Rep. Gabe Evans (R-CO), who represents Colorado’s 8th Congressional District, used an appearance on Breitbart News Daily to criticize Democratic policies in Colorado, pointing to downtown Denver’s office vacancy rate, a decline in energy companies, business regulation and fentanyl seizures as evidence of what he described as the effects of those policies on the city.
Evans, whose district borders Denver, discussed his race, which has been rated a “toss up,” and argued that Colorado has become unfriendly to business under Democratic leadership.
“I border Denver proper, so you can stand in my district, take one step south, and you’re now officially in the city and county of Denver. … Again, business unfriendly state now because it’s the activists. It’s that second generation of Democrat activists who have never run a business that are running Colorado,” Evans said.
He claimed Colorado is now the sixth most heavily regulated state in the nation and said it is more expensive, in terms of regulatory burden, to open a restaurant in Denver than in New York City.
Evans also addressed the energy sector, saying that a decade ago 35 percent of downtown Denver companies were oil and gas or energy firms, a figure he said has fallen to 7 percent this year. He linked that decline to a 40 percent office vacancy rate in downtown Denver, which he described as the highest in the nation.
“You lose all of the foot traffic, which means all of your restaurant struggle, struggle, your retail stops struggle,” Evans said.
He also cited the 16th Street Mall, Denver’s downtown pedestrian corridor, saying the city and county of Denver spent $100,000 to study rebranding it to “16th Street.” Evans called the expenditure an example of government waste and said the corridor now sees little foot traffic.
On crime and drugs, Evans said Colorado accounts for roughly 2 percent of the nation’s population but more than 10 percent of the country’s fentanyl, with much of that concentrated in Denver.
“This is what Democrats will do to public safety,” Evans said. “This is what Democrats do to the economy.”
Breitbart News Daily airs on SiriusXM Patriot 125 from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Eastern.
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