The ballot for the November 8, 2022 election is VERY full. There will be 17 races on the ballot, eight judges up for re-election - all from the Colorado Court of Appeals, eleven statewide ballot initiatives and 3 county ballot initiatives. I’m going to provide information on all the candidates, the judges and the ballot initiatives before the ballots come out the week of October 17th. In this blog, I’ll cover the competitive races that are going to be on the ballot. But first, I want to discuss why we should be voting for ALL the Republican candidates. I believe all of our Republican candidates are strong candidates. Nearly all of the statewide candidates have come to Delta County and we have had the opportunity to see and hear them in person. This is so important to be able to meet these candidates and take their measure for ourselves and not through the lens or the pen of some journalist who may have a personal political agenda. I encourage everyone to take advantage of these opportunities when these candidates come to our county. But here are the general reasons why the Republican candidates are the best candidates to represent us in the US Congress, the Colorado State House and the Delta County Courthouse.
Reasons to vote Republican
Republican candidates have committed to fixing the problems created by the implementation of Deocrat policies since Jared Polis became Colorado's Governor in January 2019 and Joe Biden was sworn into office two years later. Nationally, the Republican Party came out with the Commitment to America. These are the four areas that Republicans are ging to emphasize if they are elected.
National Republican Commitment to America:
An Economy that's Strong.
A Nation that's Safe.
A Nation that's Built on Freedom.
A Government that's Accountable.
The Colorado GOP came out with teh Commitment to Colorado last year. Thre are 10 areas that Republican candidates are going to emphasize if elected to the Colorado Legislatrure. The first three items are called the Big Three and the remaiing seven are addidtional priorities for making Colorado a place where a person of any backgound can live, work, play, visit, and raise a family.
Colorado Republican Commitment to Colorado
The Big Three:
1. Make Colorado Affordable.
2. Prioritize Public Safety.
3. Expand Educational Choice.
Additional Priorities:
4. Conserve our Environment.
5. Create Jobs and Career Opportunities.
6. End the War on Rural Colorado.
7. Honor the Taxpayers Bill of Rights and Proposition 117.
8. Bring Accountability and Transparency Back to Government.
9. Build Strong Communities.
10. Protect the Rights of the Individual.
Conversely there are MANY reasons NOT VOTE for the Democrat candidates. But the Big FIVE are shown below.
Reasons to NOT VOTE for Democrats:
1. Inflation at a Forty Year High.
2. Three and half million illegal border crossings since 2021.
3. Increasing Crime.
4. Sixty percent increase in gasoline prices.
5. Record High drug overdoses (fentanyl).
Now I’ll go through the 12 competitive races that will be on our November 8, 2022 General Election ballot. Starting with the races for the United States Congress, moving to the State offices and ending with the County races. I’ll give some biographical information for the candidates, gives the issues that they are running on and then contrast that with their Democrat opponent. I believe this shows why the Republican candidates are the best candidates to vote for in this upcoming election.
U.S. Senate
Republican Candidate Joe O'Dea
O’Dea is the CEO of a Colorado construction company running for the United States Senate. Adopted at birth and raised by a Denver police officer and a loving mother, Joe became a union carpenter at a young age. Joe went to Colorado State University to study construction management but dropped out to run a construction company he started in his basement. That construction company has built billions in large-scale construction projects all around the state of Colorado. That company, Concrete Express, Inc. is now 30-years old and employs more than 300 Coloradans.
Joe O’Dea is running for the Senate to reduce inflation, cut wasteful spending and the debt, to get America refocused on energy independence, and to keep America safe and secure by supporting the police at home and by supporting a strong military and “peace through strength” abroad. Joe is a life-long Coloradoan who knows Colorado and wants to represent the interests of all Coloradoans.
For more information on Joe go to his website: www.joeodea.com
Democrat candidate Michael Bennet
In 13 years as a U.S. Senator, he has only passed one bill he was the main sponsor of. Contrast this with the last Republican Senator Cory Gardner who passed 11 bills in 6 years. Michael Bennet supported the disastrous pullout from Afghanistan and voted for the "Inflation Reduction Act" that has actually caused inflation to soar in the U.S. and Colorado. Bennet has stood by while drug trafficking continues to pour across our southern border and into Colorado. Michael Bennet votes with Joe Biden 98% of the time. Michael Bennet is the son of a diplomat and was born in India. He was raised in Chevy Chase, Maryland and went to St. Albans School in Washington D.C. then attended Yale Law School. Michael Bennet is a Washington insider, who represents the Democrat elites. Have you ever had a chance to meet and talk to Michael Bennet? I do not know if he has ever come to Delta County. Joe O’Dea came to Delta County and spent time at the DCRCC Percs and Politics on February 28, 2022. I am grateful that he took the time meet with us here in Delta County. I believe this shows that Joe O’Dea realizes that his constituents include rural Colorado and not just the Front Range urban corridor.
