Owens straddles affirmative-action line.

• Author: Schwab, Robert
• Position: Governor Bill Owens

I'M NOT AGAINST AFFIRMATIVE ACTION," GOV. BILL OWENS TOLD ME when he sat down for an interview with ColoradoBiz that was featured in our December issue.

"I'm against quotas. I'm against giving somebody additional points based on their race or sex. But I am in favor of aggressive affirmative action. And that's an important distinction in this debate."

With this year's legislature convening last month, and affirmative action proponents throughout the state expecting proposed anti-affirmative action legislation to be filed and debated at the Capitol, I thought it was appropriate to remember the governor's quote since it surprised me when I heard him say it.

Last summer, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of an affirmative action plan used by the University of Michigan, several Colorado legislators suggested they would file bills to ban government affirmative action regarding college admissions in Colorado.

Owens said he would sign such a bill, and he was immediately and roundly criticized by people who have long supported minority-owned and women-owned businesses in Colorado.

Proponents of affirmative action--and you can count me among them--fear anti-affirmative-action sentiment over college enrollments will spill over into the state's procurement policies. Colorado spends billions of dollars each year with small and large businesses. Minority-owned firms and women-owned firms in Colorado would like a decent chunk of that business, but anti-affirmative action laws would work against them.

So it surprised me when Owens spoke out as an advocate of affirmative action. Not many other advocates believe him.

Bill Vandenberg, director of the Progressive Coalition and an organizer of a summit...