Brianna Titone

Comment: I am open to examining changing how we treat tip wages for minimum wage employees. Our service workers make up an essential part of our economy and deserve to be properly compensated, just as our local small businesses deserve to be rewarded for providing an amazing experience to customers, rather than being punished. There is evidence that increasing the wages of tipped workers provides a benefit to those workers, but also that it decreases the hours per week and tips per hour of those employees. We need to be thoughtful to make sure that we are doing everything in our power to keep our workers compensated and our businesses healthy. I appreciate when restaurants build in the tip cost into the meal and pay the workers a predictable wage and would like to see more restaurants do this.

Comment: The gig economy is a reality of life for a large segment of our population. Those people work hard, just as permanent and long-term employees do, and deserve the support and safety that many receive through their long-term employers. The details behind this will be critical, as we need to make sure that the money to provide those benefits comes from employers of people on short-term contracts, as well as potentially the employees themselves. There’s no reason for a huge corporation to hire contractors for their delivery work. They have the resources to pay these workers fair wages and benefits. There is a place for some gig workers in certain industries, but some big companies are exploiting workers by burdening them with many costs the corporation can take on.

Comment: The large majority of businesses in Colorado, especially small local businesses, operate in good faith. They attempt to adhere to strictures regulating their business practices; they protect their employees, customers, and other Coloradans. When businesses violate the rules that keep Colorado great and keep our citizens healthy, they should be reported and their violations should be investigated. Creating protections for the people who bravely bring these concerns to attention should be a logical next step.

Comment: We experienced a budget shortfall and anticipate another for the next fiscal year, because of the Coronavirus recession and TABOR. I believe that we need to be prepared to consider ways to mitigate the budget shortage. TABOR makes it difficult to open new revenue streams, but I believe that new revenue that we collect should come mainly from bigger corporations and not from hardworking individuals.

Comment: There’s a reason why no other state in the country has a law like TABOR. They’ve seen what we are dealing with and don’t want to impose that on themselves. Repealing TABOR should be a top priority for Democrats in Colorado. TABOR forces us to not save and to kick projects down the road to when they will cost more money. It imposes a regressive tax and makes it so that we cannot be nimble and react to a changing economy.

Comment: I support the idea of a public option, but I’m not certain that the ways we have come up with are viable options for Colorado. We don’t have the money to administer the program with state funds, so the idea was to force insurance companies to offer a product they don’t want to offer. It would help some customers, but I’m not certain that it would be a solution that would truly benefit everyone in Colorado or end up lowering costs for everyone. I believe that until we have the resources available to implement a public option program at the state level, our best option is to continue to support a public option as a federal initiative.

Comment: I have already supported and successfully passed policies that make prescription drugs more affordable, and I will continue to do so in my second term. I have heard the stories and read the facts on the costs of these prescription drugs. This affects people of all ages, from children to older adults and can be a backbreaking strain on people who simply do not have the income to pay for the medicine they need to stay healthy, and in many cases, alive.

Comment: The liability concerns that COVID presents are unprecedented. We need to navigate this new space carefully, allowing businesses that operate in good faith and under best practices to not take on undue liability, but we cannot shield bad actors from taking needless risks with the health and lives of their employees and customers.

Comment: I absolutely believe we need to take additional action to protect disenfranchised voters. While Colorado has above average voter turnout, it varies from under 1 in 4 people voting to over 3 out of every 4 people, depending on the region and even the neighborhood. Our goal for voter turnout is, and always has been, 100 percent. The best way to work towards achieving that goal is address those citizens who want to vote, and simply do not have the information or ability to do so.

Comment: I’m weary of this kind of action because of all of the very divisiveness being seen in government. This could be co opted by bad actors and result in changes that were unintended. I think there are other effective ways of making change.

Comment: There can be a lot of negative change that can happen in school boards that can have lasting ramifications on the future of teachers, students and our economic prosperity. Protecting these races from outside influence makes it so candidates can have an even playing field with running for these offices.