Congressional District (CD) 3
Republican Candidate Lauren Boebert
Lauren Boebert is the incumbent Representative for Congressional District 3. Lauren became the first mom to represent Colorado’s Third District in Congress after unseating five-term incumbent Congressman Scott Tipton in the Republican Primary in 2020. In the General Election she defeated her Democrat opponent Diane Mitsch-Bush, despite being outspent nearly 2-1. Lauren’s historic victory showed that no amount of money can beat good, old-fashioned grassroots enthusiasm and hard work. She is running for her second term.
Lauren was the founder and former operator of Shooters Grill, a restaurant that earned national notoriety for staff that proudly open carry as they serve their customers. She gained additional recognition in September 2019 by attending presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke’s rally to tell him directly: “Hell, no, you won’t take our guns.”
A Coloradoan living on the Western Slope, Lauren is active in her church and has spent years counseling at-risk women at the local jail, encouraging them to become self-sufficient and productive members of society who do not depend on government assistance.
Lauren’s husband, Jayson, has worked his entire adult life in oil and gas fields, primarily in Western Colorado. They are the proud parents of four boys.
In the time Boebert has served in Congress, she was able to secure the following appropriations for rural Colorado:
$1.8 billion for Community Health Centers that provide medical care to rural communities.
$137.6 million for water conservation and delivery for the Bureau of Reclamation to combat Western US drought and deliver clean water to rural Colorado.
Fully fund the Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program. More than 55% of the 3rd Congressional District is federal land, so these PILT payments are critical to rural counties to fund services like education and law enforcement(PILT payments are monies paid to counties by the US government to compensate for the loss of property taxes due to federal ownership).
$1.3 million to the US Forest Service to address bark beetle infestations in Colorado.
$10 million for the Bureau of Indian Affairs Irrigation Fund.
$1 million for the Wolf-Livestock Loss Demonstration Program .
Delayed implementation of Electronic Logging Devises for Livestock haulers.
In addition, she accomplished the following:
Led the bi-partisan effort to keep the Bureau of Land Management’s Western Headquarters in Grand Junction.
Worked to include weather data from the San Luis Valley’s new radar system into the National Weather Service system to improve forecasting in that Valley.
Helped secure $11.6 million in Emergency Relief funding to reopen I-70 through Glenwood Canyon in 2021.
Lauren also has a “Contract with Colorado” that spells out her positions. The Contract includes the following areas: 1) America First, 2) Constitution and Bill of Rights, 3) Limited Government, 4) Free Markets,5) Life, 6) Liberty, 7) Strong Borders, 8) Energy, 9) Fiscal Responsibility, 100 School Choice and 11) Leadership. See her website, shown below, for more details.
Lauren Boebert’s website: https://laurenforcolorado.com
Democrat candidate Adam Frisch
Adam Frisch is a 55-year-old former New York currency trader. He attended CU and graduated with a degree in economics in 1990. He moved to the Western Slope in 2002 and resides in Aspen. He is married to Katy Tresness Frisch, they have two children. In the Club 20 debate with Congresswoman Boebert on September 10, 2022, Frisch either attacked the Congresswoman’s personality or responded to the panelists questions that he needed to “figger” the issue out. Frisch also promotes himself as a “moderateI and non-partisan” who was an Unaffiliated voter until he changed his registration this year to run as a Democrat. However, the Boebert campaign found a New York Voter Registration form from 1992 when Frisch registered as a Democrat. Is he being untruthful or forgetful? Either way it indicates a problem. Frisch also states he won’t be beholden to Nancy Pelosi or the Democrat Party if he is elected, but representatives depend on the Party leader to get Committee assignments and bills brought out of Committees to the Floor of the House. If you buck the Party Leader you won’t get a good committee assignment and you won’t get any bills introduced onto the House Floor. don’t believe we need another “Elite” in Washington. Adam Frisch made a fortune as a currency trader in Ney York, married a wealthy easterner and lives in the wealthiest city in Colorado. He is NOT a regular Coloradoan just trying to make a living here in Colorado and raise a family – No matter how he tries to portray himself. There is no way he can truly represent the people of CD3.
Colorado Governor
Republican Candidate Heidi Ganahl
Heidi is best known as the founder of Camp Bow Wow, where she turned a lifelong passion for dogs into the largest pet care franchise in the world. Under Heidi’s leadership, the $150 million brand hit the Inc. 500/5000 list five years in a row and has grown to hundreds of franchises across the U.S. and Canada. Heidi also founded its sister charity, the Bow Wow Buddies Foundation, which rehomed over 10,000 pups and helped franchisees raise over a million dollars for animal health causes during her tenure. She has also faced extraordinary adversity in her life, beginning with the loss of her husband at the age of 27. Heidi’s entrepreneurial spirit helped her pick herself up and build Camp Bow Wow. It also inspired her to build SheFactor—a digital and live community that aims to impact young women by empowering them to pursue a life that they love.
