AURORA | Both candidates for Colorado’s House District 30 are betting on previous experience to clinch a victory, but it’s the differences in their respective resumes that distinguish Democratic nominee David Rose and Republican candidate Kevin Priola.

Rose, who served as the mayor and a city council member in Brighton, as well as a member on the board of directors at the Regional Transportation District, is hoping his municipal experience will translate into votes, whereas Priola, who has built his Republican stripes in active posts as a precinct and district captain in Adams County as well as a member of the county’s Republican Rules Committee, is touting his civic involvement and his experience as a business owner as key qualifications.

For Rose, whose 32-year stint in Brighton has included a long running post as a school principal, has pushed education, energy and budget reform as key issues.

Specifically, Rose points to Colorado’s potential as a host state to a new energy economy, one that relies on new technology to boost local energy production and economic benefits. Shifting the focus in such a manner, he said, would involve retooling the state budget.

“I think we need to reprioritize the budget at the state level so we can meet the needs in other areas such as health care, transportation and providing incentives for energy technology,” Rose said. “I feel like energy technology is our new economic future for Colorado. And yes, we will continue to have to drill for oil and gas, and there are enough permits that will allow that for the next 10 years. But we have to also move to the next phase of energy technology.”

Priola places a similar stress on the importance of the economy, tying both energy development and transportation directly to the financial well-being of the state. Priola has encouraged drawing on the state’s natural resources as a way to cut costs and reduce the financial impact on the consumer.

“The economy is restricted by the flow of goods. Capital construction projects — building roads — have economic multipliers that far exceed other items in the state budget,” Priola said. “So I would focus on transportation to try and kick start the state economy, as well as energy exploration to try to drive down the prices for natural gas, electricity bills — which have been rising because a lot of the mandates in the state budget — as well as the price of gas at the pump.”

As far as the prospect of retooling the state budget, Rose has endorsed current efforts to redraw the current Taxpayers Bill of Rights legislation as a way to start. Specifically, he supports Amendment 59 as a valuable first step in reorganizing the way the state apportions its dollars.

“I think (Amendment) 59 is extremely important, I think it’s one of the most creative plans I’ve seen for a long time,” Rose said. “I think the idea of putting the excess fund from TABOR into an educational account really helps the budget ... It allows more funding in the general budget. I also think it makes a secure amount for education in the general budget over a period of time.”

Meanwhile, Priola argues that such an effort would do more harm than good. Significant budget reform, he said, must come from other corners.

“Considering Amendment 59, I believe that it hamstrings the state budget too much in that it would move too much of the excess revenue in a certain direction, neglecting transportation and higher ed,” Priola said. “The state budget needs to be flexible going forward ... It’s a start, but in the end I think there are better alternatives and better options going forward.”