{"id":543,"date":"2026-06-13T19:33:05","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T19:33:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=543"},"modified":"2026-06-13T19:33:05","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T19:33:05","slug":"michael-bennet-phil-weiser-clash-over-ambition-and-housing-in-last-major-debate-before-democratic-governors-primary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=543","title":{"rendered":"Michael Bennet, Phil Weiser clash over ambition and housing in last major debate before Democratic governor\u2019s primary"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

FORT COLLINS<\/strong> \u2014 After months of struggling to differentiate themselves from one another, the two Democratic candidates for governor on Saturday presented voters with a clear clash of styles:<\/p>\n

Read more What\u2019s Working: Uneven inflation still eroding affordability in Colorado<\/a><\/p>\n

A vote for U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, he said, is a vote for ambitious ideas that would meet the moment \u2014 a state facing mounting crises in housing affordability, healthcare and the environment.<\/p>\n

A vote for Attorney General Phil Weiser, he said, is a vote for someone who wouldn\u2019t just offer \u201cangry rhetoric and speeches\u201d \u2014 he would also work with people across the state to actually get things done.<\/p>\n

The Democratic gubernatorial hopefuls made their case at a forum moderated by The Colorado Sun at Colorado State University in what was expected to be their last major debate before the June 30 primary. The event was co-moderated by Noticias Univision Colorado, a Spanish-language news network, and sponsored by The Colorado Health Foundation.<\/p>\n

Time and again throughout the debate, Bennet, 61, steered the conversation toward the challenges facing younger generations: chiefly affordability and the environment. And he accused Weiser of not being ambitious enough to tackle the scope of the problem.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to be ambitious,\u201d Bennet said of his plan to impose a cap and trade system that would charge polluters for their emissions. \u201cWe need to push the edge of the envelope.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 58-year-old Weiser, meanwhile, accused Bennet of making vague promises.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t get on board with something that\u2019s this amorphous and uncertain,\u201d Weiser said of Bennet\u2019s climate plan. Instead, Weiser has proposed expanding Colorado\u2019s solar grid, something he said he would accomplish in part by appointing renewable energy advocates to the Public Utilities Commission, which regulates energy companies.<\/p>\n

Bennet replied that Weiser was thinking too small. \u201cThere is no way we\u2019re going to get to net zero by 2050, which is the state goal, with solar and with (battery) storage,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

That dynamic played out again and again on a range of issues. On healthcare, for instance, Bennet said he wanted to create a public option for those who make too much to afford Medicaid, while Weiser offered a scaled back plan to increase access to primary care.<\/p>\n

Weiser repeatedly pointed to his own record suing the federal government as evidence that he would deliver on his promise to fight back against the Trump administration. Bennet, he argued, didn\u2019t do the same when he approved a number of Trump Cabinet appointees.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact is, Congress is not doing its job,\u201d Weiser said. \u201cCongress should be a check on a lawless, bullying administration. It hasn\u2019t been.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also attacked Bennet for missing Senate floor votes in recent weeks. Bennet said that he missed several of them so he could attend a debate against Weiser.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry that I\u2019ve missed a few votes in this moment when we\u2019re right at the end of this race, but I stand by my record of service to Colorado,\u201d Bennet said.<\/p>\n

State housing policies<\/h2>\n

On housing, Weiser criticized Gov. Jared Polis for employing a \u201ctop-down\u201d policy of state zoning mandates that had alienated local officials rather than partnering with them to solve problems.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the concern that these measures raise \u2014 local governments felt they were being dictated to, not listened to,\u201d Weiser said.<\/p>\n

Both candidates expressed support for proposed state laws that would allow homeowners to split their lots and relax single family lot size requirements to encourage construction of smaller homes.<\/p>\n

Read more Monument education agency that backed a \u201cpublic Christian school\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

But Weiser said it should come with a clause allowing local governments to opt-out if it doesn\u2019t work for them.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s give local governments time to go along before we force more one-size-fits-all down their throats,\u201d Weiser said.<\/p>\n

Bennet argued that Weiser was too concerned with not disturbing the status quo.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re pushing (younger generations) out of Colorado,\u201d Bennet said. \u201cThis is not an issue about the inability of states and local governments to get along. We\u2019re pushing our own kids out of this state, and that\u2019s why we\u2019ve got to change.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bennet also expressed support for recent efforts in Lakewood to increase housing density by overhauling the local zoning code. Voters repealed that effort in April following backlash from homeowners.<\/p>\n

Neither candidate said they would support withholding state funding from local governments as punishment for not cooperating with state housing policies.<\/p>\n

Dodged questions<\/h2>\n

Throughout the debate, the two candidates declined to offer specifics on some of their plans.<\/p>\n

Both called for changing the Taxpayer\u2019s Bill of Rights to increase funding for public services, but neither has offered a specific path to do so, insisting that the only way to win at the ballot is to work across the state to come up with a solution voters can support.<\/p>\n

Bennet declined to say how much money his cap and trade plan would raise for renewable energy. Weiser wouldn\u2019t say how he would pay for his childcare plans \u2014 only that changes to TABOR would be needed. (Bennet pointed to New Mexico\u2019s use of severance taxes for childcare as a potential model.)<\/p>\n

Weiser also wouldn\u2019t say who he voted for in the race to replace him as attorney general.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy endorsements are public, my votes are private,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Near the end of the debate, the candidates were asked if they would select a woman or person of color to be their running mate for lieutenant governor; neither one committed to doing so.<\/p>\n

Bennet also wouldn\u2019t commit to selecting a woman or person of color to replace him in the U.S. Senate if elected governor \u2014 but he did make one promise.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will commit to selecting somebody who\u2019s less than 50 years old,\u201d Bennet said. \u201cThe last thing we need is one more person to die on the floor of the U.S. Senate.\u201d<\/p>\n

The question led to a moment of levity between the two candidates. Bennet referenced a Weiser campaign bumper sticker that reads: \u201cMichael Bennett in the Senate, Phil Weiser for governor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we can do better than that,\u201d he said. \u201cI think we can have me in the governor\u2019s office and have new representation in the Senate. It\u2019s true that Phil and my mom both want me to die on the floor of the U.S. Senate, but I don\u2019t think that\u2019s the best thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

In response, Weiser quipped, voters had a rare opportunity to make both candidates\u2019 moms happy \u2014 choose him as governor.<\/p>\n

Read more This might tick you off: It\u2019s going to be a big year for your least-favorite bloodsuckers<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FORT COLLINS \u2014 After months of struggling to differentiate themselves from one another, the two…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":542,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics-and-government"],"yoast_head":"\nMichael Bennet, Phil Weiser clash over ambition and housing in last major debate before Democratic governor\u2019s primary - Colorado Relocation Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/coloradorelocationreport.com\/?p=543\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Michael Bennet, Phil Weiser clash over ambition and housing in last major debate before Democratic governor\u2019s primary - 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