CALENDAR

Thu 6/23

Storytime in the Park

@ 3pm Eagle Pointe Recreation Center, 6060 East Parkway Dr., Commerce City. 303-2893760

Domino Tournament

@ 4pm Eagle Pointe Recreation Center, 6060 E. Parkway Dr., Commerce City. 303-2893760

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Ninety Percent 90s @ 7pm Harley Brown Amphitheater, Thornton Fri 6/24

Female First Responder- CPR

@ 3pm Bison Ridge Recreation Center, 13905 E. 112th Avenue, Commerce City. 303-2893760

Ice Cream Social & Bingo

@ 8pm Fort Lupton Recreation & Parks De‐partment, 203 S Harrison, Fort Lupton. 303-857-4200

Bruce Cook: Odde's Music Grill

@ 8pm Odde's Music Grill, 9975 Wadsworth Pkwy N2, Westminster

Sat 6/25

Muddy Dash- Denver - 2022

@ 7am Jun 25th - Jun 26th The Recess Factory, 3220 Erie Pkwy, Erie

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International Mud Day and Health and Fitness Expo 2022 @ 10am Barr Lake State Park, 13401 Pica‐dilly Road, Brighton. DNR_BAR LAKE.NATURECENTER@ STATE.CO.US, 303-659-6005 Featured

RUMBLE BOXING | JUNE 25 | 9 to 10 am | SPLASHPAD @ ORCHARD TOWN CENTER @ 9am The Orchard Town Center, 14697 Delaware Street, Westminster. meghan@meghandougherty.com, 720-460-1978

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USWNT v Colombia, Presented by Allstate - International Friendly @ 5:30pm / $28-$250 DICK'S Sporting Goods Park, 6000 Victory Way, Commerce City The Lull Band Playing at The Elevate

@ 7:30pm Elevate Grill & Bar, 2831 W 120th Ave #200, Westminster

Sun 6/26

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Rod Stewart with special guest Cheap Trick @ 7:30pm / $29-$500 Ball Arena, 1000 Chopper Circle, Denver The Fixx Featured

48th Annual Cherry Blossom Festival @ 11am Sakura Square, 1255 19th Street, Denver. info@sakurafounda tion.org, 303-951-4486 Mon 6/27

Adventure Explorers: Survivalist Series

@ 2pm Jun 27th - Jun 30th Bison Ridge Recreation Center, 13905 E. 112th Avenue, Commerce City. 303-2893760

Fashion Academy I

@ 3pm Jun 27th - Jun 30th Bison Ridge Recreation Center, 13905 E. 112th Avenue, Commerce City. 303-2893760

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Colorado Rockies vs. Los Angeles Dodgers @ 6:40pm / $10-$285 Coors Field, 2001 Blake St., Den‐ver AstroInnovators with NASA

@ 8pm Jun 27th - Jun 30th Bison Ridge Recreation Center, 13905 E. 112th Avenue, Commerce City. 303-2893760

Tue 6/28

Mother Cabrini Shrine

@ 3pm Fort Lupton Recreation & Parks De‐partment, 203 S Harrison, Fort Lupton. 303-857-4200

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Magic wand organizing @ 5pm Anythink Huron Street, 9417 Huron Street, Denver. swhitelonis@any thinklibraries.org, 303-452-7534 Wed 6/29

Santana

@ 1pm Ball Arena, 1000 Chopper Circle, Denver

Adult Trips: Greeley Stampede Pro Rodeo 6/29

@ 3pm Offsite, 6060 E Parkway Drive, Commerce City. 303-289-3760

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Ryan Hutchens at Bitto Bistro @ 6pm Bitto Bistro, 14697 Delaware St #1000, Westminster Colorado Rockies vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

@ 6:40pm / $10-$285 Coors Field, 2001 Blake St., Denver

Howard Jones

@ 8pm Ogden Theatre, 935 E. Colfax Ave., Denver

Thu 6/30

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What makes you the best candidate for this seat?

I believe what makes me the best candidate for the Weld County Commissioner at Large seat is my extensive experience in business that spans across multiple industries, combined with 13 years of volunteer work for the county on many different boards and committees. Each and every position that I’ve served in has provided me with the overall capability necessary to get the job done.

What is the most pressing issue facing Weld county, and why?

In my opinion, I believe the most pressing issue in Weld County is WATER.

Because we have an ever increasing demand and a dwindling supply.

How would you deal with that issue?

My plan to deal with our water issue is to advocate to keep all of Weld County water within Weld County. Stopping the release of unused water to surrounding states, as once it is gone, it is never coming back. A big way to help our water crisis is by incentivizing the creation of more water storage basins and increasing our supply capabilities. Currently, Weld County does not have the ability to store its current allotment of water, and what we cannot store gets lost as it flows down the river.

What is another issue that you would make a priority if elected?

If elected, another issue I believe should be a priority for the commissioners is supporting and encouraging our local small businesses. Entrepreneurs and small business owners are the lifeblood of our rural communities. We need to be nurturing and providing as much support and guidance as possible, sometimes it helps just having a place to ask questions.

