My Priorities
Colorado faces many challenges from conserving our water, protecting our privacy from being sold to the government by private corporations, and ensuring our taxes go right back to our communities where they need it the most. To find out more about where I stand on what matters to making Colorado the home we deserve, just click one of the buttons below. (for more issues, see the issues page)
Colorado’s rural communities, once the state’s economic backbone, are struggling. Scattered across the state are small towns and farming communities that are losing population, struggling to maintain services, and grappling with an uncertain future.
It’s time to empower these communities and help them chart their own course. And we can do this by getting creative with the tax code.
Traditionally, the state’s role in supporting Colorado’s smaller communities has followed the tax-and-spend approach. We collect taxes statewide and spend the money on grant programs that communities compete for.
Instead of creating another grant, I propose we give communities a choice—with their own money.
How It Works
Colorado’s state sales tax is 2.9%, and I propose that economically challenged communities shouldn’t have to pay it.
With my proposal, cities and counties that meet objective economic-distress criteria will be granted a one-year exemption from the state sales tax. During that period, these communities will decide how to use the excess funds.
These communities can vote to replace the state tax with their own temporary local sales tax of up to 2.9%.
Such a tax must have an explicit purpose. Community leaders—whether it is the town board of trustees or the county commissioners—must explain how the money will be used. Some possible options include:
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Hiring new teachers for the local school district
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Repairing roads and bridges
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Improving water infrastructure
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Expanding EMS coverage
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Supporting economic development projects
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Preventing cuts to essential county services
Ultimately, voters—thanks to the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights—make the final decision. If voters approve the local tax, the revenue stays in the community to fund their local needs. If the voters reject the local tax, they pocket the savings.
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It may not seem like much, but a nearly 3% revenue increase will be a much-needed lifeline for communities already facing desperate times.
Who Qualifies?
Eligibility should be based on objective measures of economic distress, such as:
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Population decline
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Long-term stagnation
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Median household income below the Colorado median
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Above-average unemployment rate
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Recent loss of major employer
The goal is simple: provide struggling communities with a temporary opportunity to keep tax dollars local and invest in their own priorities.
Why This Approach?
Colorado’s challenges are not the same everywhere. What works for Denver may not work for the San Luis Valley. What works for the Eastern Plains may not work for the Western Slope. This proposal trusts local voters to make local decisions and gives communities the flexibility to solve the problems they uniquely understand.
Moreover, this breaks away from the traditional tax-and-spend policies that haven’t moved the needle economically. It breaks up the endless cycle of competition for limited grant programs and the political favoritism inherent in the process. This shifts accountability away from faceless, distant bureaucrats hundreds of miles away toward the Main Streets of hundreds of communities scattered across the state.
Building thriving, resilient communities doesn’t require a faceless, top-down bureaucracy. It means trusting the good people of these vibrant communities with the power and resources to help themselves. Local priorities require local funding, and the fewer dollars the state can extract from them, the better.
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Privacy- Tell Flock to Flock Off!
Free societies cannot operate under the assumption that our daily movements should be monitored just in case a crime is committed in the future. Yet that is EXACTLY the premise behind Flock cameras appearing on city streets across Colorado, tracking the movements of every vehicle that passes by. I believe these systems raise serious Fourth Amendment concerns.
We can pursue criminals without treating every Coloradan as a suspect. With so many citizens choosing to place doorbell cameras on their homes, it is clear that Coloradans care about protecting their property and keeping an eye on their home, but they are doing so through CHOICE. A citizen may choose to keep surveillance over their own property, whereas the government cannot determine that they must have surveillance over every citizen as they go about their usual business.
As governor, I will oppose the expansion of government-operated Flock cameras,
advocate for legislation restricting their use, and ensure that no executive agency
under my authority deploys them for mass surveillance.
Keep Tax Dollars Local
Our Energy Future
For those of us who love science fiction and look at the night sky with curiosity, the future of humanity is exciting to imagine. But every vision of that future - from thriving industries here on Earth to communities beyond - depends on abundant, reliable energy. We are not going to explore the solar system by rubbing two twigs together for power. Nuclear energy is essential not only to realizing those distant ambitions, but also to providing affordable electricity and the capacity to support the businesses and technologies of tomorrow. Yet while nuclear power plants operate safely in 28 states, Colorado has none. Although advanced discussions are underway regarding projects in Colorado Springs and the potential conversion of the Comanche site in Pueblo, the state's overall pace has been slow. House Bill 26-1337, while well-intentioned, had very long timelines and still did not become law. I disagree with dragging our feet on this pressing issue. It is time for Colorado to move with purpose.
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With the introduction of small modular reactors, the timeline for bringing nuclear power to life is becoming shorter and will only decrease as the production process improves. Although there are hurdles with water usage that must be addressed, these small reactors can produce the power our economy needs to grow while bringing more than 100 well-paying jobs to every community where they are built. I also believe that we can take a lot of potential energy stress off the shoulders of communities if we make small nuclear an option for large data centers and other industrial operations. As governor I will pursue energy policies rooted in the needs of the future while always making sure the right guardrails are in place to protect the environment and our communities.
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Work with the legislature to create a clean path for small modular reactors to become a large part of Colorado energy production, with an urgency placed on clearing the way for these projects to begin construction before 2033 in order to qualify for the Inflation Reduction Act and One Big Beautiful Bill Act incentives.
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Strengthen Colorado’s radiological emergency preparedness by expanding the training, equipment, and coordination of existing hazmat teams rather than creating a new agency.
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Work with the legislature and industry leaders to create a framework for data centers and other large industrial consumers of energy to utilize internal nuclear reactors to handle their energy needs, rather than utilizing local power sources and increasing energy costs for consumers.
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Work with communities and tech leaders to develop job training for communities where nuclear plants are planned. This gives us the opportunity to not only provide energy but provide opportunities for many small communities across the state, too.