Office and district sought: House District 55
Name: Bernie Buescher
Party affiliation: Democrat
Website: www.buescher.org
E-mail: Bernie@buescher.com
Last degree earned: JD from University of Colorado, Boulder.
Occupation: Manager of connections at work, LLC
Hobbies: competitive golf, reading.
Family: Married to Mary Elizabeth since 1972; four children, Michael, Elizabeth, Marcia and Susan.
How long have you lived in Colorado? I’ve lived in Colorado all of my life.
Last book read: “Silver Fox of the Rockies” a biography of Delph Carpenter
Civic involvement: Board of directors of St. Mary’s Hospital; chief operating officer, Grand Valley Catholic Education Inc.; Colorado Transportation Commission, member; Colorado Economic Development Commission, member; Ara Parseghian Medical Research Foundation – member of the board of directors.
Why are you running? To represent Mesa County as well as possible in the State Legislature. This requires dealing with water, transportation, environmental, health and job issues. I believe that we can do better in all of these areas.
What are the top three issues facing Colorado?
1. Recognizing and dealing with the impact of oil and gas. We must recognize the need to develop our natural resources – improving our energy independence is essential – but we must do this in a way that protects our water and the beauty, recreational and tourist opportunities that define Colorado.
2. Every year, health care becomes more expensive and more Coloradans become uninsured. We need to deal with this issue, and I am hopeful that the 208 Commission will produce bold recommendations.
3. Jobs. Tucker Hart Adams’ prediction that Colorado will face an economic downturn in 2008 is sobering. It is easy to enjoy the strong economy we have now; it would be a mistake to not invest in job creation when we have a strong economy.
What is your top priority in the next session should you win? I will resume my efforts to create a rainy day fund. This passed the House easily in 2006, but did not make it out of Senate. Secondly, it is essential to align our funding with the new governor’s priorities.
What proposal in the last session did you oppose the most? The proposal to prevent libraries from purchasing foreign language items was silly.
What proposal in the last session did you agree with the most? I felt strongly about my Rainy Day Fund bill, and also with Rep. Buffie McFayden’s water quality bill.
