On The Issues
Colorado Workers and Economy
1
This year, Colorado raised the state minimum wage to $12/per hour. However, no more than $3.02/per hour in tip income may be used to offset the minimum wage of tipped employees. Do you support or oppose action changing how tip income is treated for minimum wage purposes and why?
Support
Comment: My kid is in the restaurant business so tipping is a frequent conversation for us. He's back kitchen and for years worked his butt off for low wages while the waiters made a bundle. His current employer has worked with a more equitable pay system and the kitchen people are now making a decent living. I live in a rural area, and I'm told many of the small restaurant workers often made very little during slow times so the offset helped them stay above water during slow times. The problem with working with dealing with tip income is that the swing among industries, restaurants, hotels, etc is very wide making an equitable system hard to come up with. I'm wide open to discussing tip income and how it is treated. I am also concerned about benefits for tipped employees as they very often get shorted on health care, paid time off and retirement contributions.
2
A 2018 NPR/Marist poll revealed 20 percent of all American workers are contract workers hired to work on a specific project or for a fixed period of time. Do you support or oppose action that would provide gig economy workers access in Colorado to unemployment benefits, workers compensation, etc., and why? Support
Comment: I would guess that number is low. As wages go up and jobs become more project oriented more people are going to be self employed in the future. For many employers it's also a way to skirt benefits. Gig workers absolutely need to have access to benefits to stay whole during downturns in the economy and to be protected while doing work that might be dangerous. It's time to examine what work in the future is going to look like. I believe we need to invest in reeducation for a big part of the workforce as the skills needed for the future are changing and many jobs will disappear.
3
This summer, Governor Polis signed into law a bill that prevents an employer from discriminating, retaliating, or taking adverse action against any worker who raises a concern about workplace health and safety practices or hazards related to a public health emergency. Do you support or oppose enacting similar legislation to protect whistleblowers who sound the alarm about waste, fraud, abuse, corruption, or dangers to public health and safety from employer retaliation? Support
Comment: Hallelujah! Workers have been taken advantage of by unscrupulous employers for years. The least we should do is protect whistleblowers. I absolutely support expanding protection for employees who come forward about other concerns. I have been a small business employer and do not take these things lightly. I can sit at the table with employers, government and workers to work out equitable solutions for all involved.
Revenue/Taxes
4
The coronavirus pandemic has upended state budgets across the country, including Colorado’s. Do you support or oppose efforts to decouple state taxes from federal taxes and change how Colorado taxes corporations to responsibly raise revenue and why?Support
Comment: It's not the greatest time to be taking tax credits away from corporations who may be barely above water. Tabor also makes it difficult take in additional revenue. Colorado's tax/fee situation has gotten so tangled and confusing that I don't believe we can fix it without a total remake of the system. Decoupling is a needed option but only part of the fix.
5
The Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) prohibits Colorado from raising taxes without voters’ consent. TABOR also prohibits Colorado from establishing a rainy day fund to weather tough economic times. Colorado’s spending on essential services like education and transportation has lagged behind the state’s economic and population growth. Colorado ranks 47th in the nation in per pupil spending. The state also currently lacks funds to enforce labor and other laws in any meaningful way. Do you support or oppose efforts to revise or get rid of TABOR and why? Support
Comment: Our efforts to circumvent Tabor have just created a miserable and totally confusing finance system that no reasonable citizen would trust. Hence, everyone votes against every effort to raise revenue and I don't blame them. We are losing our ability to hire and retain good teachers and our roads are in big trouble. We must deal with Tabor now.
Quality and Affordable Healthcare
6
This year, lawmakers introduced legislation to create a public health insurance option for our state. Do you support or oppose creating a public option in Colorado and why? Support
Comment: I work on healthcare affordability issues a lot. My mantra is that everyone should have access to affordable insurance that is good everywhere. The public option is a band aid on a bad system, but may be a bridge to more progress in affordability. I will work for affordable health care for everyone and am not opposed to private insurance being part of the solution.
7
One 2018 survey of Colorado adults found that more than half (53%) reported being either “worried” or “very worried” about affording the cost of prescription drugs. Do you support or oppose policies that would make prescription drugs more affordable and why? Support
Comment: We all hear stories of people not being able to afford their meds. My family has some multiple sclerosis and a new drug that treats it was recently announced. The cost of the drug is $83K a year. We can't continue down the road of killing people financially to save them medically. California is now going to make their own generic drugs to save money. We can do better than this to create equity in affordability of drugs. I am not crazy about the importing drugs from Canada solution either.
Keep Communities Safe during the COVID-19 Pandemic
8
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, some states and localities rushed to grant businesses immunity from civil lawsuits related to the coronavirus. Do you think businesses should be shielded from lawsuits related to COVID-19? Oppose
Comment: This is a touchy area as the bill that was proposed was very wide open to who could be sued about covid exposure. I think there should be some shielding for businesses that inherently must deal with masses of the public. If they are doing all the necessary protocol to protect their workers and the public they need to be shielded. Businesses that do not protect their workers or the public are negligent and should not be shielded.
Voting Access and Constitutional Reform
9
Do you think Colorado should take additional action to protect low-income and voters of color access to vote? Support
Comment: I'd like to see postage paid return envelopes and more access to voter registration and voter help for people without transportation and those who don't speak English.
10
In past years, legislators have introduced legislation calling for an Article V constitutional convention to address a number of reforms. Do you support or oppose legislation calling for an Article V constitutional convention? Oppose
Comment: Not at this time of unrest. I think this would make us even more divided as a country. I'm not saying we don't need to do this, but the timing is bad.
11
This year, lawmakers introduced legislation that would place for the first time campaign contribution limits on school board candidates. Do you support or oppose this legislation and why? Support
Comment: Totally support. See Douglas County.