Steve Moreno has served in this seat since 2014. Looking back over his record, what would you have done di erently?

After looking back over Mr. Moreno’s 8-year record as Commissioner, he has provided a tremendous service for Weld County as a current Commissioner and as the Clerk and Recorder before that. He has always had the county’s best interest in mind, has advocated for the citizens and truly loves what he does. He is leaving some big shoes to fill, but I accept the challenge.

What can you do to protect water rights in Weld County, both from in state and out-of-state pressures?

There are many pressures regarding water rights in Weld County both from in state and out of state. To combat these pressures, I plan to fight for the people of Weld. We must push back against other government agencies that are demanding more. The rights of Weld County citizens are my first priority, and any bureaucratic overreach will not be tolerated.

Does Weld County have a role to play in meeting the demand for workforce or attainable housing? If so, what are some of the measures the county should be taking to spur development of that kind of housing?

I do believe Weld County has a role to play in meeting the demand for workforce and attainable housing. Currently, Weld County has a very robust economy with an average of two jobs available per unemployed person. We are in dire need of skilled individuals willing to relocate to Weld County. But attainable housing (not to be confused with affordable housing!) is tough to combat. Since Weld is zoned 98% agriculture, cheaper, high-density housing is encouraged within municipalities.

Should Weld County have a role in regulating the oil and gas industry and if so, what should that role be?

I do believe that Weld County should have a role in regulating the oil and gas industry and that role should be supporting the producers all the while encouraging the most cost effective, yet safest and efficient manner possible to transport our oil and gas resources.

What does Weld County need to do to ensure its residents’ votes are encouraged and counted fairly?

In order to ensure that residents’ votes are encouraged and counted fairly, Weld County commissioners need to support our Clerk and Recorder and encourage election volunteers regardless of affiliation. We need to be able to have checks and balances just like you do in other business procedures.

Some counties and cities are considering new regulations due to the national wave of gun violence. What would you do regarding this issue?

In regard to the issue of some counties and cities considering placing new regulations due to the national wave of gun violence, I completely stand behind our Sheriff. I promise to continue in the legacy of Commissioner Moreno’s support of Weld County’s Second Amendment Sanctuary. With that, I promise to never step on a citizen’s right, based on someone else’s fear.

ROSS

What makes you the best candidate for this seat?

With Weld County facing so many challenges from the state, I believe Experience matters. I served as commissioner in 2020 and was Eaton’s Mayor. I have chaired numerous transportation boards and understand the challenges facing our great county. I am able to hit the ground running and I bring solutions immediately to the role.

What is the most pressing issue facing Weld county, and why?

I believe the most pressing issue is infrastructure, specifically transportation needs. Weld’s population is expected to double by 2045 according to the state demographer. We are considered the third fastest growing region in the entire country. This growth is putting huge strains on all of our infrastructure, especially transportation corridors. Residents are experiencing gridlock as they go to work or take their children to school.

How would you deal with that issue?

I will tackle this just like I did as chair of the North Front Range Metropolitan Planning Organization to expand I-25. We will work collaboratively with our municipal partners to design corridors for efficient flow of traffic. By working together, we will score higher for state and federal funding to help with these projects. If we are able to bring additional funding sources to the table, we can get more projects done sooner.

What is another issue that you would make a priority if elected?

Water is going to become a critical role of the commissioners. Historically water is not an issue that is handled at the commissioner level however, with Nebraska wanting to make a play on our farmers water, it will be critical we help become a voice for ag. I currently work in the market arena, there are several solutions that can be brought forward to protect ag resources and accommodate the growth we are experiencing.

Steve Moreno has served in this seat since 2014. Looking back over his record, what would you have done differently?

Commissioner Moreno has served the constituents of Weld very well. I would make a stronger effort to communicate with our 32 municipalities across Weld and work collaboratively with them. I believe communication is key. I would also go back and review some of the land use policies and make sure they are being effective in today’s market. If there are areas of unnecessary red tape, I would like to get those removed.

What can you do to protect water rights in Weld County, both from in state and out-of-state pressures?

I have been working with our Ag producers to start discussing solutions to this very issue. Ag understands the problem and wants to be part of the solution. It will be vital not only to Weld County to keep this water here, but other eastern counties rely on us leading the way and being their voice as well. These solutions will be critical, if water leaves Weld county it’s economic impact is felt forever. I believe it will come down to partnerships with ag, because I don’t believe we should mess with the free market.

Does Weld County have a role to play in meeting the demand for workforce or attainable housing? If so, what are some of the measures the county should be taking to spur development of that kind of housing?

The best role we can play is to make sure there are no barriers. The natural market will dictate what type of housing will be built. Developers aren’t going to build a product that won’t sell. When government inserts itself into the free market there is always unintended negative consequences, we need to avoid those. If municipalities would like our assistance, I am always happy to partner to provide them the resources they need.

Should Weld County have a role in regulating the oil and gas industry and if so, what should that role be?

