There are no spots for Proposition 103 running on the local television stations. Political reporters are not getting bombarded by campaign emails. And Gov. John Hickenlooper (D-Colorado) has so far been quite careful not to get too involved in the debate.
If there's reliable polling on what the voters are thinking about the proposal to raise sales and income taxes, we have yet to see it.
Yet to Sen. Rollie Heath (D-Boulder) it still represents the best way to get additional funding into what he acknowledges to be a dire economic situation for the state's schools.
"Education is the key to everything," he said. "We need to be investing in our kids and reinvesting in our schools."
Heath likes to call Proposition 103 a simple proposal.
"It puts our tax rates where they were in '99, and puts [all additional revenue] into education," he said.
The state's sales and use tax rate would go from 2.9 percent to 3.0 percent, and the state's income tax would go from 4.63 percent to 5.0 percent. It would help raise upwards of $500 to $600 million every year for five years. At that point, the rates would go back to where they are now.
"The last thing our anemic economy needs is a massive tax hike. It's a job killer. It's an economy killer," Jon Caldera, with Colorado's conservative Independence Institute, said.
This week, the Independence Institute announced the results of an internal study which suggest Proposition 103 would, if passed, lead to a net loss of 7,000 to 11,000 jobs in the state.
"We can't afford this," Caldera said.
He was also quick to point out the lack of support from the governor on the issue.
"He jumped out of planes for Referendum C," he said, referring to a now-infamous television spot which ran in 2005. "This is a man who has the magic to sell tax increases. He won't touch this with a 10-foot pole."
Eric Brown, the governor's spokesperson, issued this statement in reply: "The governor made a commitment to the people of Colorado when he ran for office that he would not campaign for a tax increase this year, and he intends to keep his word. While he has no plans to endorse or oppose this proposal, he respects Sen. Heath's passion to keep education a funding priority in Colorado. Like any grassroots effort, this is a question for the voters of Colorado to decide."
(KUSA-TV © 2011 Multimedia Holdings Corporation)