Office and district sought: Senate District 1
Name: James L. Bowen
Party affiliation: Democrat
Website: www.jamesbowen.com
E-mail: jamesbowen43@prairienetworks.com
Age: 63
Last degree earned: N/A
Occupation: retired, was a hardwood floor finisher, a letter carrier and a postmaster.
Hobbies: Fishing, reading and making pottery.
Family: Wife, Sherron; daughter April; son James
How long have you lived in Colorado? 34 years
Where did you live before? California
Last book read: “The Future of Freedom” by Fareed Zakaria
Civic involvement: Progressive 15; 4-H; Healthy Communities Initiative.
Major endorsements: Colorado Nurses Association; American Federation of Teachers; Colorado Protectors of Public Schools (COPOPS); AFL/CIO.
Why are you running? I can better serve the needs of the district than the appointed incumbent by emphasizing cooperation and consensus building over confrontation and divisiveness.
What are the top three challenges facing Colorado or the institution you seek to represent?
1. Growth on Colorado front-range will increase the pressure on farmers in the district to sell their agricultural water rights to front-range communities thus causing a great loss to the counties and communities in my district.
2. Loss of student population in most of the counties in the district is placing additional economic pressure on public schools, thus making it more difficult for educators to provide classroom instruction at a level that will enable students to compete with students from larger, better financed schools for precious college space.
3. We need to come up with incentive programs to attract and keep doctors and other medical professionals to serve the aging population in rural Colorado that is becoming more dependent on Medicare and Medicaid.
What is your top priority in the next session if you should win?
Formulate a long-term comprehensive water policy that will continue to serve the needs of the rural community while addressing future needs caused by growth.
What proposal in the last session did you oppose the most? HB 1164. That bill would have created a budget stabilization fund from the tobacco settlement money.
What proposal in the last session did you agree with the most? I was happy to see that the legislature kept the promises we made to the citizens of Colorado in allocating the Referendum C checks.
