The Post Takes Opinions Above the Fold

For the first time since 2005, the Post's editorial board opines on the front page.

Comments (0) By Michael Roberts Thursday, Nov 8 2007

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Dreyer is among those who suspect that Singleton's anger at Ritter is rooted in an intense dislike of unions. Singleton denies that, saying he would have objected just as strongly had the governor kowtowed to any special interest, not just ones affiliated with organized labor. But he's gotten crossways with unions on numerous occasions throughout his career. During the late '90s, MediaNews purchased the assets of the Long Beach Press-Telegram rather than the paper itself — an approach used as pretext to toss out a union pact in existence for more than fifty years. More recently, in California, MediaNews merged the Alameda Newspaper Group, a collection of papers governed by union pacts, with several newly purchased non-union papers — and because ANG employees represented a minority of the new firm that resulted, the union contract was junked.

Do these moves mark Singleton as a union-hater? Not in his eyes. While tensions are evident at papers such as Pennsylvania's York Daily Record, where guild workers created a music video called "MediaNews Blues" — lyrics include "I'm feeling so low, now that I know/She's sending my money to Denver" — he describes his overall relationship with unions as "amicable." (Singleton cites examples such as recently finalized labor deals at the Denver Newspaper Agency, where a new contract won overwhelming approval, and Minnesota's St. Paul Pioneer Press.) As for the ANG dust-up, he's unapologetic. "Whether you're union or non-union is determined by the size of the surviving company," he emphasizes. "We did what the laws say you do — and you're not anti-union if you're following the law."

John Johnston

Dean Singleton thinks he's found Jimmy Hoffa — and his name is Bill Ritter.

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Whatever the case, the November 4 editorial put Ritter on the defensive, and the following day, he spent as much time trying to control the damage as he did touting a climate-change initiative that was supposed to be his main focus. An afternoon appearance on KHOW didn't do the trick, since host Dan Caplis was consistently critical, but the governor received a warmer reception on AM 760 from Jay Marvin, who was offended by the editorial. "Mr. Singleton has a lot of nerve," Marvin says. "These are not the days when William Randolph Hearst sat in his castle in San Simeon and decided who was going to be the president or who we were going to go to war with. The people of Colorado are going to decide who should be governor, not Dean Singleton."

That's fine by Singleton, who rejects Hearst comparisons "out of hand" and contends that he was merely trying to start a dialogue about Ritter's order. "We thought it was important enough that the Post needed to give its view," he maintains. "Time will tell whether the future will prove to be as the Post's editorial page thinks it will. The reader is free to agree or disagree or say 'I don't care.'"