is the surtax is on the books, and we want to make sure it is working the best way it can.” Mirabile dictu — conservatives can be brought to the table once voters have spoken.

Polling tells us Colorado voters would be delighted to slap a surtax on our own millionaires. Our progressive groups have attempted tax increases that whack everyone without success. They might want to consider Willie Sutton’s alleged explanation for robbing banks, “That’s where the money is!” A similar surtax here could be worth $500 million a year.

If we are ever going to fund Front Range rail or extend monorail service to our central mountain resorts, we will need a reliable, stable source of dollars. Why not tax the folks who helicopter to their ski-slope condominiums? That would be a ballot box winner. It’s been 30 years since I managed the Colorado Intermountain Fixed Guideway Authority, and I would joke the only thing I wanted was the Starbucks franchise at the Vail station. This changed to, “I hope I live long enough for someone to push my wheelchair onto the monorail.” Now I’m willing to settle for a governor with the imagination and determination to say, “Let’s get this done!”

Miller Hudson is a public affairs consultant and a former Colorado legislator.