In Colorado, voters have rejected restrictions on abortion, and I believe the voters have that choice. So in Colorado there should be no restrictions unless or until the voters change their minds. My personal beliefs are that abortion should be available no questions asked in the first trimester. Abortion should be allowed in the second trimester in cases of: rape or incest; the mothers health or life are at risk; or fetal abnormality. Abortion should be allowed in the third trimester where strictly necessary to save the mothers life or severe fetal abnormality making it unlikely the child will survive to birth or at least a year after birth. However, I do not think it is the place of the legislature to impose these limits over the will of the voters.

Disagree

I do not think government money should go to abortions. However, I do think government money should go to birth control, because preventing unwanted pregnancies is the best way to reduce the number of abortions. Preventing unwanted pregnancies is best done through inexpensive or free birth control. And many entities that provide abortions are the best sources of birth control for many people. So they should be funded for purposes of providing birth control.

Agree

I support such laws so long as there are proper safe guards limiting access to critically or terminally ill individuals and so long as doctors are not compelled to participate.

Choose not to answer

There are so many variables to this question that you'd have to look at each specific circumstance.

The government should only close churches in times of public emergency or disaster when it will also be closing similar secular institutions and businesses.

I am not running for federal office, and that would be a federal question.

Neutral

I believe Israel is mistreating the Palestinians and pressure should be brought to bear to produce change. But I don't know if the BDS movement is the best way to do that. Regardless, I recognize the First Amendment Right of all Americans to support whatever movement they wish.

My preference would lie somewhere between option B and C. I think there should be a government option, perhaps subsidized, but that non-indigent people should still have to contribute to it if they want coverage.

In an at will employment state, employers should be able to require whatever vaccines they wish. Private employers get to make decisions for their businesses. For schools or government, I would leave it to health department experts. But I think they need to balance the seriousness of the illness, how easily it spreads, the need for safety in a particular environment, and the safety of the vaccine. For example, it makes sense to require healthcare workers to get a COVID vaccine given their exposure and the vulnerable populations they work with who they might get sick if they remain unvaccinated. But the same considerations would not apply to farm workers who work outdoors and away from other people. Although people may not like being compelled to get vaccines, part of the social contract that is the basis of society add government is that we sometimes have to make sacrifices for the greater good. The interest and constitutionality of the government in requiring vaccines in some instances is well established. If you can be drafted and required to go to war, you can certainly be required to get a vaccine.

As a candidate for state office, I won't presume to comment on the federal tax code. I think Colorado's tax code is largely fine the way it is.

As a candidate for state office, I won't presume to comment on the federal budget. The Colorado state budget is balanced as required by state law.

Neutral

I believe the state should heavily subsidize college for in-state students. College education creates a more productive workforce, which benefits the economy and ultimately creates a stronger tax base. And it's important to national defense to ensure we can compete globally. But students should still have to pass admissions. And students should have to pay something. People value something more when they have contributed to it, so students should "have some skin in the game" in going to college.

Choose not to answer

I am a candidate for state office, and this is a question of federal law.

As a state candidate, I'm not going to presume to weigh in on a matter of federal law that I would not be able to influence.

Choose not to answer

I support the idea of school choice in general, but you've listed a number of programs in one question, each of which deserves its own question and comment.

Choose not to answer

I am not sure if this question is referring to criminal prosecution, tort liability, civil rights liability, or something else, so I am not entirely sure how to answer. I don't think departmental policy should necessarily be a defense though, as the department's policy might not be consistent with the law.

Disagree

I don't necessarily think we should redirect funds, but I think it would be wise to incorporate mental health programs and community programs into departments. And we may want to ask ourselves if we are asking officers to do too much. Often they serve as law enforcement, code enforcement, mental health intervention, substance abuse intervention, domestic disturbance counselor, and child welfare advocate. Perhaps it would be wise to share the load. But it would be best to add funds for this.

I think Colorado currently has adequate laws in place. People should be able own guns if they can pass a mandatory background check. The guns shouldn't be taken away unless there is a good reason, and if it turns out the reason is wrong, the guns should be returned.

Strongly Disagree

The general purpose of government is to protect our basic human rights while fostering a stable, sustainable, fair, and prosperous society. It should give each of us the chance to live as we want and the chance to reach our own individual maximum potential, though whether we will succeed will be up to us and the choices we make; but we should get the chance.

Moderate

There are a couple articles written on me in the local news, including the Daily Sentinel. I have written some letters to the editor at the Daily Sentinel. My debate at Club 20 is on YouTube, as are personal videos I recorded. I believe some of my speeches are also available on YouTube or the local news channels.

No.

