Why the governor chose to praise this mighty economic development engine in one part of our state while ignoring another, we don't know.

It's not as if we haven't asked Gov. Hickenlooper directly. It's not as if he hasn't seen how badly western Colorado needs the jobs and investment provided by the responsible development of our traditional energy resources. It's not as if he doesn't know that his leadership would actually spur development and encourage investment, and yet he continues to ignore the needs of western Colorado.

We appreciate the fact that he has visited our communities and that he has seen firsthand the devastation that burdensome regulations and power-hungry bureaucrats can have on working families. He has seen the empty shops and warehouses. He has seen how hard our schools have been hit. He has seen the suffering of tens of thousands of Coloradans. We also know that he hasn't done one thing about it.

Gov. Hickenlooper hasn't demonstrated the leadership necessary to get bureaucrats in Denver and Washington, D.C., to recognize that we need jobs and economic security in western Colorado too.

Other states have shown through their own leadership that they can attract the investment and careers that responsible resource development drives. Utah, North Dakota and Wyoming are but three examples where our friends in the West are realizing the value of responsibly developing their natural resources. The difference is that, through their elected leaders, from governors to state legislators, these states have managed to pair the benefits of job creation and greater economic security with responsible environmental stewardship.

In western Colorado, burdensome and unnecessary regulations and bureaucratic red tape are holding up investments by the energy industry. During a recent Energy Summit in Grand Junction hosted by House Republicans, industry leaders talked openly and specifically about the level of investment that would come to western Colorado and the jobs that would be created if the roadblocks to responsible development were set aside. Even more troubling is that the resources previously set aside as the Naval Oil Shale Reserve, now known as the Roan Plateau, remain untapped and mired in a federal bureaucratic black hole.

Gov. Hickenlooper, do you even care that western Colorado is suffering because of your lack of leadership?

Instead of hiding behind federal bureaucrats, Gov. Hickenlooper should be making good on his campaign promise to bring economic investment to all of Colorado, not just those areas within an hour drive of Denver.

We've seen these types of Denver governors before. They all seem to forget that the Western Slope exists for anything but skiing or fly fishing with their rich Denver buddies.

Gov. Hickenlooper, why won't you use your position as Colorado's top elected leader and do your part to bring jobs and investment back to western Colorado?

Gov. Hickenlooper, it's past time for you to be a different kind of governor than your predecessor. Don't insult our intelligence by praising natural gas development in eastern Colorado and pretend like that has anything to do with filling shops, careers and homes in western Colorado. Don't pretend that you can't be part of the solution. Be a leader for all of Colorado, not just Denver. Do your part to put our state at the forefront of responsible energy development and keep your promise to western Colorado.

State Rep. Laura Bradford is a Republican from Colbran and Rep. Ray Scott is a Republican from Grand Junction.