Colorado Matters – April 13, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode of Colorado Matters, hosted by Ryan Warner, features two primary segments:

1. The State of U.S. Democracy — A discussion with political scientist Seth Maskett from the University of Denver about the decline of democracy in America, exploring new executive orders, election laws, and what Maskett calls a "reverse civil rights agenda".
2. Colorado Ballet’s Gil Boggs — An in-depth conversation with Gil Boggs, marking his 20th year as Colorado Ballet’s artistic director, reflecting on the transformation of the company, taking creative risks, and envisioning the future of ballet in Colorado.

Additional reporting covers the Colorado state budget shortfall, political drama among lawmakers, and recent developments at the Colorado Republican assembly.

Segment 1: The State of U.S. Democracy

Guest: Seth Maskett, University of Denver political scientist
Timestamps: 00:45 – 14:41

Key Discussion Points & Insights

• Declining Democracy Rankings

  • Seth Maskett cites studies showing the U.S. drop from 20th to 51st in democracy rankings, and scholarly consensus that it now sits between "liberal democracy and dictatorship."
  • "These scholars are very seriously worried about this." (Seth Maskett, 01:40)

• Democracy's Ability to Recover

  • Historical examples, such as Hungary, show democracy can rebound with public mobilization and effort after periods of backsliding.
  • "Just because the democracy is sacrificed or compromised in one era doesn't mean we'll always trend in that direction. But it does take some work to pull it back." (02:28)

• Lingering “Stolen Election” Narratives

  • Trump’s ongoing insistence that the 2020 election was stolen fuels this belief among Republican activists, even after returning to power.
  • "Trump is the person who created that—the big lie. ... Even after returning to office, he continues to claim that it was stolen from him." (04:18)
  • Local GOP leaders, according to Maskett’s research, sincerely believe election laws require overhaul due to alleged fraud.

• Executive Order on Mail-in Balloting

  • The order, perceived as executive overreach by local officials (05:46), faces legal hurdles.
  • The judicial system processes challenges much slower than the executive branch pushes policy, especially through executive orders or even social media posts.
  • "The president...tends not to involve even Congress all that much in his decision making or policymaking and tends to do a lot of things by executive order or even just by posting on social media. And that's become his form of lawmaking." (06:38)

• Impact of Voting Constrictions

  • Tighter voting rules may harm not only Democratic constituencies but also poor Republican voters.
  • "Poor people are less likely to have a driver's license on hand or have a passport..." (08:00)
  • The irony: "This could have more of an impact on them, although at least right now it's looking like it might have a bigger impact on Democratic voters." (07:56)

• “Reverse Civil Rights Agenda”

  • Trump’s moves are compared to 1960s federal interventions—but now seeking to restrict, rather than expand, voting rights.
  • "...Seeking to use that precedent, you know, the precedent of the federal government stepping in... only to move things back in the other direction, to actually make it harder to vote and to have...impact that would tend to make it harder for poor Americans, probably harder for non white Americans to cast a ballot." (09:35)

• Birthright Citizenship Case & Presidential Presence

  • Trump's attendance at Supreme Court oral arguments—an unprecedented move—signals deep executive interest and possible attempts at influence.
  • "It's obviously, it's so unusual....You could view it as...trying to intimidate people, or maybe he was just sort of signaling this is the case that he cares the most about." (11:38)

• Use of Social Media and Christian Nationalist Imagery

  • President Trump’s sharing of a meme depicting himself as Jesus Christ, and public conflicts with the Pope, is seen as part of a "Christian nationalist worldview."
  • "It's also...consistent with kind of a Christian nationalist worldview that he has...the real Christianity is the version that he's expounding, which is basically...advocates for...a muscular, robust U.S. military policy." (13:31)
  • "There’s a rather messianic one floating around. Did you see this?" (13:01)

Segment 2: Colorado State Budget Showdown

Guest: Ray Solomon, CPR News Capitol Reporter
Timestamps: 14:41 – 23:53

Key Discussion Points

• Big Budget Shortfall

  • Colorado faces a $1.5 billion gap; cuts to Medicaid, provider rates, and immigrant benefits have been enacted, including the rollback of coverage for undocumented children and pregnant women.
  • "Some of the biggest cuts came from Medicaid...The Joint Budget Committee voted to cut provider rates by 2%, pretty much across the board." (15:05)

• Financial Maneuvers

  • Lawmakers reduce the required cash reserve from 15% to 13%, freeing hundreds of millions, and hold onto questionable TABOR refund money.
  • "But of course there's a risk if the state runs into a recession, we could run into trouble down the line." (17:11)

• Political Strife and Stalling Tactics

  • Republican Rep. Brandi Bradley requests the entire 650-page budget be read aloud—lasting 15 hours—as protest.
    • "It's an automated voice that reads every printed word...Because it's so long, the process took about 15 hours." (20:07)
    • "She brought her sewing machine to the Capitol...She made herself a dress, an entire dress from scratch while the bill was being ready." (21:01)
  • Bradley’s reasons: Ethics protests and opposition to “bloated” government.
    • "The people of Colorado are tired of being feed and taxed to death. The cost of our budget has grown 48% in six years. Population's only grown 5%." (23:23)

• Majority/Democratic Amendments

  • Bipartisan amendments succeed for auto theft prevention, and Democrats try to reverse some immigrant benefit cuts.

Segment 3: Colorado Republican Assembly Recap

Timestamps: 23:54 – 25:32

Key Points & Quotes

• Republican Ballot Access

  • GOP Assembly narrows governor candidates from 18 to 2; Mark Basley receives the U.S. Senate nomination; President Trump intervenes in third-district race but can't prevent a challenger.

