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Colorado State Senate District 27 candidate Q&A

The race features Republican Danielle Lammon, incumbent Democrat Tom Sullivan and Libertarian Party candidate Michele Poague

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Go to: Candidate Q&A home page Ìý·Ìý Denver Post Voter Guide


Danielle Lammon  Republican

Residence: Aurora
Profession: Small Business Owner & Nonprofit Executive
Education: B.A. in Biology, minor in Psychology
Experience: Small business owner and nonprofit executive with experience in insurance, financial services, community leadership, advocacy, and nonprofit management.


What are your top three priorities, if elected?
My top three priorities are affordability, public safety, and protecting families and individual rights. I will fight to reduce unnecessary taxes, fees, and regulations, protect TABOR, and bring accountability to state spending. I will support law enforcement, hold repeat and violent offenders accountable, and prioritize safer communities. I will also protect parental involvement in education, defend our constitutional rights, and support policies that give Colorado families, small businesses, and working people greater opportunity to thrive.

What specific actions would you support to improve affordability for Coloradans, whether aimed at housing costs, tax burdens or other impacts?
Colorado families need relief from the rising cost of living. I would protect TABOR, oppose unnecessary tax and fee increases, and require greater transparency and accountability in state spending. I support reducing regulatory barriers that drive up housing and small-business costs while encouraging responsible development and increasing housing supply. I would also work to address rising insurance and energy costs by promoting competition, transparency, and consumer choice. State government must prioritize essential services, eliminate wasteful spending, and stop making it more expensive to live, work, and raise a family in Colorado.

Whether your party is in the majority or minority next year, where do you see actionable common ground with the opposing party?
Coloradans expect us to solve problems, not simply argue about them. I believe there is common ground on affordability, public safety, protecting children, supporting small businesses, and improving access to mental health services. I will work with anyone willing to find practical solutions, demand accountability for taxpayer dollars, and remove unnecessary barriers that make it harder to live and work in Colorado. We may not agree on every issue, but I will listen, ask questions, and focus on policies that deliver meaningful results for the people we represent.

A new governor will take office next year. What opportunities are there for legislation or other changes that did not gain traction under Gov. Jared Polis?
A new administration is an opportunity to revisit legislation that has stalled or failed, including stronger protections for children, tougher consequences for repeat and violent offenders, and support for law enforcement and victims. I would protect local control and empower home-rule municipalities to make decisions that best serve their communities without unnecessary state mandates. We should also advance legislation protecting parental rights and the constitutional rights of law-abiding Coloradans.

 

 

 

Tom Sullivan (i)  Democrat

Residence: Centennial
Profession: State Senator
Education: BA MSUD Journalism/Accounting
Experience: 4 years CO State House 4 years CO State Senate


What are your top three priorities, if elected?
Gun Violence Prevention Workers rights Veterans rights

What specific actions would you support to improve affordability for Coloradans, whether aimed at housing costs, tax burdens or other impacts?
The new tax ballot plans will help to ensure that we all pay our fair share.

Whether your party is in the majority or minority next year, where do you see actionable common ground with the opposing party?
In my 8 years at the General Assembly the minority have been the party of NO. Budget concerns have to be worked out together, and it’s best if we could work with each other.

A new governor will take office next year. What opportunities are there for legislation or other changes that did not gain traction under Gov. Jared Polis?
The Labor Peace Act should be at the forefront and the 3D printed firearm bill needs to be fixed.

 

 

 

Michele Poague  Libertarian Party

Residence: Unincorporated Arapahoe County
Profession: Retired
Education: Some college
Experience: 30 years as a business manager, 15 years working in human resources and payroll. 35 years as a political activist working to limit government overreach and waste.


What are your top three priorities, if elected?
Education- We need a variety of education plans to meet the variety of students in Colorado. Cookie-cutter education that teaches to the lowest academic aptitude leaves many students undereducated. I advocate real reform through a voucher system and locally run Charter Schools.

Jobs and Economy — When it comes to the budget, Colorado is lucky to have the Tabor Amendment. I will vote to deincrease taxes and privatize any government service. If it¶¶Òõap a government-provided service – it¶¶Òõap using tax dollars. If the service is provided by a private business – it¶¶Òõap paying tax dollars. That¶¶Òõap how you balance the budget without cutting services or laying off workers.

Voter suppression – Is a fear tactic, not real. All record keeping requires the responsible purging of inaccurate or dead files.

What specific actions would you support to improve affordability for Coloradans, whether aimed at housing costs, tax burdens or other impacts?
Let us first make the distinction between Creating Jobs and Creating Wealth. Wealth is created by production such as growing crops or refining minerals. When the Federal Government created the TSA, they gave jobs to thousands of people, but they created no wealth, instead, they robbed the wealth of productive members of society by means of taxation in order to pay the salaries of TSA agents, thus reducing the overall wealth of America.

Taxes on unrealized gains, is a tax on inflation. Many seniors are losing their home because they can no longer afford the taxes and insurance on a home they paid off years ago.

Whether your party is in the majority or minority next year, where do you see actionable common ground with the opposing party?
We must balance our state budget. We have to get the runaway inflation under control. We spend far too much money on interest on borrowed money and we are taxing people out of their homes.

A new governor will take office next year. What opportunities are there for legislation or other changes that did not gain traction under Gov. Jared Polis?
Don’t let the word Bipartisanship fool you. In every case of a bipartisan vote, you have lost more rights or it has cost you more money. Americans should be paying attention to the fact that both Republicans and Democrats have completely ignored constituents’ personal rights and wishes, in favor of more government control, power, and overreach.
In a bipartisan vote, our government passed and signed into law both the Patriot Act and PPACA, commonly called the Affordable Care Act.


How candidate order was determined: A lot drawing was held at the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office on July 28, 2026 to determine the general election ballot order for major and minor party candidates for US Senate, US House of Representatives, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, Attorney General, State Board of Education, University of Colorado Board of Regents, State Senate, and State House of Representatives. 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. The lot drawing was conducted by Secretary of State Elections Division staff and was witnessed by representatives of the Colorado Democratic, Colorado Republican, and Colorado Forward Parties. Questionnaires were not sent to write-in candidates.

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