Candidate for Colorado State Senate - District 4 in 2026 Colorado General Election.
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Get StartedRural law enforcement, fire, EMS, and 911 agencies in SD4 train their people, then watch them leave for Front Range pay. A statewide rural first responder compensation floor, with state supplemental funding to close the gap, would keep trained personnel where they're needed and stop Front Range departments from poaching the talent SD4 invested in. Learn more
Colorado law already classifies 911 dispatchers as first responders. The benefits framework hasn't caught up. Full PERA hazardous duty classification and workers' compensation parity statewide — the same protections law enforcement, fire, and EMS already receive. This isn't asking for more. It's asking for what the law already promised. Learn more
Veterans have sworn oaths to protect our country knowing it could cost them their health, and ultimately their life. We owe it to them to sustainably insulate veterans community living centers around the state from turbulent budget bickering in Washington. Learn more
Corrections, healthcare, trades, agriculture, mining, aerospace manufacturing, tourism — these are SD4's economy. Training programs should tie directly to who's hiring and what they need, with placement rates that prove the investment is working. Learn more
K-12 investment in SD4 schools that doesn't end at graduation. Trades and technical training pipelines connect high school graduates directly to real employment in healthcare, construction, corrections, and advanced manufacturing. Stop sending our kids away to find work — build the careers right here. Learn more
Federal Mineral Lease revenue distribution shouldn't reward only the counties where extraction happens — it should weight the counties absorbing infrastructure costs from federal land that generates no extraction revenue. SD4 maintains roads, fire response, and emergency services across federal acres other counties don't have. The formula should reflect that. Learn more
When a watershed burns, the cost doesn't end with the fire. Post-fire sediment, debris, and ash flow downstream — into reservoirs, water treatment systems, and the communities that drink that water. State investment in upstream watershed protection and post-fire mitigation in SD4 saves real money for everyone downstream by stopping the damage before it reaches the tap. Learn more
The John Griffin Regional Reservoir in Cañon City needs full federal appropriation. SD4 reservoir projects don't just protect water for our communities — they're how the headwaters region maintains the storage capacity Colorado needs as conditions change. SD4 deserves a senator who will fight for both. Learn more
Wildfire is a year-round threat in SD4 — and homeowners are paying for it through rising insurance premiums whether they want to or not. Expanded state investment in defensible space programs, prioritized in WUI communities where federal land exceeds 40% of total acreage. Pocketbook pressure on homeowners is real. The state can take some of it off. Learn more
Establish a CWCB buy-and-dry mitigation fund to defend SD4 water rights, plus a community economic impact review for any large agricultural water transfer out of an SD4 county. Front Range cities have spent decades buying our water and walking away from the communities they drained. That ends with senators who actually represent the headwaters. Learn more
Rural hospitals, clinics, and the providers who staff them are the backbone of SD4 healthcare. When facilities close or talent leaves for the Front Range, families end up driving hours for care they should get at home. State investment in retaining rural healthcare services, facilities, and providers keeps care where SD4 actually lives. Learn more
Well-meaning legislators have added tens of thousands of dollars to home construction costs with no rural relief built in — pricing corrections officers, nurses, and teachers out of the communities they serve. SD4 needs direct construction offsets for working-class buyers and small rural builders, plus state-financed workforce housing tied to local hiring in healthcare, corrections, and education. Build it. Tie it to the work. Keep it accessible. Learn more
State capital investment to build licensed childcare in SD4's childcare deserts. Small rural providers facing closure from regulatory and cost burdens get the support they need to stay open, expand, and serve the families who are already on their waitlists. Learn more
Establish a valuation protection mechanism shielding agricultural use classifications and long-term rural residents from migration-inflated reassessments. Administered through existing county assessor infrastructure — no new bureaucracy. A ranching family in Salida shouldn't be taxed off their land because a second-home buyer from Denver decided to overpay for the parcel next door. Learn more
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