What I Stand For

Housing in Colorado has become a crisis. There are not enough apartments, starter homes or places for families to move into. Rent has skyrocketed even as the health and safety of some units has deteriorated. We need strong action to modernize our land-use laws, build affordable housing, and stabilize taxes for those on fixed incomes so that rising property values don’t unintentionally bankrupt them.

My Policy Ideas

• Fully fund the programs that help first-time homebuyers to afford a house.

• Prevent rent hikes and the shifting of maintenance costs onto renters through strong regulations on corporate landlords.

• Support Gov. Polis’ land use plan that will make it easier to convert unused land into new homes while protecting the landmarks and character of our neighborhoods.

• Incentivize building housing along transit lines to use land most efficiently and leave room for our amazing parks and recreation areas.

• Strengthen eviction protections to prevent people from getting kicked out of their home.

• Increase enforcement of our anti-discrimination laws to make sure no one is denied a place to live based on their race, gender, sexual orientation or physical abilities.

• Invest in support services around mental health and treating addiction to prevent people from losing their home or help then break the cycle of homelessness.

Colorado faces huge challenges from climate change and we must do everything we can to reduce our carbon output and protect our communities from the ongoing effects of a warming planet. Our most vulnerable communities are the ones that take the brunt of corporate polluters and the fires, floods, and heat waves that are increasing in frequency. We are in a race against time to do our part to mitigate the damage from climate change and protect our neighbors from catastrophe.

My Ideas:

• Increase state investment in renewable energy and provide tax incentives to both businesses and individuals who modernize their vehicles and utilities.

• Incentivize private-sector investment in large-scale renewable energy infrastructure.

• Strengthen our building codes to make construction more energy-efficient and resilient to the effects of climate change.

• Expand our public transit system so fewer people need to drive personal vehicles every day.

• Work with conservation scientists to regrow lost forests and promote biodiversity to keep Colorado’s natural splendor.

Colorado workers are responsible for everything that makes our state such a great place to live. Our economy is built by people who work at small-businesses, restaurants, start-ups, and construction sites. They all deserve a living wage that gets adjusted for inflation, the ability to work somewhere safe and secure, and the knowledge that they can succeed and advance their career. By continuing to develop our workforce and invest in the skills of our workers we can attract even more new, innovative businesses that pay great wages to Coloradans.

My Ideas:

• Expand tax credits and assistance for low-income workers so they can keep more of their paychecks.

• Invest in apprenticeships and training programs to give students the skills they need to thrive.

• Stop any business from engaging in bad practices including wage-theft, creating a hostile workplace, or denying benefits.

• Ensure that every Colorado worker is able to join a union without intimidation or harassment.

• Strengthen laws around wage transparency and hiring practices to finally close the gender and racial wage gap.

• Make sure gig-workers are receiving the proper benefits and protections.

Healthcare is a basic human right and we need to make sure that every Coloradan has real access to affordable care. Expanding Medicaid enrollment and making sure we have everything from prescription drug price transparency to bans on surprise billing and understandable pricing structures will prevent low-income Coloradans from being overwhelmed by healthcare costs.

My Ideas:

• Finally implement a Colorado Option to lower premiums on the open enrollment marketplace.

• Use bulk purchasing and negotiation to lower and cap the costs of prescription medicine.

• Promote and allow more telehealth options to help eliminate disparities in access.

• Invest in training and incentive programs to attract more doctors, physician assistants, nurses and support staff to Colorado healthcare providers.

• Invest in our public health infrastructure to be more prepared for public health emergencies such as Covid-19.

Colorado schools need the resources to provide kids a great education. Unfortunately due to TABOR we have been short-changing our educational system for more than 30 years. We have to prioritize our state budget to fully eliminate the Budget Stabilization factor and make new investments in our educational infrastructure so students can learn in state-of-the-art facilities. Working with teachers, students and parents we can help schools innovate and make sure no students are failed by our educational system.

My Ideas:

• Eliminate the budget stabilization factor and prioritize educational funding from the state budget on increased teacher pay, better facilities, and support for underserved students.

• Improve our school security so students no longer have to endure the trauma of active-shooter drills and can feel safe in their place of learning.

• Expand our new universal Pre-K programs to provide more access to kids from low-income families.

• Expand our use of career and technical education and partner with industries for apprenticeship programs.

