What are your top three priorities for the next legislative session?
Our schools must be responsive to parents and must become safer for our students and for teachers, as well. Our crime rates are among the very worst in the country, and much of that revolves around too permissive laws and a legal system that favors criminals over law-abiding citizens. Itap far and away too expensive to live in Colorado compared to nearby states. We can change these elements of our political system while protecting the other things we cherish: the environment, rights of the accused, our economy, and a host of others, as well.
The chamber may see split Democrat-Republican control next year. On what issues do you see common ground with the opposite party?
We should all recognize that our energy costs are too high for those least able to afford higher costs of fuel and electricity. We must all accept that parents are the legitimate protectors of their children, and that those parents have a right to know and direct their children’s education. We must work to make our homes and streets safer, and we must reduce the high cost of living in this state so our children can raise their own families here.
What perspective or background would you bring to the chamber that is currently missing?
I have a very large family, and know what it takes to be successful as a parent. I have been a school teacher, a military officer, and in the private sector, both as an employee and as a manager. My technical writing experience has taught me to look for the little details that can create success. Having lived in many different places, I know what works in government, and what does not.
What more can the state legislature do to ease housing costs across Colorado?
Reduce the mandates and regulations for new home construction. When it costs $18,000 more to build a new home this year compared to the cost a year or so ago, it is obvious the legislature and the governor do not have “affordable housing” in mind for all they parrot the words. Renters have rights, but landlords need protection, too. Bureaucratic and legal hurdles imposed on landlords increase the costs of renting apartments and homes and these costs must be passed along to those who choose to lease rather than buy their homes.
Do you support the current law on fentanyl possession and resources for treatment?
No. The current law is too vague to be useful, and far too generous in terms of how much of this lethal drug is permitted before possession is considered a felony. When children die at their school desks, when whole families perish over night, when the rate of lethal overdoses in Colorado is among the highest in the country, it is clear our legislature and governor have not taken this existential threat seriously.
Naquetta Ricks has not returned the questionnaire.
How candidate order was determined: A lot drawing was held at the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office on Aug. 3 to determine the general election ballot order for major and minor party candidates. Colorado law (1-5-404, C.R.S.) requires that candidates are ordered on the ballot in three tiers: major party candidates followed by minor party candidates followed by unaffiliated candidates. Within each tier, the candidates are ordered by a lot drawing with the exception of the office of Governor and Lt. Governor, which are ordered by the last name of the gubernatorial candidate.
