I am fed up with ever-increasing government spending, taxes and burdensome regulations. If elected, I will work towards establishing a more effective and lower spending state government that has a positive impact on our economy. As Ronald Reagan famously said, “Government is the problem, not the solution,” and I intend on taking that view to Denver. 

1.       High unemployment rate

a.      The best thing government can do to create jobs is to provide an environment where businesses are able to plan and borrow with confidence. That means government must be transparent about its actions, create limited but clear regulations and stop the haphazard tax increases to fill budget gaps at the last minute.

2.      Increased fees and back-door taxes

a.      When citizens are hurting financially during this recession the answer is not to increase their burdens with higher fees like the car registration fee hike and removing tax exemptions for businesses that are actually creating new jobs. Instead we should lower taxes and give businesses the catalyst to help get our Colorado economy going strongly again.

3.      Balancing the State budget.

a.      I support the Republican’s “Taxpayer Protection Act of 2010: A Republican Plan to Cut Spending, Kill Tax Hikes” which wouldn’t raise taxes; rather cut Colorado government spending by about 4.4%.

I would work to kill the new tax proposed tax on junk food as it is both a regressive tax and a job killer for people who work at the companies that produce that food. Overall, I would work to pass laws and regulations that are clear, limited and necessary, so businesses would have an environment where they feel comfortable hiring and borrowing without some government regulation or tax coming out of nowhere at the last minute.

Ed Casso managed to earn one of the lowest ratings in the state from the Colorado Union of Taxpayers (CUT) in 2009—a staggering 3.13%. I have signed the CUT pledge promising to work to cut both spending and taxes. During the general election campaign I will work vigorously to let the voters of HD 32 know that their representative is failing them as taxpayers and it’s time for some new ideas in the state legislature.

I think the Republican Party has failed in a number of ways, which is why the voters of America took power away from them at the ballot box. Number one was the spending in Congress and the White House over the last decade. The Republican Party is supposed to be the party of fiscal restraint, and it clearly did not act as such. People like me heard the voters in 2006 and 2008 and are answering their call to return to a more fiscally sane budget.

Additionally, I think the Republican Party has done a poor job of reaching out to Hispanic voters. Democrats take their vote for granted and Republicans need to do a better job of reaching out and communicating our message to them. While Republicans need to get their message out about securing our borders, it needs to work to make sure that isn’t construed as anti-immigrant or anti-Hispanic.

I would immediately work to undue the damage Governor Ritter has done to the energy industry with unnecessary and burdensome regulations that have killed jobs all across the state. The regulations I would push for would be environmentally sound but also economically sound to help put Coloradoans back to work. I would also work to reduce taxes across the board to put more money in Coloradoans pockets so they can stimulate the economy. Consumers are a heck of a lot better at stimulating the economy than the government. This is especially important when related to small businesses as they provide the majority of new and existing jobs in this country.  

I have been a leader in my community through my work with prison ministries, the Rescue Mission, the Finlandia Foundation, Habitat for Humanity and the US Air Force Auxiliary: The Civil Air Patrol. Additionally, I have worked in a number of industries from real estate to information technology and would bring a working understanding of these industries to the legislature.

On the campaign side of things, I have received endorsements from a number of prominent individuals including my former HD 32 opponent Jeff Gerdes and the Chairman of Colorado’s largest Hispanic organization, Frank Tijerina. As I am taking this campaign seriously, I have put together a campaign committee, hired a professional campaign staff member to advise me, and taken courses with a number of think tanks to improve my knowledge of pertinent policy issues. 

The state should work to fight the federal government’s attempt to impose an unconstitutional burden on working Americans to purchase health insurance or be fined. The federal government should allow insurance companies to compete across state lines, enact tort reform to discourage doctors from practicing defensive medicine and encourage Health Savings Accounts to make health insurance portable and affordable.

Colorado, more than anywhere I’ve lived has people from all over the country. Voters here understand the frustration of trying to take your coverage to a new job or a new state. Increasing health care portability would be a common sense solution to help reduce costs.

1.      More transparency in government by having the Legislative Council put legislative voting records on their website in such a fashion that it would be easy to look up committee and chamber voting records by bill title, keyword, legislator’s name or date. Citizens have the right to know how their representative is voting!

2.      I would support cross-state sales of health insurance to keep the industry competitive and bring down costs.

3.      Allow personal health care expenditures, such as health insurance premiums, to be tax deductible, not just premiums paid by businesses.

1.      Any law or tax that would violate the constitution or TABOR. 

2.      Any law or regulation that would allow medical marijuana dispensaries to operate near schools, pay doctors for sending them “patients,” or doctors to provide prescriptions for medical marijuana to patients they don’t have an ongoing relationship with. 

3.      Any taxes on medical services of any kind. 

4.      The Vehicle Mileage tax. This is a regressive tax and an illegal intrusion of government into people’s lives. The government has no right to know how many miles I’ve driven!

5.      Spending bills that would increase spending even one penny until the country is out of the current recession.  

I support the Republican’s “Taxpayer Protection Act of 2010: A Republican Plan To Cut Spending, Kill Tax Hikes” which wouldn’t raise taxes; rather cut Colorado government spending by about 4.4%. I have signed the CUT Pledge and would not vote to raise taxes or fees. When you lower some taxes, more revenue comes in because it becomes cheaper to simply pay the taxes rather than hire a lawyer to find loopholes. I believe lowering taxes would be one of the greatest ways to spur tax revenues—and reduce money to lawyers—never a bad thing! By lowering regulations and making government policy transparent, we can encourage new businesses to invest in Colorado and existing businesses to begin to hire and borrow.

I do not believe there is a Constitutional right to abortion. While Roe v. Wade seems to be settled law, it was a poorly decided case that found rights where they were not specifically laid out in the Constitution. I believe it is important for the state to provide expecting parents options other than abortion such as adoption.   While abortion is legal it is important to keep it as rare as possible, such as requiring parental notification for minors. My faith guides me to believe that it should be illegal—that we should respect the rights of all people, including the unborn.

I do not believe the government is obligated to recognize same-sex marriage. Marriage has always been defined as between a man and a woman. I also respect the right of gay and lesbian citizens to live the lifestyle of their choice.

I believe that the 1985 ”Make My Day” law (Castle Doctrine) greatly strengthened the right of gun owners to protect themselves. Those rights were further enhanced by the 2003 “Concealed Carry” law signed by Governor Owens. These laws have helped to protect our Second Amendment rights.