• Improve our civics standards to promote an informed and engaged democracy.

• Help teachers engage in additional professional development to learn the best ways to help students.

• Provide additional mental health resources for struggling students and address the epidemic of cyber-bullying.

• Rework the school funding formula to provide a fairer and more equitable distribution of resources to make sure Denver students get their fair share of state dollars.

The cost of housing, health care, and everyday necessities have become increasingly expensive for Coloradans living on fixed incomes to age in place or make ends meet. We owe it to our older adults to provide stability and security so they can enjoy their retirement. Our older adults provide great service to our community and often donate huge amounts of their time to helping others. We should all respect their wisdom and experience and work hard to eliminate burdens on them.

My Ideas:

• Increase our long-term care options so more older adults can stay in their homes and with their loved-ones.

• Strengthen laws around elder abuse, fraud, and neglect to ensure no older adults gets taken advantage of.

• Fund in-home care and nutrition programs that lead to healthier, longer lives.

• Protect all older adults who rely on state pensions by refusing to restructure or reduce payouts.

• Make the Senior Homestead Exemption portable, allowing older adults to downsize or move without paying more in taxes.
  

Our State Legislature has done a fantastic job of protecting abortion rights as GOP leaders have systematically targeted choice in other states. Colorado is now a sanctuary for those in other states who need abortion access and reproductive healthcare. We need to stand strong against any attack on these rights in Colorado, whether from Republican legislators or attempts to trick Coloradans through ballot measures.

My Ideas:

• Campaign for a ballot measure that guarantees access to an abortion in Colorado.

• Increase access to reproductive healthcare to make it truly equitable. Coloradans’ right to an abortion is not complete without real access for all.

• Prevent corporations from denying abortion access through company insurance plans.

• Support science-based reproductive healthcare education.

• Protect our healthcare providers from intimidation, threats, or harassment.

Civil rights and equal treatment under the law define who we are, but far too often we fall short of true justice and equality. Colorado has made great strides toward reforming our justice system and advancing equality. However, inequities still exist and we are reminded daily that our communities of color continue to be overpoliced, overincarcerated and subject to an overstressed legal system that does not give people an equal defense. We have also seen attacks on our hard-fought voting rights, with extremists demanding racist voter ID laws and threatening intimidation at ballot boxes. The protections that the LGBTQ community has won over the past 2 decades are under attack from the conservatives on the Supreme Court. Our disability community has seen protections stripped in other states. Hate crimes are rising in the United States, with incidents of anti-Semetism and Islamophobia becoming unacceptably common. These are core issues to the functioning of our nation and we must always stand up to protect Coloradans’ rights.

My Ideas:

• Continue the work being done in our community to end overpolicing, brutality, unequal sentencing, and mass-incarceration.

• Promote alternatives to incarceration for non-violent offenders including restorative justice, addiction treatment, and diversionary programs to prevent people from being trapped in a cycle of criminal activity.

• Properly train and fund police forces to protect our communities while respecting everyone’s civil rights.

• Enforce anti-discrimination laws and strengthen provisions that help the LGBTQ community, all communities of color, our disabled neighbors and any other protected group.

• Ensure that transgender Coloradans have equal access to quality healthcare.

• Strengthen hate-crime legislation to protect any Coloradan from attacks based on their race, their sexual orientation, or their religious affiliation.

• Expand language access in public spaces and governmental services for communities with limited English proficiency.

Communities across Colorado have been rocked time-and-again by gun tragedies. From mass shootings to domestic disputes to criminal activity, it has destroyed families and hollowed out neighborhoods. Suicide is the largest single cause of gun-deaths and we must create and expand programs to help those contemplating it. We need real action to prevent more of our fellow Coloradans from falling victim to senseless acts of gun-violence.

My Ideas:

• Ban weapons of war that have no place on Colorado streets.

• Ensure that universal background checks and waiting periods are actually occurring on private party sales by requiring them to use a licensed dealer as an intermediary.

• Provide resources to the victims of domestic violence and those who believe their home may not be a safe place to stay.

• Invest in the mental health resources that can prevent suicides and give help to those considering it.

• Promote our safe-storage laws to increase compliance and protect kids from accidents.

• Encourage buyback programs that can get unwanted guns out of places where they are more likely to be stolen.

• Crack down on straw purchasers who provide firearms to those who cannot legally buy them.