She is a statewide elected official, serving on the University of Colorado Board of Regents, which oversees a $5 billion budget and over 30,000 employees. She has chaired the finance committee, the audit committee, the search committee for the new President of CU and led major initiatives around free speech, diversity and addressing the cost of college. She has a passion for keeping the American dream alive for future generations. Heidi is an author, inspirational speaker, community leader and philanthropist, having served on numerous boards around pets, entrepreneurship, women’s leadership and education.
She is married to Jason Ganahl, a BBQ Champ and restaurateur. Heidi has four children – Tori, Hollie, and twins Jack and Jenna ranging in age from 9 to 26, a lab Henry and two rescue kitties Daryl and Haley!
Ganahl is promoting four areas in her campaign:
Safety.
Return to law and with a strong parole board, truth in sentencing, and bail reform that does not allow for the release of repeat offenders.
End Colorado’s status as a “sanctuary state” to combat the flow of fentanyl.
Recriminalize fentanyl possession in any amount.
Get rid of personal recognizance bonds.
Address addiction with compassion for all involved, including more access to care but with consequences for criminal behavior.
End public drug use, prosecute criminal behavior, use outcome-based funding models and clean-up our streets and parks to stop rampant homelessness.
Colorado Freedom.
The cost of living is out of control in Colorado. Heidi will put more money back in the pockets of Coloradans by eliminating the individual state income tax and cutting the gas tax in half while still fixing the roads.
Cut the size of the state government 10% per year in her first term as governor. Under Governor Polis, the size of Colorado’s government has grown nearly 25% and the state budget has doubled in the last 10 years.
Respect both religious and civil liberties. Allow religious organizations to decide who they will marry while also respecting the right of same-sex couples to marry.
Eliminate State mandates. Prioritize incentives for smart development and reduce the red tape preventing affordable housing.
Restore voter confidence with increased transparency, accountability and oversight.
Family.
Take real action to address our state’s mental health crisis and tragic teen suicide rates. We can accomplish this by shifting to outcome-based funding models, using emergency authority to add mobile response units and thousands of beds for treatment, and launching a recruiting and training effort to support professionals.
She is pro-life with exceptions for the rare and terrible instances of rape, incest, and the health and life of the mother and child. She feels the current late-term abortion law signed by Jared Polis should be repealed and replaced.
To address the huge gaps in learning and better partner with parents, we will work to fund the family, not the system. We must ensure transparency in the curriculum and boost fundamentals like reading, writing, and math.
Make critical reforms to our family courts and welfare system will help our children thrive.
Colleges and universities should be held accountable for a student’s success and not be permitted to hyperinflate the cost of a degree. Heidi opposes President Biden’s student debt relief – hardworking Coloradans should not incur the debt of others.
Rural Colorado.
The environment is important to all Coloradans. An all-of-the-above energy approach will ensure we have affordable energy that is clean and safe. Heidi will get the energy industry back to work.
Protect farmers, ranchers, and property owners’ mineral and water rights.
fix the roads across our state. We must ensure that Coloradans can get to and from work, our ski areas, and the beautiful Western Slope. View Heidi’s Transportation Plan on her website: Heidi's Transportation Plan • Heidi for Governor
Manage our forests, aggressively to address fires.
Develop broadband in gap areas and create employment opportunities for rural Colorado so children can stay in their hometowns.
For more information on Heidi check out her website: https://www.heeidiforgovernor.com
Democrat Candidate Jared Polis
Heidi is running against Democrat incumbent Jared Polis because of the poor job he has done over the past four years.- Some of the things he has done that has harmed Colorado are as follows. He signed 85 taxes and fees into law in 3 years; decriminalized fentanyl, cocaine, heroin, and meth; appointed people to his parole board that let a child sex offender out on the street after serving only a portion of his sentence and he reoffended immediately; worked to pass a ballot initiative that would have taken away TABOR refunds; raised the gas tax; under his governorship, Colorado is #1 in the nation for auto theft, cocaine use, and bank robberies, #2 for increase in fentanyl overdose deaths, #3 worst crime rate in the nation, and has the highest rate of inflation since Biden took office -- 15.6% since January 2021. We are also in the top 10 states for homelessness and for youth suicide.
