What are your top three priorities for the next legislative session?
1. Ensuring Colorado meets its GHG emission reduction goals for 2025 & 2030
2. Expanding protections for and access to health care in Colorado, including abortion care.
3. Pursuing gun violence prevention
The chamber may see split Democrat-Republican control next year. On what issues do you see common ground with the opposite party?
I have worked well with members of the Republican party on issues related to early childhood, and I expect I’ll continue to do so.
What perspective or background would you bring to the chamber that is currently missing?
I am a mom to two school-aged children and a social worker. I think the perspective of a young family is important at the Capitol, as well as the lens of a social worker whose mission is to pursue social justice.
What more can the state legislature do to ease housing costs across Colorado?
We must continue to invest in building more affordable housing, as well as address additional protections for renters. When rent continues to skyrocket at unsustainable levels, our communities suffer.
Do you support the current law on fentanyl possession and resources for treatment?
Our state and communities are experiencing a crisis with staggering numbers of deaths and overdoses from opioids, in particular, fentanyl. The harm reduction policies and funding, expansion of treatment options and medical assistance outlined in HB22-1326 are steps in the right direction, but I do not support the felonization of drug possession as a means to address drug addiction or use. Forced treatment is not proven to work, and the last 40 years of the war on drugs has led to the highest rate of incarceration in the world, including disproportionately high rates for Black men. Once a person is convicted of a felony, that sentence can follow them the rest of their lives and make it extremely difficult to do things like secure affordable housing, access higher education, or a job.
What are your top three priorities for the next legislative session?
Inflation, security, schools
The chamber may see split Democrat-Republican control next year. On what issues do you see common ground with the opposite party?
Inflation, school curriculum transparency, law enforcement
What perspective or background would you bring to the chamber that is currently missing?
Balance, reason
What more can the state legislature do to ease housing costs across Colorado?
Stop acquiescence to developers for maximum profit per square foot. Legislate limits on the developer/city government pork barrel.
Do you support the current law on fentanyl possession and resources for treatment?
No. It is bound to fail. While it addresses the issue, fentanyl will not be stopped until the rule of law is brought to bear on border security and the CCP production/supply of this poison. The law is a tragically impotent gesture likened to fighting a hotel fire with a seltzer bottle.