When I served as commissioner, I was able to help get favorable rules within the state’s new guidelines only because we have our own oil and gas department. The state issued 2,000 foot setbacks for drilling, because we had our own department we were able to negotiate 500 foot setbacks. This allows mineral owners to continue to be able to explore their right. This department is key to allowing the continued mineral exploration in Weld County and we will continue to lead the state in production.

What does Weld County need to do to ensure its residents’ votes are encouraged and counted fairly?

As Weld commissioner’s our only role in elections is the approval of the budget brought forth by the County Clerk and Recorder. I will make sure that person has the tools they need to ensure that votes are counted accurately.

Some counties and cities are considering new regulations due to the national wave of gun violence. What would you do regarding this issue?

First and foremost I stand up for and defend the constitution and the 2nd amendment. I believe we have a mental health problem in this country not a gun problem. I will continue to support our Health and Human Services department to help them engage individuals who need mental health services. I will also support Sheriff Reams to make sure he has the tools to effectively deal with inmates who need mental health services.

Where the four Republicans running to represent the 8th Congressional District stand on the big issues

BY SHANNON NAJMABADI THE COLORADO SUN

Four candidates are running in the June 28 Republican primary in Colorado’s new 8th Congressional District for the chance to face Democratic state Rep. Yadira Caraveo in November.

The 8th District is the most diverse U.S. House district in Colorado and it’s expected to be one of the most competitive in the nation this year as Republicans fi ght to take back control of Washington, D.C. More than 40% of active registered voters in the district are unaffi liated, and the rest are about evenly split between the Democratic and Republican parties.

The Colorado Sun asked the four Republican candidates in the 8th District, which covers parts of Adams, Larimer and Weld counties, their positions on what are expected to be the top issues in the race.

Who are the candidates

Tyler Allcorn, a former U.S. Army Green Beret. He is a political newcomer who lives in western Arvada, which isn’t in the 8th District. He plans to move into the district if voters elect him to represent them. • Barbara Kirkmeyer, a state senator from Brighton. She is a former Weld County Commissioner and dairy farmer. • Jan Kulmann, the mayor of Thornton and an oil and gas engineer. • Lori Saine, a Weld County Commissioner. The conservative fi rebrand, from Firestone, served eight years in the state House.

When should abortions be allowed and under what circumstances?

All four candidates identify as being anti-abortion.

Kulmann and Allcorn don’t support abortions except in cases of rape and incest or if the life of the mother is at risk. Kirkmeyer thinks abortions should be allowed only in cases where a mother’s life is endangered by pregnancy.

As a state lawmaker, Saine sponsored legislation that would have made all abortions illegal, including in cases of rape and incest, and would have made doctors who perform abortions subject to criminal penalties, including life in prison or the death penalty. “We believe this is a murdering of a human being,” she said, according to a 2019 Colorado Sun article.

Here are more details on where the candidates stand on abortion:

ALLCORN: “I’m prolife and believe in exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother,” Allcorn said in a written statement. His campaign website says he believes in the “sanctity of life and the unborn” and that “taxpayer money should never be used to subsidize abortions.”

KIRKMEYER: “I am prolife but accept an exception for when the life of the mother is in imminent danger.”

KULMANN: “I’m pro-life, and don’t support abortion except in the case of rape, incest and the life of the mother. If Roe vs. Wade is overturned, it will be up to the states. Colorado voters have spoken on this issue several times, and the Supreme Court decision won’t change much here. I do support federal legislation that would limit late-term abortion, except in cases when a mother’s life is at risk, and I strongly support the Hyde Amendment — taxpayers shouldn’t pay for abortion.”

SAINE: “I am pro-life and my record speaks for itself,” Saine said in a written response to The Sun. She described the recently passed House Bill 1279, which affi rms abortion access in Colorado, as allowing for “the butchering of children up until the day of birth.” Saine has also tried to make Weld County a “pro-life sanctuary” as a symbolic stance against abortion. If elected to Congress, she has said she will sponsor legislation — already introduced by Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and West Virginia U.S. Rep. Alex Mooney, both Republicans — to ban abortions starting at conception, essentially extending personhood to fertilized eggs.

Would you support any additional federal restrictions on guns, including expanding background checks or enacting safe-storage requirements?

ALLCORN: “We don’t need more laws on the books, and I will stand against any efforts to disarm law-abiding Americans,” Allcorn said in a statement.

“Passing laws that restrict fi rearm usage will only affect law-abiding citizens,” Allcorn’s campaign website says. “Criminals will ignore these laws, and good people will suffer.”

KIRKMEYER: “Our goal must be to keep guns out of the hands of criminals. That starts with better enforcement of laws and ending the revolving door that allows bad guys back onto the streets to create more crime,” she said in a written response. “I have yet to see a proposal regarding gun laws that would prevent crimes and shootings. If someone is willing to commit murder, he or she is not going to be dissuaded by a new gun law.” Asked in an interview whether she supports requiring universal background checks, she asked what purpose they would serve at the federal level “if they are being handled” by states.

