Office and district sought: US Congress, 7th
Name: Ed Perlmutter
Party affiliation: Democrat
Website: www.perlmutter2006.com
E-mail: info@perlmutter2006.com
Age: 53
Last degree earned: JD from University of Colorado School of Law
Occupation: Lawyer at Berenbaum, Weinshienk and Eason
Hobbies: Spending as much time as I can with my kids and family, bicycling, running, skiing and watching Denver Bronco games.
Family: My wife Deana; three daughters, Alexis, Abby and Zoey.
How long have you lived in Colorado? I have lived in Colorado’s 7th Congressional District my entire life.
Last book read: “The Mighty and the Almighty,” by Madeline Albright.
Civic Involvement: State Senate for eight years and was president pro tem; trustee of the Midwest Research Institute which operates the National Renewable Energy Lab; Colorado Victims Compensation Committee; board member of the National Jewish Hospital; chair of the Jefferson County School Mill Levy and Bond Initiative in 2004.
Major Endorsements: Fraternal Order of Police; Colorado Professional Firefighters; National Education Association; American Academy of Family Physicians; League of Conservation Voters.
Why are you running? To change the focus from the wealthiest 1 percent to the hard working people in the middle, bring accountability and common-sense to Congress and change the direction of our country.
What are the top three challenges facing Colorado or the institution you seek to represent?
1. Iraq: Addressing our failed policy in Iraq and the impact it has had on fighting terrorism and homeland security.
2. Supporting our Senior Citizens: Protecting and strengthening Social Security and investing in stem cell research.
3. Fiscal and Economic Policy: Reversing America’s $9 trillion debt and bringing the focus back to helping the middle-class on issues such as affordable healthcare and education.
What steps, if any, do you think the federal government needs to take to address the problem of illegal immigration?
We need tough enforcement and new leadership in Congress who will craft tough but practical legislation that secures our borders, busts the organized crime element of illegal immigration (document fraud, forgeries, ID theft, etc.) and cracks down on the employers who break the law and hire illegal immigrants.
…I believe we also need to put a practical plan in place that allows for an eventual path to citizenship for workers who learn English, pay taxes, do not commit crimes. Our country may also have to consider a seasonal guest worker program to ensure certain industries such as agriculture, have the workforce they need.
Do you support the continued involvement of American troops in Iraq?
We must bring the war in Iraq to a close, and in a way that will not create more ruin to our credibility in the world or further endanger our national security. The cost in terms of lives lost and an ever-escalating cost of $400-500 billion cannot be sustained. There are no easy solutions but we need to transfer security to the Iraqi military and police, establish a multi-national reconstruction effort that will help the people of Iraq and ultimately redeploy our troops outside of Iraq to nearby countries in case a quick-strike is necessary. I believe that this can and should be done by the Spring of 2008, which will mean that we will have been in Iraq for five years — longer than we were in WWII.