I am a moderate Democrat. I am running to represent the ordinary, working people of my district. I have represented them as an attorney in Court, and now I want to represent them as a legislator at the state capital. I am tired of seeing politicians, both Republicans and my fellow Democrats, promising to help people and then not following through. My main priority is to promote affordable housing, including building starter homes. We can do this be eliminating overly restrictive zoning laws. We should also look to the past when the government helped finance the building of starter homes for the middle class to purchase - I think we can do this again. This isn't a give away, but an assurance their are starter homes available for people to buy. I also want to expand access to affordable higher education, including trade schools. There are good jobs in the trades, but not enough is done to steer kids into these opportunities. I also want to bring down the cost of in-state tuition at public colleges so that the kids of blue collar workers have the same chance to go to college as the kids of professionals. I want to make it easier for employees to enforce labor laws to ensure that they are treated fairly by employers. And I want to strengthen unions in order to increase the financial and political strength of working people. My grandfather had a union job and was able to support my grandmother and three boys in a nice house and had a good retirement. That is unheard of now for a high school graduate. That would change with stronger unions. And when unionization increases, the wages of even non-union members go up. I want to fight crime by ensuring that our police are fully funded, so we can have the best trained and equipped police force. And I want to expand recruitment through the vocational programs I mentioned above my offering loan or tuition forgiveness for those who attend a police academy and then work as an officer for a certain number of years. At the same time, I want to expand prison education programs to reduce recidivism. One of my musical heroes, Merle Haggard, did hard time in prison. But his musical ability gave him a way out of that lifestyle. Not everyone can be Merle Haggard, but they can be carpenters or mechanics or cooks, if they get training. Such training has been shown to reduce prison cost in the long run by reducing recidivism. And as a Christian, I believe in the power of redemption. Lastly, I want to make sure we are protecting the environment, especially water. I want to increase the use of xeriscaping to save water. I also want to increase the use of solar to capture the 300 days of sunshine Western Colorado gets each year. Also, we need to make it easier to recycle, there is no reason it should cost more to recycle than to not recycle. I want to make sure we are protecting our rivers and trout fishing streams, and our deer and elk habitats. To do this we should transition away from coal and oil into natural gas and nuclear. And then as technology improves further transition into renewables (a process of decades most likely).

Neutral

Judeo-Christian values certainly underlie our society and help create a framework for the ideal underlying our constitutional government. But I would not go so far as to say they are necessary. They certainly assist, but they are not necessarily the only basis by which you can arrive a democratic or limited government. And if taken too far, they could undermine the system of limited government. So I would say they assist, but I wouldn't quite say they are necessary.

Agree

Except I would not necessarily apply the anti-discrimination laws to bathroom or locker room use or to government issued identification. And I would not apply them to sports if it was shown that transgender athletes have an unfair advantage.

Strongly Disagree

For purposes of the law, the government has the ability to define marriage, although it cannot force religions to change their internal practices. Whether the government should change the definition is perhaps a separate question, but it certainly has the authority to do so.

Choose not to answer

I disagree with your premise as to what CRT is. Regardless, I do not believe that the United States is inherently racist or that all institutions are inherently racist. Yet I do think it is clear that there are elements of institutional racism that remain in this country. Some of this stems from past racist policies that continue to have effects even after official racism ended, sort of like ripples in a pond.

I am a Christian of no particular denomination, though I most often attend the American Lutheran Church when I go. I also attend Catholic Church on occasion. My values are rooted in the ideals of the founding. The founding fathers were amazing individuals, but they were still only human and did not always live up to their ideals. But the ideals they set forth are worth following and give us something to strive for to see if we can do better than they did in reaching them. These ideals include the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness set forth in the Declaration of Independence. So long as we do not hurt others and accept the consequences of our decisions, we are free to live as we want. I also believe in the Bill of Rights, especially freedom of speech, assembly, and to petition the government. I also support the Second Amendment. And I believe strongly in the right to privacy. I strongly believe in individualism and pursuit of individuality. However, I also believe we should create strong communities. And I think that Alexis de Tocqueville was right in Democracy in America that we are stronger and better able to protect our democracy when we form communities and look out for each other. And we benefit most when we recognize our own long-term self interest in best served when we make some short term sacrifices to create better communities, because we live in those communities. This does not require individual conformity, but rather an acknowledgment that the common good can benefit all.

Agree

Colorado is already the gold standard for voting so I would not change anything.

Yes. Law enforcement has identified racist organizations as such a threat. Many such organization espouse violence and the willingness to use violence to secure the domination of a particular race, or the subordination of other races. And some have shown willingness to engage in terrorist activities to accomplish their goals. We have seen this in the past with organizations like the KKK. And similar organizations have seen a resurgence, although they are not yet as violent as the KKK at its peak. Racism is completely at odds with the founding ideals that all men are created equal and with the notion that all people are individuals entitled to be judged on their individual merit. As such, racist organizations are a threat to the constitutional order, properly understood.

Strongly Disagree

While I support compensation for individuals who have been wronged on the basis of race, I disagree with the notion of wholesale reparations based on race.

Option B comes closer to my view, but as in all things moderation is required. In Colorado, the environment is important to our economy, especially agriculture and tourism. And it is important to our way of life. Hunting, fishing, camping, hiking and the like are part of our culture heritage. The activities require a clean environment. I want my children and grandchildren to experience these activities and continue that way of life. To me that is worth making some sacrifices. However, we cannot go too far too fast. We must have a transition period, especially in moving to clean energy. And we must make sure we are creating jobs in new areas as we transition into a cleaner economy.

Agree

I support fracking for natural gas, which is cleaner than coal or oil. I support it less for oil.