KULMANN: Kulmann has not directly answered this question, emphasizing in written responses the need to comprehensively address a national “mental health crisis” and expand the number of police in communities and schools. “Groups as diverse as Children’s Hospital, the American Medical Association, and the American Psychological Association have all pointed to this crisis in our kids,” Kulmann said in a written answer. She added: “Those who say we don’t need more law

Republican candidates in the 8th Congressional District clockwise from top left: Tyler Allcorn, Barbara Kirkmeyer, Jan Kulmann and Lori

Saine. COLORADO SUN FILE PHOTOS

enforcement in our communities and in our schools are reckless and wrong.”

SAINE: “Would-be mass murderers want easy targets and will find a way to get weapons regardless of the laws that they ignore. Folks should investigate for themselves why… mass shootings haven’t happened at thousands of schools with armed teachers. I see that many of those same schools’ post signs warning that staff is armed and trained,” Saine said in written responses. “I was once approached by a superintendent in my district who asked me a question: ‘The sheriff is over 30 minutes away, Rep. Saine — am I supposed to hide with the kids in a dark corner and hope the shooter doesn’t find us?’ Shortly thereafter, that same school board chose to arm certain teachers and staff.”

Saine sued — so far unsuccessfully — to overturn a Colorado law that allows judges to temporarily order the confiscation of guns from those deemed at risk to themselves or others. She voted no on a 2013 bill requiring background checks for all gun sales, as did every other Republican in the state General Assembly. She also led the charge to repeal a Colorado ban on high-capacity magazines, and recently advocated on Twitter — after a mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas — to “let teachers carry.”

Do you support a path to legal citizenship for immigrants living in the U.S. illegally?

Kirkmeyer, Kulmann and Saine expressed some openness to offering a path to citizenship for people living in the U.S. illegally who were brought to America as children. Many of those immigrants currently have deportation protections and work authorization under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA.

Allcorn does not support a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants already in the country.

All four candidates also called for tighter border security and other immigration system reforms.

Here’s where they stand:

ALLCORN: “No.”

KIRKMEYER: “If they’re already in the country, I think there’s a lot of discussion that needs to occur there,” Kirkmeyer said in an interview with The Sun. “My kids went to school in Fort Lupton and they had friends whose parents brought them here when they were 2 months old, and they didn’t know it. They didn’t know that they weren’t American citizens. They always thought they were until they turned 18. I think in those cases, we need to have compassion and we need to work with them to find a path (to citizenship). Is it just an automatic, you’re done? No.”

KULMANN: Kulmann said “a humane and sensible immigration policy means stopping the flow of illegal immigration and finding a commonsense solution for those who are here, especially children.” Securing the border “with a massive commitment of resources, including a wall” should come first, she said. But children who came to the U.S. through no choice of their own deserve legal status, she said. And there should be a process for working unauthorized immigrants who haven’t broken the law to seek legal citizenship.

“Those who have followed the rules should be at the front of the line. Those who came here illegally should be at the back of the line,” she said in a written response.

SAINE: “Children brought across the border should be offered an opportunity to become a citizen like all other immigrants in a naturalization process that is fair, understandable and that works,” Saine said in a written response. She also said that the immigration system is bureaucratic and encourages malfeasance.

“I have worked personally with a business owner who was struggling with our citizenship process. … He was asked to provide monetary compensation by an outside agent to move things along when his paperwork got stuck. That is unacceptable and, as your congresswoman, I will work to fix this so we have a legal immigration system that works for those who want to become Americans,” Saine said in a written response.

How would you represent a district as diverse — economically, demographically, etc — as the 8th District?

The 8th District has the largest percentage of Hispanic people of any of Colorado’s U.S. House districts at 39%. And it stretches from north Denver to the conservative stronghold of Weld County, which has notable agriculture and oil and gas industries.

ALLCORN: “I’m an immigrant to this country. I came here in 1993. I understand what it is to come to a new place somewhere that’s very different from where you were growing up and where you’re from. I understand what the challenges are,” Allcorn said at a May event hosted by the Republican Women of Weld.

KIRKMEYER: “Voters across the district, no matter their economic or demographic status, face the same challenges and concerns: rising crime and lawlessness, inflation, illegal immigration, and attacks on energy and agriculture jobs. I will appeal to our diverse district by attacking those challenges, head on.”

KULMANN: “By doing what I’ve always done, listening to the people and following through on what I say I’m going to do. My experiences as an oil and gas engineer in the fields up in Weld County and as the mayor for the City of Thornton have allowed me to not only develop a strong understanding of the issues, but it has allowed me to develop strong relationships with the community.”

SAINE: “I approach every voter the same when I talk to them about freedom because they all have the same concerns about the loss of freedom in our country and the loss of opportunity for their children. And I am finding all mothers are concerned about the rising cost of gas, food, and rising crime plaguing

Who won the 2020 election?

Three of the four candidates say Joe Biden won the election. Saine has not clearly answered the question.

