Colorado State of Mind host allowed GOP state Sen. Mitchell to distort disclosure of Ritter's executive order

Written by Media Matters Staff

Published

On the November 9 broadcast of Rocky Mountain PBS' Colorado State of Mind, host Greg Dobbs did not challenge state Sen. Shawn Mitchell's (R-Broomfield) claim that Gov. Bill Ritter (D) “slipped his executive order [on state employee partnerships] under the door at 3 o'clock on a Friday afternoon and has done his best to avoid answering questions since then.” In fact, as Colorado Media Matters has noted, Ritter reportedly notified The Denver Post and the Rocky Mountain News of the order before he issued it and made himself available for an interview with the News on the day it was announced. Ritter also gave an email interview to the Denver Business Journal after issuing the order.

During a discussion about Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter's November 2 executive order, “Authorizing Partnership Agreements with State Employees,” state Sen. Shawn Mitchell (R-Broomfield) claimed on the November 9 broadcast of Rocky Mountain PBS' Colorado State of Mind that "[t]he governor was obviously embarrassed about what he was doing," because “he slipped his executive order under the door at 3 o'clock on a Friday afternoon and has done his best to avoid answering questions since then.” Host Greg Dobbs failed to point out that Ritter reportedly notified The Denver Post and the Rocky Mountain News of the executive order before he issued it and gave an interview to the News on the day the order was announced, as Colorado Media Matters noted. Ritter also “answer[ed] questions” about the order in an interview with the Denver Business Journal, published November 9.

From the November 9 broadcast of Rocky Mountain PBS' Colorado State of Mind:

MITCHELL: The governor was obviously embarrassed about what he was doing, or he would have had a press conference and announced his new policy. Instead, he slipped his executive order under the door at 3 o'clock on a Friday afternoon and has done his best to avoid answering questions since then.

MIKE CERBO (executive director of the Colorado AFL-CIO): But, Shawn, that's all speculation on your part.

(State Rep.) ROSEMARY MARSHALL (D-Denver): And those are opinions.

CERBO: That's your opinion.

MARSHALL: Those are simply opinions on your part.

MITCHELL: And we're sharing our opinions, aren't we?

Mitchell's comment about Ritter “slipp[ing]” his executive order “under the door” echoed similar claims state Rep. Cory Gardner (R-Yuma) and Independence Institute president Jon Caldara made on the November 8 broadcast of public television KBDI Channel 12's Independent Thinking. Like Mitchell, Gardner suggested that Ritter announced his employee partnership executive order on a Friday afternoon in order to keep it “under the radar” because he was “trying to hide something.”

However, according to columnist Jim Spencer of the online political daily news site Colorado Confidential, Ritter spokesman Evan Dreyer “said the governor 'extended the courtesy' of telling [Denver Post owner Dean] Singleton and Post Editorial Page Editor Dan Haley about the executive order the day before it was issued last Friday.” [emphasis added] Furthermore, in addition to reporting that Ritter gave the Post notice “about the impending executive order on November 1, the day before it went public,” a November 8 Westword article noted that "Rocky Mountain News editor/publisher/president John Temple and Rocky editorial-page editor Vince Carroll also received an advance heads-up."

Moreover, while a November 2 online News article noted that Ritter issued the executive order “quietly,” it also reported the governor made himself available for a Friday evening interview with the newspaper, during which Ritter “said the order, which now will go into effect without approval from the legislature, will empower state employees to improve government without tying his hands.” The News' November 2 online article was published in its November 3 print edition, and although the Post does not publish a Saturday edition, it posted articles on its website on November 2 and November 3.

Ritter also gave an email interview after issuing the order to the Denver Business Journal, which published his responses to its questions on November 9.