On September 15, the “On the Stump” section in The Gazette of Colorado Springs (subscription only) reported that Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez “rolled his campaign promises into one document and asked voters to hold him accountable if he does not deliver.” But the article and earlier issues of the newspaper made no mention that Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill Ritter had announced his own “Colorado Opportunity Pledge” on August 24. Beauprez and his running mate, Janet Rowland, announced "The Colorado Accountability Pledge and Plan of Action" on September 12.

A Colorado Media Matters search of The Gazette's subscription-only archives revealed no mentions of Ritter's “Colorado Opportunity Pledge.”*

In contrast to The Gazette, The Denver Post and the Rocky Mountain News, reporting on Beauprez's pledge on September 13, mentioned Ritter's earlier pledge. The Post article by staff writer Mark P. Couch reported that “Beauprez said he would work for an improved health-care system, better schools, cleaner water, accountable government and tough enforcement of illegal-immigration laws.” The article concluded with a response from Ritter and a highlight summary of Ritter's pledge:

Ritter responded to Beauprez's plan by pointing out that his own campaign released its “Colorado Opportunity Pledge” in late August.

In that plan, Ritter called for improving the rate of child immunizations within two years, working toward health-care coverage for all, and revamping the state budget system by adopting a model that has saved up to 6 percent of spending in other states.

The News article by Alan Gathright, before comparing the two pledges on the issues of education, health care, and illegal immigration, pointed out that Ritter delivered a pledge to the voters before Beauprez delivered his own:

Beauprez will debut four folksy TV ads today, showing him chatting in a country barn on how he'll handle challenges - education, scarce water, illegal immigrant criminals and government spending - all with the tag line: “I want you to hold me accountable for getting that done.”

If this sounds familiar, it might be because Democratic candidate Bill Ritter issued his own “Colorado Opportunity Pledge” on Aug. 24.

He vowed to “fulfill his promise to Colorado by setting performance goals, meeting objectives and establishing a public report card to grade his administration's performance.”

The Pueblo Chieftain also reported, in a September 13 article by Charles Ashby of the newspaper's Denver bureau, on both candidates' pledges. According to the Chieftain:

“I think I'm one of the very rare, maybe only, politician who's ever come in front of a group of people in Colorado and said, 'There's the pledge, here's the items, hold me accountable,' ” he [Beauprez] added.

Actually, Ritter did it on Aug. 24 when he outlined his “Colorado Opportunity Pledge” that included his goals to give voters a chance to “gauge our performance” should he be elected governor.

* Search for “Ritter” from August 20, 2006, to September 15, 2006.

From the September 15 Colorado Springs Gazette (the “On the Stump segment ”Accounting for himself" in its entirety):

Accounting for himself

Republican gubernatorial hopeful Bob Beauprez this week rolled his campaign promises into one document and asked voters to hold him accountable if he does not deliver.

Beauprez, coming off several high-profile gaffes and lackluster fundraising in August, is repackaging his message with less than two months before the election in hopes of recharging his campaign.

Beauprez and his running mate, Mesa County Commissioner Janet Rowland, signed the “Colorado Accountability Pledge and Plan of Action.”

The five-point plan debuted Tuesday and new television campaign ads began running Wednesday.

In the plan, Beauprez promises to reduce the number of Coloradans without health insurance; create a privately funded effort to improve childhood literacy; improve water conservation; reduce state spending by $100 million; and enforce existing immigration laws.

“This isn't about politics, it's about getting things done for the state of Colorado,” Beauprez said.

August was not a good month for Beauprez, and many political experts believe his campaign is in trouble. He and Rowland both apologized for insensitive comments, and his opponent, Democrat Bill Ritter, took in more campaign contributions by an almost 3-to-1 margin.