ALLCORN: “Whether you like it or not, Joe Biden is currently sitting in the Oval Office. And he shouldn’t be, but he is because he was elected,” Allcorn said at the Republican Women of Weld forum. He added, “that doesn’t mean that there isn’t voter fraud that needs to be addressed in our country, and that we need to look for policies to prevent that from happening again.” He supports a requirement that voters show photo identification to cast a ballot, which Colorado does not require.

KIRKMEYER: “Joe Biden won the election,” Kirkmeyer said at the Republican Women of Weld forum. She added it “doesn’t mean that we don’t need to go back and look at what’s going on within election law.”

KULMANN: “Joe Biden won the election and he’s a lousy president. I am running to take back the House and put a stop on his radical agenda that continues to hurt working families across the country.”

SAINE: Saine has not directly answered the question. “A lot of voters in this district have reached out to me about election questions and concerns about election integrity,” she told The Sun. “I think both parties could meet these concerns head on by passing a photo voter ID law. It makes sense to folks that you would need some kind of photo ID to vote and this would allay many concerns for our constituents now and in the future,“ she added in a written response.

As a state lawmaker, Saine initiated a late 2020 hearing over election security issues that turned up no evidence of widespread voter fraud.

What will be your top priority as a member of Congress?

ALLCORN: Allcorn’s campaign did not respond to this question from The Sun.

KIRKMEYER: She said her “most immediate priority” is to secure the Southern border. “This is something a new, Republican Congress can do something about immediately by using our leverage to force the

Biden administration to act,” she said. “After that, my priorities are to rein in inflation, reduce deficit spending and debt, and restore America’s energy independence.”

KULMANN: “I’m an oil and gas engineer, and the No. 1 thing I hear from voters is just how difficult record-breaking energy costs are making their lives. My top priority in Congress would be to find solutions that unleash American energy dominance.”

SAINE: “My No. 1 priority will be to stop President Biden’s Marxist-socialist agenda and use the power of the purse to force the executive branch to bring back policies to secure our border, strengthen our military and increase domestic energy produc-

Do you believe climate change is human caused and, if so, what should be done about it?

None of the candidates clearly answered whether anything should be done to address climate change.

ALLCORN: “We don’t need to destroy our economy or pursue the Green New Deal policies of the radical left to protect our environment. Colorado is a world leader in responsible energy development, and we can supply the world if radical liberals would just get out of the way,” Allcorn said. At a March candidate forum, he said that the country needs to be energy independent and that the “green energy industry” is “not ready to take over.”

KIRKMEYER: “The climate is always changing, and the Earth has been gradually warming since the Little Ice Age. To what extent any warming is a result of mancaused activity is unknown. The United States has been reducing its emissions of carbon dioxide in recent years, but worldwide emissions continue to grow due to China, India and other emerging economies.”

KULMANN: “Climate change is happening, and humans contribute, but it is innovation and technology that will solve it, not bureaucracy and certainly not far-left policies. Witness: carbon emissions have plummeted in the U.S. in recent years because of the growing prevalence of natural gas to power our economy. It wasn’t a law or a mandate that made this happen. It was private sector innovation, and some really smart engineers,” Kulmann said in a written response. “Where Biden and the Democrats get energy wrong is by trying to make one good and the other bad. The truth is, we need an all-of-the-above energy strategy in this country. And we need to get serious about American energy independence. If I have my way, America will never beg for another drop of energy from OPEC or Putin again.”

SAINE: “Weld County not only has the largest production of oil and gas in Colorado, it also has the largest renewable energy production portfolio in the state, including wind, solar and biogas. • Government should not pick winners and losers in the energy market and Weld (County) now encourages an all-the-above energy production that our consumers and businesses have asked for. The petroleum industry and farmers and ranchers in Weld are teaming up to produce solar at record rates. Farmers particularly like the stability of the extra income that solar provides.” As commissioner, she supported a county solar code, she said.

This story is from The Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support The Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun.com. The Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.

Get to know the Republican candidates for governor

BY JESSE PAUL THE COLORADO SUN

Greg Lopez and Heidi Ganahl are the two Republican gubernatorial candidates facing off in the June 28 primary for a chance to unseat Democratic Gov. Jared Polis in November.

Colorado voters have elected only one Republican governor in roughly a half century, and whoever wins the primary will face a tough opponent in Polis, a deep-pocketed self-funder who polls indicate is well liked.

We combed through documents and attended several candidate forums to put together this guide to the candidates in the Republican gubernatorial primary.

Who are the candidates?

• Lopez, 58, is a former Democrat who served two terms as the mayor of Parker in the 1990s. He became a Republican during his mayoral tenure. Lopez ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate in 2016 and for governor in 2018. He was the Colorado director of the Small Business Administration between 2008 and 2014, is an Air Force veteran and lives in Elizabeth. • Ganahl, 55, is a University of Colorado regent. She was elected to her at-large seat in 2016 and is the only statewide elected Republican in Colorado. Before entering politics, she started Camp Bow Wow, a doggy day care with a national footprint that she later sold. She lives in Lone Tree.

