news not the end of the world.’ And I lost and it wasn’t the end of the world.” Although Rollie lost the election, Owens did propose Referendum C to restore education funding a few years later, something Rollie says he never would have done before he challenged him on it during the debates. Rollie went on to start a private company working as an executive coach, never intending to run for office again. However, in 2008, term-limit restrictions opened up the Boulder State Senate seat and friends asked Rollie to consider running. Initially he declined, but Josie encouraged him to pursue the position. “Only in her way, she said, ‘Well, I think you ought to think about it,’” he says. “Two weeks later I was running.” As a Colorado State Senator, Rollie has worked tirelessly in his efforts to increase public education funding by raising the income tax in the state through both Proposition 103 in 2011 and Amendment 66 in 2013. However, Coloradans voted down both measures when they reached the ballot. He tried again with the Colorado Tax Income Increase in 2016, but proponents failed to gather enough signatures to meet state requirements for a general vote. “The biggest frustration for me is that we didn’t get it on the ballot this time,” Rollie says. Nevertheless, he’s remained determined to see education reforms that give students the opportunity for success. In 2015, he sponsored four out of eight workforce bills that passed, helping to establish concurrent enrollment and technical internships and apprenticeships as part of the educational system in Colorado. “I think it’s one of the solutions to all this anger,” Rollie says. “If you get people with a decent job and have them be able to live a reasonable life, I think a lot of the anger goes away.” Neither Rollie nor Josie seems to have any intention for running for public office again, but they don’t explicitly deny the possibility either. In many ways, their careers are perfect examples of the evolution of the Democratic Party and American politics. They’ve had to navigate a changing political landscape, one of increased spending coupled with the decline of both media quality and coverage, which has left many politicians wary of the press. “There’s not enough of the media to really be able to air the kinds of things we should be having conversations about,” Josie says. As a politician, “It’s a disservice to not let people know why am I thinking that and what brought me to this place. Why did I arrive at this decision?” Plus, “The external rules have changed,” Josie continues. “And that’s really changed the local party. When you gave so much more power to outside PACs and special interest groups that had the money, it took away the power of the party.” The best way forward is to overturn Citizens United, Rollie says. But there also has to be a willingness to work with colleagues from opposing parties on issues where compromise is possible, while not focusing on non-negotiables. “Invariably, about 80 percent of the things you agree on but you only talk about the 20 percent of things that you’re never going to agree on,” he says. “You figure out where you can go and then hopefully that will lead to other results. That’s the only way we’re going to break out of this. ... What you do is you find areas you can agree on and build trust within those relationships.” “Trust is the word,” Josie adds. “And it’s hard to earn and once you’ve earned it you have to be careful never to betray it. And yet for people who feel like you compromised, how do they not see it as betrayal? And I think trust comes when you all come together and you sort out hard choices.” But somewhere along the way, Josie says, the political vehicles to build trust have broken down. “I’ve just learned you can’t take anything for granted,” Josie says. “Even if you’ve earned people’s trust, you have to affirm with people, ‘Are you with me?’ We make assumptions that people are. ... In a political sense, one of the most difficult things is when you think people are with you and they’re not.” These are poignant reflections in a time of political turmoil within the Democratic Party and in the nation as a whole. But looking ahead, what comes next for the Heaths remains undetermined. “We’re both in a place in our lives where we can say, ‘No regrets,’” Josie says. “If you have a regret in a personal way it may be somebody’s feelings were hurt in an unintentional way. But I feel like we both tried to be principled about what we said and what we did.” Rollie is a bit more specific, saying he plans on joining some boards and remaining engaged and active in the education advocacy he championed while in the state Senate, although he doesn’t give any more detail than that. “I’m on my 12th reinvention,” he says. “I’ve had so many varied careers, going from the military to doing what I’m doing now and everything in between. I’ve tried different things and I’m glad I did. It’s been fun. It’s been a good ride.” Boulder Weekly
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