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Voters not pumped about gas prices

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Contributed by: Kathryn Richert/YourHub.com on 9/22/2008

Broomfield resident Patricia Hengeveld wanted to know why she sees a wild fluctuation in gas prices on the drive she takes once or twice a week from Broomfield to Berthoud.

She asked this and several other questions Sept. 17 to a panelist made up of petroleum, alternative energy, transportation and economy experts gathered for a town hall meeting in Broomfield titled "Pain at the Pump - Why is gasoline so expensive?"

Hengeveld and about 34 other people who attended the meeting heard the explanation from Brian Haldorson, president of A-B Petroleum Incorporated, which owns several gas stations locally. There are multiple refineries in which Colorado gas stations get their supplies and gas station owners set their prices based on the competition's prices across the street, he said.

The meeting's goal was for residents to learn about how gas is priced, how the current economic conditions in Colorado affect high gas prices, RTD's alternative transportation options and renewable energy options, said host Rep. Dianne Primavera, D-Broomfield.

Rep. Judy Solano, D-Thornton, held a similar town hall meeting Sept. 16 in Thornton.

Primavera said while she's been campaigning for re-election in District 33, the burning issue she hears from constituents is high gas prices and what she's going to do about it.

She said the hot-button chatter is filled with much speculation, misinformation and little information about what can be done to ease the burden.

To clear up some of the misinformation, she invited, among others, Haldorson, Stacey Simms, BioFuels and local fuels program manager for the Governor's energy office and Natalie Mullis, an economist with the State of Colorado Legislative Council of the General Assembly.

Mullis explained that high gas prices are taking a bite out of Colorado's economy. People are spending less on retail goods and because people are driving less, less money is generated to improve roads from a federal gas tax, she said.
People also aren't driving to Black Hawk to gamble, Mullis said. A gambling tax that generates revenue for gambling cities went from $112 million in 2006-07 to $108 million in 2007-08, she said.

She said although people often only see the negative impacts of high gas price, there are hidden positive effects for Colorado's economy, which is faring better than other states closing in on recession.

Colorado had the fifth highest growth rate in employment in the country from July
2007-08, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in part, because refineries on the Western slope and elsewhere are supplying jobs, she said.

Simms, with the governor's energy office, discussed the myths swirling around alternative energy options, including that groceries are more expensive because of biofuels and it takes more energy to make ethanol than it uses, both of which she debunked.

She said misinformation is often generated by media hype that doesn't cite expert opinions and leads to confusion.

"Listen to experts doing the work to find out what the truth is," she said.

Simms later told YourHub.com, she recommends http://afdc.energy.gov/afdc/fuels/
index.html for accurate information about alternative energy.

up next

Ballot initiatives Rep. Judy Solano, D-Thornton and Sen. Lois Tochtrop, D-Thornton will discuss the pros and cons of 2008 ballot initiatives from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Oct. 2 at Northglenn Community Center, 11801 Community Center Drive. For more information, call Solano at 720-929-0623.

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