Two stances on abortion

With the U.S. Supreme Court poised in the coming weeks to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision protecting the right to an abortion without excessive government restriction, abortion is set to be a central issue in the midterm elections.

Ganahl said she strongly opposes a bill passed by the legislature this year and signed into law by Polis that affi rms abortion access in Colorado with very few limitations.

“We’ve got to do everything we can to roll it back,” she said.

But Ganahl doesn’t endorse a blanket ban on abortion, saying there should be exceptions “for rape and incest and life of the mother.”

Lopez agrees that Colorado’s new abortion access law should be repealed. He thinks the procedure should be completely outlawed without exception.

Climate change

Lopez rejects the broad scientifi c consensus on climate change.

“I truly do not believe that it’s caused by human behavior,” he said.

When asked at a recent candidate forum if she thinks climate change is caused by humans, Ganahl didn’t say, though she acknowledged that climate change does exist.

“The climate is changing all the time,” she said, “but we don’t have to sacrifi ce our livelihoods. We all care about clean air, clean land and clean water and we can make that happen without giving up our economy.”

If elected, Ganahl plans to submit a waiver to the Environmental Protection Agency to try to unwind the EPA’s decision to downgrade the Denver area’s air quality status to severe from serious. Her aim is to prevent implementation of a requirement that specially formulated, and more expensive, gasoline be sold in the metro region.

Colorado’s education system

Ganahl is a proponent of school choice and giving parents public funding to spend as they see fi t, essentially a voucher program.

“We have got to fi x public schools,” she said, “and the way we do that is through competition. So we’ve got to fund the student, not the system. We’ve got to give power back to parents to take their kids out of schools and put them in situations where it works, whether it’s homeschool, microschool, private school, charter school.”

She was the founding member of a charter school.

Lopez said he wants to get social issues out of schools and argued against teaching students about how the nation’s racist past has contemporary effects.

“The educational system has now been converted into state indoctrination centers,” he said.

Boosting school safety

The mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, thrust school safety back into the spotlight.

Lopez said law enforcement is part of the solution.

“I am going to put a police offi cer in every single school across the state,” he said at the Western Conservative Summit.

Ganahl believes addressing mental health is paramount.

“This is a deep, deep issue that goes back to the family, the community reconnecting with people (and) curing our mental health crisis,” she said at the summit.

Ganahl has released a fi ve-step school safety plan that includes implementing the 988 crisis hotline, launching a “school safety accountability dashboard” for the public and hosting monthly governor’s “school safety reports” to track metrics.

Neither candidate has endorsed any new restrictions on fi rearms.

Was the 2020 presidential election stolen?

Lopez said that “I fully believe that President Trump did win the election” in 2020, a claim that’s false. The 2020 presidential election was won by Joe Biden.

Lopez has also said that if he’s elected he will pardon indicted Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, an election denier, if she is falsely accused and convicted of the felony and misdemeanor charges brought against her in a security breach of her county’s voting system. He told a conservative talk radio host that he “has a lot of concerns about what I’ve read in the indictment” leveled against Peters.

Ganahl has not directly answered the question of whether the 2020 election was stolen from Trump.

“Joe Biden is our president,” she said. “I think there’s a lot of questions about what happened in the election. And for four years the Democrats yelled ‘Russia! Russia! Russia!’ And, for the last couple years, we had some questions about what happened. I don’t understand why they’re so averse to transparency and people asking questions and gaining confi dence again.”

MORE: Colorado’s June 28 primary will test just how much Republicans embrace 2020 election conspiracies

The candidates’ big policy proposals

Ganahl says she wants to phase down Colorado’s income tax rate to 0% in her fi rst term while also cutting Colorado’s 22-cent gas tax, which is among the lowest in the nation, in half and still paying for infrastructure projects and repairs.

“There’s plenty of money, you guys,” she said.

But Ganahl has not said what program she would cut to make her campaign promise a reality. Income tax revenue makes up a signifi cant portion of the pool of money that funds the state budget.

Ganahl also has not answered how she would make the changes if she is elected governor and Democrats control one or both chambers of the legislature.

Lopez says that 30% to 40% of Colorado’s budget is fraud, waste and abuse, though he hasn’t provided specifi cs.

One idea Lopez has fl oated on the campaign trail is moving Colorado toward a statewide electoral college system that gives rural areas of the state with less population more political power. 9News, which fi rst reported on the proposal, said the idea would be to give each of Colorado’s 64 counties electoral votes based on turnout, with 11 votes going to counties with the highest turnout and 3 votes going to counties with the lowest turnout.

Lopez has since distanced himself from the idea saying it is just a “conversation.”

“There is no offi cial proposal on the table,” he said. But Lopez said the plan would lead to “true representation”

What else you should know about the candidates

Lopez also has had several run-ins with law enforcement, all of which have been previously documented and that he has openly talked about.

In 1993, he and his wife were both cited in a domestic violence incident in which he was accused of pushing his wife, who was six months pregnant, to the fl oor and kicking her after she hit him on the top of his head. The Denver Post reported in 1994 that both Lopez and his wife pleaded guilty to a single charge of harassment.

