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Karen DeAguero Democrat
Residence: Arvada
Profession: Environmental Engineer
Education: B.S., Environmental Engineering & M.S., Natural Resources and Energy Policy from Colorado School of Mines
Experience: Environmental engineer with nearly a decade of experience reclaiming contaminated sites across Colorado and beyond. Founder of a local nonprofit improving community engagement with local government.
What are your top three priorities, if elected?
My top priorities are attainable housing, environmental stewardship and public health, and inclusive, accountable governance. I will support housing that working families can actually afford, while ensuring thoughtful consideration of new growth. As an environmental engineer, I will hold polluters accountable for the full cost of cleanup and make sure we are protecting our air, water, and soil for future generations. Finally, I will make county government more transparent, advocating for improved public engagement, information sharing, and ensuring meeting times and locations that working people can realistically attend.
What specific actions would you support to address residents’ affordability concerns and to increase the availability of housing in your county?
Adams County is updating its development standards now, and that process will shape affordability for years. I will support a wider range of housing types near jobs and transit, and I will push to make sure our roads, water, and sewer infrastructure can handle new growth before we approve it, so residents are not paying later for infrastructure that was not built to accommodate growth. Housing costs are not the only pressure. I will look hard at county fees, permitting timelines, and utility and transportation costs to ensure our residents are protected and housed.
What specific opportunities do you see for collaboration with Denver or state government to take on common challenges?
District 4 borders Denver, and our air, water, and neighbors do not stop at the county line. I will advocate for joint air quality monitoring around Suncor and the I-76 corridor, with results shared in a form residents can actually use, and for Adams County to stand with Denver in asking the state for consistent enforcement. Denver and communities across Colorado are hearing the same things we are about affordability, climate, and safety. We should be finding solutions together. After all, what is political about potholes?
Joseph Domenico did not return the questionnaire.
