10 Highlands Ranch Herald
October 18, 2012
STATE HOUSE DISTRICT 43 CANDIDATES
Semro not giving up fight McNulty seeks fourth term By Ryan Boldrey
rboldrey@ourcoloradonews.com Democrat Gary Semro, 65, is making his second run at representing Colorado House District 43, having lost to incumbent Frank McNulty by 34 points in 2010. Semro, a Highlands Ranch homeowner since 2000, has been married to Delia Semro for 13 years. His brother, Robert Semro, is a former state Senate aide to then-Senate Democratic Minority Leader C.A. Decker. A longtime broadcaster on various Denver radio stations as well as Gary Semro WCBS-FM in New York City, Semro is the coowner of West Point Energy LLC, a Colorado oil/gas and alternative energy investment company. Also the Democratic Party nominee in 1972 for Colorado HD-10 and a 1973 candidate for the Denver Board of Education, Semro, who has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Denver, has been unsuccessful in his previous attempts to gain office. Colorado Community Media asked the following questions of the candidates in the race for HD-43. Below are Semro’s answers. What makes you the best candidate for this office? My extremist Tea Party opponent is without question the worst (House) speaker in modern times. He has abused his power to a greater degree than anyone has seen in our state in generations. He has bullied colleagues, refused to compromise and lied to fellow legislators, the press and the people of Colorado. I will be the kind of legislator who will work with both Republicans and Demo-
crats to put the will of the voters first, not Tea Party zealots and extremists. I will replace a smug, arrogant career politician and put an end to one-party crony politics and bring truly representative government to Highlands Ranch. What do you see as the biggest challenge facing the district and what would you do to meet the challenge? We need a representative who will champion education. Our schools need to receive the highest priority. We need a strong advocate for small business in the state Legislature that will help create a competitive business environment that will make Colorado an attractive place to do business. We need to attract to Colorado highpaying, quality jobs. High-quality education and training of Colorado’s workforce is critical for our state to prosper and compete in today’s marketplace. I will be a champion of women’s issues, and I trust women to make the best decisions that affect their health and lives, and not right-wing Tea Party politicians. What should be done to improve Colorado’s K-12 educational system? Colorado’s K-12 education would improve greatly by 1) replacing our stale, brain-dead, ideological Tea Party representative who has been missing in action regarding education issues. 2) Put an end to the Douglas County School voucher program. It is an abomination and is unconstitutional. Taxpayer money should not be going to private and religious schools. 3) Repeal TABOR in the Colorado Constitution that has caused Colorado to rank 48th in the nation for funding of higher education per capita, 43rd for student-teacher ratio. Colorado has been below the national average in per-pupil K-12 funding since 1989. This has to change for the sake of quality education in our state.
By Ryan Boldrey
rboldrey@ourcoloradonews.com Colorado Speaker of the House Frank McNulty, 39, is running for his fourth term in House District 43, after which he would be term-limited if he wins. McNulty, a Republican, won the previous three elections in the district easily, picking up wins by margins of 22, 26 and 34 percentage points. The 34-point victory came in 2010 over Democratic challenger Gary Semro, whom McNulty is facing again this year. Married to Shannon McNulty, the speaker was raised in the south metro area and graduated from Mullen High McNulty School. He earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Colorado and law degree from the University of Denver. Prior to being elected to the state House, McNulty worked in the Washington office of former Congressman Wayne Allard and was a member of Gov. Bill Owens’ administration. He is currently an attorney at the firm of Grimshaw and Harring. Colorado Community Media asked the following questions of the candidates in the race for HD-43. Below are McNulty’s answers. What makes you the best candidate for this office? My background in water provides a sound foundation to continue to secure a long-term water future for Highlands Ranch. My record shows a strong focus on ensuring funding for our public schools and I have worked alongside my Democratic colleagues to craft state budgets that have passed the House of Representatives with broad, bipartisan support. I have fought to protect our children from violent predators and will continue
my fight to make our community safer. My record has helped protect qualifying seniors from property tax increases and has protected funding for low-income women to be screened for breast cancer. I will always prioritize efforts to improve job creation and economic opportunity in Colorado. What do you see as the biggest challenge facing the district and what would you do to meet that challenge? Highlands Ranch is a wonderful place to live, work and raise a family. All of this relies on the availability of good-paying jobs and career paths for our college graduates. Times are still tough. The economy is still staggering along and unemployment in Colorado remains above 8 percent. We can do better and we must do better. College graduates, along with our friends and neighbors who are still unemployed, need an environment that fosters job creation and innovation. We must do all that we can to help create that environment and get Coloradans, across the board, back to work. What should be done to improve Colorado’s K-12 educational system? We must always look to make sure that we adequately fund our public schools. We have great public schools in Douglas County and wonderful teachers who focus their lives on educating our next generation of leaders. We need to support them and make sure that they have the resources they need to be successful in the classroom. A public school funding formula that prioritizes teachers, students and their work in the classroom is a good first step to improving our K-12 educational system. We must always recognize that, if we want our public school system to be great, we must put teachers, students and parents first. After all, they know the children best.
DOUGLAS COUNTY HAPPENINGS No motor vehicle transactions on Election Day No Douglas County Motor Vehicle services or associated business transactions will be available on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 6. A practice since 2006, all motor vehicle division staff are dedicated to Election Day operations. For the 2012 General Election, all motor vehicle locations will operate as ballot
drop-off sites only. All motor vehicle offices will open for normal business hours, providing motor vehicle services and transactions, on Wednesday, Nov. 7. Nearly 80 percent of all registered voters in Douglas County — approximately 133,000 voters — have elected to vote by mail ballot. As an example of Election Day mail
ballot volume, approximately 30 percent of mail ballots, or approximately 21,000 ballots, were returned to Douglas County’s ballot drop-off locations on Election Day in 2011. The motor vehicle office at Park Meadows Center , 9350 Heritage Hills Circle, Lone Tree, will also serve as a voter assistance center. For additional information in connection with the 2012 General Election, visit www.DouglasVotes.com.
Early voting begins Oct. 22 For registered voters who prefer to cast their vote at a polling site, but want to avoid Election Day waiting, the first week of early voting — this year, from Oct. 2226 — historically has little to no waiting time.
During that period, Douglas County voters may visit any one of seven conveniently located early voting sites from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. The second week of early voting begins Monday, Oct. 29 and ends Friday, Nov. 2. The same seven locations are open from 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Those who vote in person — whether through early voting or by going to the polls on Election Day — must show identification. For a list of acceptable forms of identification, visit www.douglas.co.us/clerk/ elections/Voting_In_Person.html For additional information about the 2012 General Election, including early voting sites, ballot drop-off locations, and Election Day polling sites, please visit www.DouglasVotes.com.
WHAT'S HAPPENING THIS WEEK? Want to know what clubs, art exhibits, meetings and cultural events are happening in your area and the areas around you? Visit our website at www.ourcoloradonews.com/ calendar/.
OCTOBER SPECIAL