Lopez was also accused, in a separate case, of driving under the infl uence.

Then, in October 2020, Lopez settled a lawsuit fi led by federal prosecutors alleging that after he left the Small Business Administration, where he was the Colorado district director from 2008 to 2014, Lopez violated federal law by attempting to improperly infl uence actions of the agency.

Prosecutors alleged Lopez “attempted to infl uence the SBA’s handling of its loan guarantee” to Morreale Hotels, which was owned by Lopez’s friend.

Lopez paid $15,000 to settle the case and “acknowledged that the United States could prove the facts alleged in the civil action by a preponderance of the evidence,” per a news release from the Trump administration’s Justice Department.

Lopez said he wasn’t aware at the time that he did anything wrong. He said prosecutors brought the case just days before the statute of limitations expired. “They wanted $157,000 for a phone call and an email,” he said. “I settled for $15,000.”

Colorado’s Trump-appointed U.S. attorney at the time, Jason Dunn, framed the case differently.

“Mr. Lopez’s attempts to exert improper infl uence over a federal agency on behalf of his friend were serious violations of the rules for former federal offi cials,” he said in a written statement. “The American people deserve to have confi dence that the federal government runs its programs without favoritism towards former offi cials.”

The Sun could fi nd no record of Ganahl being arrested before in Colorado.

Ganahl’s fi rst husband, Bion, died in a plane crash in the 1990s when she was 27. She remarried and then divorced. She is now married to her third husband, Jason, who runs GQue, a barbeque restaurant with locations in the Denver area.

Ganahl was diagnosed with a noncancerous brain tumor in 2020 that was surgically removed. Her term as regent ends early next year.

Republican candidate for governor Heidi Ganahl speaks during the GOP assembly at the Broadmoor World Arena on Saturday, April 9, 2022, in Colorado Springs. (Hugh Carey, The Colorado Sun)

How to beat Jared Polis

Colorado voters have not elected a Republican governor since 2002, when Bill Owens was elected to his second term. The last GOP governor in Colorado before Owens was John Arthur Love, who was elected to his fi nal term in 1970, 52 years ago.

Polis has a solid approval rating and a fortune that he’s willing to spend to get reelected. In 2020, he spent more than $23 million to secure his fi rst term. He’s already spent more than $5 million on his 2022 campaign.

So how do Ganahl and Lopez plan to beat Polis?

Ganahl said she “will raise the millions of millions of dollars that we have got to raise to build a movement to beat Jared Polis.”

So far, however, Ganahl hasn’t been able to keep up. Ganahl’s campaign had raised a little more than $1 million through April 27.

Lopez, on the other hand, is taking a different approach.

“No one is going to outspend the governor,” he said, ”it doesn’t matter who you are. You’ve got to outwork him.”

This story is from The Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support The Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun.com. The Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.

A look at GOP secretary of state hopefuls

Anderson, O’Donnell, Peters have dramatically di erent positions

BY SANDRA FISH THE COLORADO SUN

Three Republicans are running this year to be Colorado’s next secretary of state, a position in which they would oversee the administration of elections and handle business registration.

It’s a job that’s become highly politicized since the 2020 presidential election, which former Republican President Donald Trump and his supporters baselessly claim was stolen from him through fraud and malfeasance. Two of the three GOP candidates embrace those claims.

The Republican candidate who wins the June 28 primary will go on in November to face Democratic Secretary of State Jena Griswold, who has risen to national prominence defending election systems in Colorado and elsewhere.

The Colorado Sun asked the three GOP candidates about some of the major issues in the contest.

Who are the candidates?

• Pam Anderson, a former Jefferson County clerk and recorder and the former executive director of the Colorado County Clerks Association • Mike O’Donnell, an Australian immigrant and Yuma County resident who has worked at nonprofi ts that make loans to small businesses. He does not have experience in election administration. • Tina Peters, the Mesa County clerk who was indicted earlier this year in a security breach of her county’s election system. She has also been barred by a judge from overseeing the 2022 elections in Mesa County partly because of the breach, which stemmed from her belief that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.

Yes or no: Was the 2020 presidential election stolen?

ANDERSON: “No. Here in Colorado we have independent, verifi able paper ballots audits that have found no evidence that the outcome was incorrect.”

O’DONNELL: “Well, I can’t say yes or no to that. We have a president (Joe Biden) who’s in power today. So whether or not it was stolen, we probably won’t know for quite a while, but (Biden) is the elected president.”

PETERS: Yes. “This is a personal opinion based on the evidence that I have seen and gone through and based on what I know from our reports. I do believe there may have been enough fraud that it turned the election.” had a long tradition of nonpartisan administration in these offi ces that sort of remain above that partisan fray,” she said. “That’s been my record, as both a municipal and county clerk both from the management side as well as the elections administration side.”

O’DONNELL: He said he wants to work with the legislature and members of his executive team at the Secretary of State’s Offi ce to craft bills, including a measure that would “wind back” automatic voter registration, the process in which people are registered to vote when they get their driver’s license. O’Donnell said he also wants to “look at what we can do to not decimate the small business sector the same way we did during COVID.”

