Public Safety:

Public safety must be a top priority for our state and communities. Effective public safety uses a strategy of community-based crime-fighting focused on prevention community policing, and prosecution.

The greatest problem has been large cuts in the federal funding for these strategies. With fewer federal dollars available every year, the state and many communities have had to dedicate more and more of their meager resources for simple law enforcement survival. Many areas are low on manpower, equipment, and training as a result.

As our first line of homeland defense, law enforcement, firefighters and EMS workers, need to have adequate funding and training. If the federal government is not forthcoming in this regard, the state must begin to pursue creative methods to insure we maintain safe and strong communities.

Education:

Public education is the bedrock of our nation, state, and communities. Trust in the control of education at the local level must be restored. If Colorado is going to move forward as an economic leader, we will have to improve our support for and commitment to both K-12 and higher education.

For K-12 education, a comprehensive plan to boost student achievement in our public schools must include class size reductions, expanded vocational opportunities, improved teacher pay to attract and retain good teachers, enhanced funding for teacher training, and expanded after school opportunities to keep children safe and out of trouble.

Tuition for higher education is skyrocketing, but a skilled workforce is essential to improving the Colorado economy. The state must be committed to finding ways to make attending institutions of higher learning more affordable and to keep our graduates in the state.

Seniors:

As the number of older Coloradans continues to grow, we must find ways to reduce the cost of the delivery of critical senior services such as, transportation, homecare, nutrition and health care, while maintaining high quality and adequate funding.

The Colorado legislature urgently needs to restore money to the Older Coloradans Act programs, to enhance the availability of important senior services and to reduce unnecessary costs in the delivery of these services. Some cost can be trimmed, and services made more available, through more efficient use of available technology.

Recently, Governor Owens vetoed a bill that my opponent also opposed, allowing the State of Colorado to opt into a purchasing pool for prescription drugs with 17 other states. This legislation would have significantly reduced prescription drug costs for seniors and others. I find this reprehensible given the current state of health costs and I will make sure, when elected, I will support all legislation that reduces our health care costs.

Health Care:

Our state and communities are strengthened by insuring the right to access quality, affordable health care. Families bankrupted by soaring health care costs hurt us all. It reflects poorly on our state that we allow vulnerable citizens to be denied affordable care.

Colorado has the power to find ways to make health care more affordable, and also support the development of health assistance for individuals or families that cannot afford insurance. Health care costs can be reduced by streamlining administration and reducing medical. With improved funding, Medicaid can be made a more widely acceptable method of payment for medical providers. Our physicians ought to be fairly compensated for the work they do caring for the less fortunate in our state. Finally, our long term solutions for reducing health care costs will need to focus on prevention and preventative care.