Colorado ballots have been mailed out and Election Day is coming up real soon.
News5 is helping you prepare for Election 2020 with guides to find out what's on the ballot, what it means to you, and where to deliver your ballot across the region. Click here for our Election Guide.
The candidates in this upcoming General Election for Senate District 12 are Bob Gardner (R), Electra Johnson (D), and Zechariah Harris (L).
We sent out a questionnaire to the candidates regarding the recovery of COVID-19 economic impacts, legislation they hope to introduce and what they think should be done to help fund our schools. Here are the responses:
Bob Gardner
Q: How should the General Assembly work to recover from the economic impacts of COVID-19?
A: The General Assembly should remove every possible economic barrier on business, particularly small business, to hasten their return to full opening and providing jobs once again. For the most part, if government will get out of the way, business will be able to recover, if it can reopen before businesses actually fail. Unfortunately, the COVID response has been irrational with respect to which businesses can remain open, unduly punishing some businesses and guaranteeing their failure in the coming months. The GA should ensure that the Governor cannot continue to issue edicts without public and legislative input.
Q: If elected, what is one piece of legislation you hope to introduce and why?
A: I am introducing a bill to require executive order restrictions that extend beyond the initial emergency to be subjected to a formal rule making process as any state regulation is.
Q: School funding has become a topic of discussion in recent years- what do you think needs to be done to fund our schools?
A: We continue to need a complete rewrite of the school finance act--a subject that would require more than this short answer. The distribution of funding has become inequitable over the years since the School Finance Act was first written, but politics prevents the redesign of our school finance system.
Electra Johnson
Q: How should the General Assembly work to recover from the economic impacts of COVID-19?
A: Repeal Tabor
Q: If elected, what is one piece of legislation you hope to introduce and why?
A: I'd like to pass a bill that helps with climate change resilience including; 1. Forest health, watershed protection from forest fires, and preparedness to facilitate fuel reduction and other forest health projects 2. Soils health and local food resilience - similar to New Mexico's healthy soils act 3. A green jobs economy incubator.
Q: School funding has become a topic of discussion in recent years- what do you think needs to be done to fund our schools?
A: Get rid of Tabor and Use Legal Marijuana money to fund schools and retrofit them so windows open, smaller classes, more outdoor curriculum, teachers are paid more, and we are not so focused on testing.
Zechariah Harris
Q: How should the General Assembly work to recover from the economic impacts of COVID-19?
A: Allow all businesses to reopen without any requirements. The people will push the businesses and organizations with the best mitigation plans to the top.
Q: If elected, what is one piece of legislation you hope to introduce and why?
A: True school choice. Tax money should follow the student not the school.
Q: School funding has become a topic of discussion in recent years- what do you think needs to be done to fund our schools?
A: Allow the money to follow the child, not the school, so that the best education and educators rise to the top.