• Unity vs. Fracture

  • "If we can't come together as a party, then it's going to be hard to move candidates forward and turn Colorado back Red." (Vanessa Ruggles, La Plata Co. Republicans, 25:32)

Segment 4: Backstage with Colorado Ballet’s Gil Boggs

Timestamps: 26:09 – 48:53

Key Discussion Points & Insights

• Masterworks Production and Ballet’s "Bucket List" Pieces

  • Masterworks features physically demanding ballets; Rite of Spring described by Boggs as “a killer.”
  • "I told the gentlemen, especially back in the summer, I said, come back in shape because this will kill you. And some companies actually have places for you to throw up in the wings if you. It's so demanding." (28:13)

• Resilience and Career Turning Points

  • Boggs reflects on a time of burnout during his American Ballet Theatre days, with Baryshnikov (“Misha”) arranging a sabbatical with Twyla Tharp.
    • "Misha came up to me, Mikhail Baryshnikov, and he said, gil, you seem like you're not very happy at the moment...Twyla Tharp has just asked me if you could take a year's leave of absence and work with her company." (29:18)
    • "That really helped revive my love of the art form." (29:41)

• Leadership Philosophy

  • Strong focus on dancer well-being and happiness, and a commitment to not being a control freak.
    • "It's maybe the most important thing to me is the health and well being of these dancers and...I want to create an atmosphere where they want to walk into the building every day and practice their craft and maybe puke." (30:15)
    • "I depend on people's opinions and their thought process and I listen heavily. Even the admin staff, they do incredible work behind the scenes." (33:31)

• Transforming Colorado Ballet

  • Financial health and artistic improvement were priorities on arrival. Company grew from 27 to 40 dancers, with an endowment for stability.
    • "From a financial standpoint, we've never been healthier. We have an incredible endowment to fall back on." (34:14)

• Balancing Repertoire: Innovation vs. Tradition

  • Describes struggle between programming classics vs. new ballets:
    • "If I am not putting out programming that people find interesting and want to come see, then I'm not going to have an audience to come." (39:43)
    • "It's about challenging your audience with new works and things that they wouldn't know....But Cary Mussey...I love his music so much that I convinced our friends, my friends to buy a ticket and we all went. It was spectacular." (40:49)

• Financial Risk and Board Buy-in

  • Accepts that some productions will lose money (“Masterworks”) but believes the artistic value justifies risk.
    • "Masterworks, we lose money on....But it was a defining moment for this organization when that happened. And now we do it every year." (42:38)

• Expansion to New Audiences

  • Colorado Ballet’s outreach includes immersive community residencies and upcoming foray into VR/digital performance with the company Charter XR.
    • "So last summer, do you know the Green Box Mountain Festival?...So we took about half the company, 17 dancers down there....it was a great feeling to get out and be somewhere else." (43:57)
    • "Funny you should ask...a company called Charter xr...And you sit there and you are sitting courtside, you are literally LeBron James just walks right by you....they’re out there now doing testing...interested in...recording and getting it onto Apple TV to be used on these devices that immerse you." (45:11)

• Succession & Leadership Diversity

  • Boggs admits leadership succession planning for diversity is still in early stages but cites mentoring younger dancers interested in management.
    • "There's all this data that shows that women, people of color, are underrepresented in those leadership roles...Can you talk about fostering the directorial talent?" (37:18)
    • "I haven't gotten to that stage yet...But the potential is there to groom someone." (37:57)
    • "Yosvani Ramos...he now runs a ballet company in Monterrey and Mexico. And so, you know, I helped with him, I think, a little bit, understanding the challenges..." (38:25)

• Bucket List & Ambitious Next Steps

  • Highlight: bringing John Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet to Colorado Ballet, after being evaluated for suitability.
    • "I was just approved by the Kranko Trust to do John Kranko's Romeo and Juliet...And it's a new echelon for the company to achieve this production and to be able to bring it in....For three days, she looked at the company. We had conversations, sometimes difficult conversations. She was challenging me...before we will ever commit to that." (46:48, 47:14)

Notable Quotes

• "All indicators say anything could happen. And you’ve just summed up America." (Ryan Warner, 34:59)
• "It's about challenging your audience with new works and things that they wouldn't know… but if they have buy-in, then there's going to be buy in on the stage and the audience is going to see a quality of performance that is necessary to drive the audience back and have trust in Colorado Ballet." (41:56)

Memorable Moments

• Representative Brandi Bradley’s 15-hour protest by having the entire budget bill read aloud, leading Rep. Brianna Tatone to sew a dress in the chamber. (21:01)
• Sharing of a meme depicting a sitting President as Jesus Christ (13:01), and Trump’s direct attendance at Supreme Court oral arguments.
• The candid, behind-the-scenes look at ballet’s physical demands: "Some companies actually have places for you to throw up in the wings..." (28:13)
• Fun exchanges about risk-taking, VR, and the bucket list—blending tradition and innovation in ballet.

Segment Timestamps

• [00:45–14:41] — The State of U.S. Democracy with Seth Maskett
• [14:41–23:53] — Colorado Budget and Capitol Political Drama
• [23:54–25:32] — Republican State Assembly Recap
• [26:09–48:53] — Colorado Ballet: Gil Boggs’ Vision and Backstage Insights

Final Note

This episode is both timely and reflective: it confronts serious concerns over American democracy and state fiscal health while celebrating creative vision, resilience, and innovation in Colorado’s cultural landscape. The voices of scholars, lawmakers, artists, and community leaders make for a rich, thought-provoking listen.