PETERS: “For sure it would be election security. If someone is voting who shouldn’t be voting, that’s diluting your vote.”

Mail-in ballots and early voting

We asked the three candidates if they’d support ending Colorado’s all-mail-ballot elections, which became statewide in 2013, and if they’d limit or end early in-person voting.

ANDERSON: She’d keep the current system. “For access to our constitutional rights here in Colorado, our model provides freedom of choice to the voter. While we proactively mail a ballot to every active eligible voter, the choice still remains for the voter if they wish to utilize that mail ballot or to go to a vote center anywhere in their county. I think that choice remaining with the voter is important.”

O’DONNELL: He didn’t directly answer the mail-ballots question. “There are people who pretend to be residents here who get their ballots sent out of state and are voting from out of state.” On early voting: “I’m not sure that I have a strong opinion about that. I think we start voting very, very early here.”

PETERS: She said use of mail-in ballots should be limited to people who can’t vote in person because of physical disabilities or overseas voters, though she added “if we can eliminate the fraud any other way, I’m all for solutions. … I think that some of these, what they call conveniences, have gotten to the point where they’re being abused.” She said, however, that early voting is fi ne.

On changing or eliminating election rules

The Colorado Secretary of State’s Offi ce enacts election rules that county clerks have to abide by. We asked the three GOP candidates how they would approach the rulemaking process.

ANDERSON: She said she would like to examine rules on candidate and petition signature collection, as well as rules ballot signature verifi cation. And she wants to return “to being inclusive with the local election offi cials and how these rules impact voters on the ground.”

O’DONNELL: He said he’s concerned that current rules allow potential noncitizens to register to vote, in turn infl ating voter rolls. He said he’d want to change such rules.

PETERS: She said she’d eliminate a 2021 rule prohibiting third-party audits of election equipment, which was aimed at addressing calls from her and her followersothers for an Arizona-style audit of the 2020 presidential election results in Colorado. She said she might also get rid of other rules. “This secretary of state — and I’ve talked to other clerks who have been around for 20 years — has passed more legislation, has rolled out more rules than any one secretary of state in the last 20 years.”

Relationship with county clerks and their association

Elections are managed at the local level by county clerks, who oversee ballot printing and counting and audits of results. The secretary of state works closely with those clerks and the Colorado County Clerks Association, so The Sun asked the three candidates about how they would work with both.

ANDERSON: She said that all elections are local and thus maintaining good relationships with county clerks and recorders is paramount. “There is a regulatory role that’s appropriate as well, but making sure that we’re collaborating on resources, training, education and security (is critical),” Anderson said.

O’DONNELL: He said he’s been meeting with county clerks and believes the state is creating too much work for them in some areas, such as when it comes to motor vehicles and a new requirement from the legislature to sell park passes with vehicle registrations. He said he isn’t “connected with the County Clerk’s Association.”

PETERS: She said she disagrees with how the clerks association has handled the Mesa County controversy that ensued after she allegedly allowed an unauthorized person access to voting equipment and a sensitive election system software update. She implied that other clerks don’t understand the conspiracy she baselessly claims occurs between Griswold and Denver-based Dominion Voting Systems, which provided machines that process the vast majority of ballots in Colorado.

Individual questions for each candidate

The Sun asked Anderson about her role as a director of the Center for Technology and Civic Life, which distributed grants from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s foundation to local election offi ces around the country in 2020 to help defray costs brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. (She’s on leave from the organization while running for offi ce.)

ANDERSON: She said she served with the center as a volunteer director, one of many volunteer roles she’s played “because of my expertise as a local election offi cial.” ”I don’t know Mark Zuckerberg. Never met him. I’ve never been paid in these capacities,” she said.

O’Donnell is a political novice and the only Republican candidate for secretary of state without experience administering elections. We asked him how he’d handle being the state’s top election offi cial.

O’DONNELL: He said he would join a national association for election offi cials and take online classes in election administration if he wins the primary. “A lot of the elections are handled by the county clerks and the system is well in place. There are a lot of rules that don’t make sense to me, there are a lot of things that just infl ate the voter rolls and little issues we have with not removing people from the voter rolls.”

The Sun asked Peters how she could serve as secretary of state if she ends up being convicted of the charges against her, which could result in a prison sentence.

PETERS: “I will never plead guilty because I’ve committed no crime … This is a political maneuver to color the minds of the voters to keep me out of the Secretary of State’s Offi ce,” she said. She said that if she were convicted and sentenced to prison she “will have in place in the Secretary of State’s Offi ce … people that are trustworthy, that are honest, that are strong, that are capable — that can run that offi ce.”

Left to right, the three Republicans running to be Colorado’s next secretary of state: Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, former Je erson County Clerk Pam Anderson, and

Mike O’Donnell, a nonprofi t leader. FILE PHOTOS BY THE COLORADO SUN

Colorado Sun staff writer Jesse Paul contributed to this report. This story is from The Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support The Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun.com. The Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.