Unaffiliated candidate for governor Paul Fiorino talks at an Arvada Chamber of Commerce forum Tuesday. (Joey Bunch, The Denver Post)
For the first time this campaign season, gubernatorial candidates who are normally left out of the political spotlight got their chance to shine in the same venue as illuminated incumbent Democrat Gov. John Hickenlooper and Republican nominee Bob Beauprez in Arvada Tuesday morning.
“The first rule,” the engaging independent candidate Mike Dunafon began, “is have some fun.”
That alone was a departure from the quarrelsome tone of the squeaky tight race between the major parties’ nominees. Green Party candidate Harry Hempy said he wanted to bring forth issues that haven’t been discussed much in the governor’s race: allowing towns and cities to set their own minimum wage based on the cost to live there, “clean, responsible energy development” instead of fracking, and cutting tax exemptions for oil-and-gas development.
Unaffiliated candidate Paul Fiorino, in his third run for governor, has an agenda focused on the arts and education. He also thinks students should have to meet a physical education standard. But he noted in his opening remarks it was the first time Beauprez and Hickenlooper had been in the same room with the four other candidates on the ballot.
“We’re all talking about education being a big problem here,” he said. “We don’t even educate ourselves about our candidates … Apathy is our problem, folks. We have an apathetic society that is not getting involved in government, nevermind government in our business.”
Libertarian candidate Matthew Hess said his job as governor would be “to leave you alone,” and take the rest of government with him.
“What does that look like in Colorado?” he asked. “To me it looks like success. It smells like prosperity and freedom again, and I like the sound of that.”
Dunafon seemed to have the best of it from the four lesser-known candidates. A polished public speaker, he told a joke about three men in a boat when Jesus came. (Two were healed and the third didn’t want to be touched because he’s on government disability.)
He called legalizing marijuana the best thing Colorado has done in the last 100 years and denounced the collaboration of big money and politics that have kept it illegal and jail populations high to support for-profit prisons.
The mayor of Glendale, Dunafon’s pot support has brought him a lot of outside attention, including Wyclef Jean and other high profile supporters. He said after the debate he expects to announce more well-known endorsers soon.
Two announced write-in candidates — Marcus Giavanni and Susan Wolfrey — were in attendance Tuesday, but they were not part of the program.
The forum was put on by the chambers of commerce in Arvada, Golden, Westminster, West, Conifer Area and Evergreen.
