Editor’s note: Each week during the legislative session, Denver Post political reporters will sit down with Capitol newsmakers. This Q&A was edited for length.
Rep. Joe Miklosi, a Democrat, was elected in 2008 to represent District 9.Miklosi, 39, works for Project C.U.R.E., a nonprofit that sends medical supplies and services to third-world countries.
Miklosi is no stranger to politics. A former White House intern during the Clinton years and a former aide to a U.S. senator, Miklosi also worked as a political strategist who helped Democrats win control of the legislature in Colorado.
Originally from New Boston, Mich., Miklosi holds a bachelor’s degree from Hope College in Holland, Mich., and a master’s in public administration from the University of Colorado Denver. He and his wife, Jennifer, are thinking about starting a family soon.
Q: Tell me about your work at Project C.U.R.E.
A: I help Project C.U.R.E. get grants from USAID so that we can ship more medical supplies to the developing world.
Q: What was it like to visit Rwanda for Project C.U.R.E.?
A: In Rwanda, you know — we debate health care here — but when you get over there, all those political debates go by the wayside because you just want to provide care. The health care system there is so rudimentary. There was a doctor there who said he’d used the bottom of a bean can to perform a C-section.
Q: Why did you study political science and religion at Hope College?
A: I thought I was going to become a minister for a while. But I decided to enter public service. That was my calling. That was where my gifts aligned.
Q: Your mother was a waitress for 35 years?
A: Double-shift. High school education. My dad taught school, K-6, for 33 years.
