What are your top three priorities for the next legislative session?
Invest in transportation modernization and economic development. We need state highway connectivity directly to the Pueblo railyard, and multi-modal capabilities at the rail yard. This will ease commercial traffic congestion along I-25, reduce supply chain burdens, lower shipping costs, and bring good paying jobs. I will continue to fight for Front Range Passenger Rail.
Education funding fairness: The school funding formula needs to better account for transportation barriers, and should accurately classify D70 as a rural district.
Enhance our long-term workforce development programs: We need to do a better job at helping working Coloradans maintain occupational skill sets that are in demand through the entire duration of their careers.
The chamber may see split Democrat-Republican control next year. On what issues do you see common ground with the opposite party?
Protecting water rights, especially when it comes to weeding out water speculation, and increasing law enforcement tools for reducing motor vehicle theft are two areas where I think we can immediately work together.
What perspective or background would you bring to the chamber that is currently missing?
I’m currently one of only two veterans in the state senate, and I have extensive background in transportation management, at a time when our state is dealing with some critical transportation infrastructure needs. I believe in the promise that if you work hard and play by the rules, the middle-class is within your reach. I am committed to working to restore that promise.
What more can the state legislature do to ease housing costs across Colorado?
I was proud to carry a bill last session that created a revolving loan fund to assist mobile home residents who seek to form a co-op to buy the land that their homes are on. I will pursue incentives for smart, sustainable housing development, especially condos and townhomes. I have opposed housing code policies that would increase the building costs of new housing without ensuring a short-term recovery of those costs.
Do you support the current law on fentanyl possession and resources for treatment?
I would prefer that felony penalties apply for knowingly possessing any amount of fentanyl, but our current felony threshold of 1 gram is a much better policy than the 4-gram limit that was in place last year. The treatment resources are the most important aspect of our current fentanyl law, and I will always support that investment.
What are your top three priorities for the next legislative session?
My objective is to focus on improving the quality of life for Pueblo County families:
1. Reduce the crime, drugs, and vagrancy plaguing Pueblo and other Colorado cities by putting and keeping repeat offenders and fentanyl dealers behind bars.
2. Cut the cost of living by (a) repealing recently enacted taxes on gasoline and delivery services such as Amazon and Door Dash, and (b) reining in expensive regulations on energy, housing, and health care.
3. Promote educational excellence and opportunity: get political agendas out of the classroom; focus on the basics (reading, writing, math); generate more trade and vocational options for young adults; protect / expand choice. Underprivileged kids should not be trapped in underperforming schools. I consider this the civil rights issue of our era.
The chamber may see split Democrat-Republican control next year. On what issues do you see common ground with the opposite party?
Candidate did not offer a responsive answer.
What perspective or background would you bring to the chamber that is currently missing?
As a veteran and former social worker (MSW) for the Department of Veterans Affairs, I have a particular passion for veterans’ care and an appreciation for the shortcomings in our highly complicated healthcare policy. I would like to promote healthcare reforms that get insurance companies and the government out of the middle of the doctor-patient relationship and reduce the tremendous amount of red tape that doctors and patients must deal with.
What more can the state legislature do to ease housing costs across Colorado?
For starters, the Legislature should repeal House Bill 1362, which was signed into law just months ago. It’s effectively a statewide building code that could result in new homes being forced to use electricity (instead of natural gas, for instance) for cooking, space and water heating. That law could impose costs of up to $68 billion on new home construction and cost many families the dream of home ownership. Many Democrats advocate a California-style requirement that new homes carry solar. These mandates impose tremendous costs on potential homeowners. Instead of imposing expensive, top-down, government mandates on home construction, let’s leave these decisions about home construction to the builders and buyers.
Do you support the current law on fentanyl possession and resources for treatment?
Current fentanyl law is a failure. It has helped create a crisis. I will work to make possession of fentanyl a felony. Under pressure from concerned citizens, the Legislature in 2022 made possession of more than 1 gram a felony, still enough to kill 500 people at a time. The new law likely would not have saved one life, had it been in effect since 2019. Drug dealers know how to work around it. Let’s give law enforcement and prosecutors the tools they need and are asking for, so they can crack down on these fentanyl dealers. They are trafficking in poison. I consider them merchants of death.
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.
