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It probably wouldn’t be breaking news if I informed our readers that the mainstream media missed something big. But you can’t always fault the press. Colorado’s daily news outlets, with shrinking staff and resources, competing in a 24/7 news cycle is nearly impossible. They can’t be everywhere all the time.
But when the media becomes hyper-focused, arguably obsessed, with one thing – and one thing only – and overlooks everything else, some deserve the blame they’ve received.
That may be the case with Danny Moore, Heidi Ganahl’s pick for Lieutenant Governor. Ganahl, a self-described “mom on a mission” and successful entrepreneur and businesswoman, has selected Moore, a veteran with more than 34 years of operational and business experience in defense, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. The formal announcement took place on Friday, July 22 at a packed campaign event at JJ’s Place in Aurora. The veteran-owned restaurant and bar was fitting given Moore’s military service.
Ganahl and Moore will be challenging Gov. Jared Polis and his lieutenant, Dianne Primavera, in this year’s fall election on Nov. 8, 2022.
Since word broke that Moore was being tapped, nearly all mainstream media coverage has opined about his role (and departure) from the congressional redistricting commission and remarks made about election integrity.
The portrait drawn of Moore thus far has been woefully incomplete.
By not diving into Moore’s military and business credentials they’re doing Coloradans and the business community a serious disservice. It’s imperative that voters arm themselves with an abundance of diverse information about all candidates and issues before heading to the polls every election cycle – this one especially.
Since the announcement, Ganahl and Moore have continually highlighted the social and business crises Colorado is facing. They pointed to sky-high gasoline prices, a lack of affordable housing, out-of-control inflation and teen suicide as some of the struggles Colorado businesses and families are facing.
According to the Common Sense Institute (CSI), the cost of crime in Colorado in 2021 totaled $31 billion.
- Average monthly crime rate in 2021 is 28% higher than it was in 2011, and 15% higher than it was only two years ago in 2019.
- Colorado had the highest increase in its property crime rate between 2011 and 2020, among all states.
- Colorado’s violent crime rate in 2020 was 35% higher than 2011; nationally the rate grew only 3%.
- The 2020 murder rate was 106% higher than in 2011. The rape rate was 9% higher, with assault up 40%.
Overall, this was an increase of $3.5 billion, or 12.9%, from the cost in 2020, primarily driven by the increase in violent crimes. That cost, CSI points out, will burden all Coloradans to a tune of $5,320 per person. That’s a big expense for businesses and families to shoulder given the price of just about everything is costing more.
And the main culprit, Ganahl and Moore argue, is a lack of leadership.
If you believe Colorado is in a crisis, then it should be all hands-on deck. No wonder Ganahl called in the Navy.
Moore earned the rank of Master Chief, the highest rank an enlisted sailor can achieve. “They didn’t follow me because of my rank, they followed me because of my leadership,” Moore has stated on the campaign trail. “Family is a central pillar to success. Success in business means nothing if the people around you are not successful, too.” Moore says he has been humbled by the families of his employees who entrusted their livelihood to him.
That’s how you achieve prosperity while demonstrating what servant-leadership means. Something we need more of in our elected leaders.
Moore is a fighter; so is Ganahl. And both seem to carry one clear trait together: fearlessness.
Ganahl founded Camp Bow Wow in 2000, one of the first day and overnight dog-care centers in Colorado. With a nose for business, and well ahead of the pet craze here in this state, Ganahl franchised this red-hot concept and helped spread the operation to 100+ locations. Camp Bow Wow was later acquired by the animal health-care company VCA Inc. (NASDAQ: WOOF). According to a report in the Wall Street Journal from August 2014, the month Ganahl sold the company, Camp Bow Wow had generated $71 million in sales the previous year and employed around 3,500 people across 122 camps and seven house-call operations. Today, there are more than 200 camps making it North America’s largest pet care franchise. (Camp Bow Bow was a ColoradoBiz “Best of Colorado” winner in 2022.)
They say all politics are local, but if you are a business owner (or executive) who isn’t concerned about the real existential threats constantly coming in from outside our nation, just like some of Colorado’s mainstream media, you’re missing something, too.
Many in Colorado believe we are in a state of crisis. If that’s true, Ganahl calling in a fearless, battle-tested pick as her lieutenant says it all.
Editorial note: This article is not an endorsement of any candidate. It is meant to encourage readers to conduct their own research and due diligence before they vote.