Colorado Lieutenant Governor
Republican Candidate Danny Moore
Danny Moore served 24 years in the United States Navy before retiring in 2005. He served in several leadership positions throughout his Naval career. His final assignment was as the Senior Enlisted Advisor within the Aerospace Data Facility Colorado, where he was responsible for the growth and development of 3,800 military and civilian personnel. He was only the second Navy personnel and black male to hold the position of Senior Enlisted Advisor in the organization’s history. Mr. Moore received numerous military awards, the highest being the Meritorious Service Medal and the National Security Agency Director Distinguished Service Medal.
Mr. Moore has over 19 years of leadership experience in the aerospace and defense industry. He has served as Program Manager and Director of Global Operations for British Aerospace International, overseeing a business line of over a quarter billion dollars in value. Mr. Moore is the President and Owner of DeNOVO Solutions, LLC and Thornberry Consulting, LLC, Black-owned/Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business providing scientific, engineering, technical, and operational support services to the Department of Defense. The two companies operate in Colorado, Maryland, Virginia, Washington DC, New Mexico, Mississippi, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Mr. Moore has nearly 43 years of operational and business experience in intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance.
There are a number of reasons Danny Moore says he accepted the call from Heidi Ganahl, the Republican nominee for Colorado governor, to serve as her running mate and seek to be lieutenant governor, but it boils down to just one word. “Opportunity - Opportunity for our children to learn and compete on the highest national level. Opportunity for people to start families and buy a home. Opportunity for people to do more than exist, but have opportunities.”
As lieutenant governor, Moore has said he would operate within the framework of the military, viewing Ganahl as the commanding officer and himself as the executive officer charged with helping to accomplish the governor’s mission. Among some of those priorities, Moore says, are crime, water and cost of living, which he adds the current leadership has “made no effort to solve.
Mr. Moore is a graduate of numerous Navy leadership and technical schools. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Organizational Management from Colorado Christian University and an MBA in International Business from the University of Phoenix. He is PMP (Program Management Professional), and SAFe® Scaled Agilist certified. Mr. Moore is a resident of Centennial, Colorado. Mr. Moore is married to Mrs. Susan Rutt and has two adult children.
Democrat Candidate Dianne Primavera
Dianne I. Primavera is the 50th Lieutenant Governor of Colorado. She was previously served as the Colorado State Representative for the 33rd Colorado House District (Currently Broomfield to Erie area) from 2007 to 2011, and again from 2013 to 2017. Born in Denver, Colorado. Primavera earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from Regis University in 1972 and a master's degree in vocational rehabilitation counseling from the University of Northern Colorado in 1975. Ms. Primavera shares the responsibility of the failures of the Polis Administration – increased crime, unaffordable housing and increased drug use resulting in record overdose deaths in our State.
Colorado Attorney General
Republican Candidate John Kellner
John Kellner grew up in a military family - his father served in the US Marine Corps for 27 years. He graduated from the University of Florida with degrees in business and Spanish. After graduation he earned a commission to the Marine Corps as a Second Lieutenant. He enrolled in law school at the University of Colorado and graduated in 2006. He served as a judge advocate (JAG) in the Marines for 5 ½ years. He later deployed to Afghanistan where he helped local government leaders resolve conflicts in the absence of a formal justice system, helped to build schools for girls who were previously denied access to education, worked to train the local police force, and participated in operational planning for military operations and local elections. Kellner left active duty in 2011 and returned to Colorado to work as a deputy district attorney in the Boulder County’s DA office. He accepted a commission in the Marine Corps Reserves, where he still works as a Lieutenant Colonel, currently serving as operational attorney law attorney for NORAD and USNORTHCOM.
John worked as a prosecutor in the Boulder County District Attorney’s Office before joining the 18th Judicial District in 2013 to start a Cold Case Unit. In 2016 he was named “Prosecutor of the Year” by the Colorado District Attorney’s Council. He continues to serve in the Marine Corps Reserve as a Lieutenant Colonel.
John currently serves as the elected District Attorney for Colorado’s 18th Judicial District where he’s worked every day to improve and protect the Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert, and Lincoln County communities.
The issues that John Kellner believes that need to be addressed by the Attorney General are establish tougher penalties for repeat offenders and keep violent criminals behind bars where they belong, ensure victims and law-abiding citizens are prioritized over offender, address the deadly fentanyl crisis plaguing our country, support our law enforcement agencies and fight to hold scammers and fraudsters accountable for crimes against Coloradoans.
Additional information is available on John Kellner’s website: https://www.johnkellner.com
Democrat Candidate Phil Weiser
Philip Jacob Weiser was elected as Colorado Attorney General in 2018, defeating Republican George Brauchler. Prior to that he was a professor at the CU law school, from 1999 to 2009. In 2009 he joined the Obama Administration as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Antitrust Division. In 2011 he was appointed as Dean at the CU law school. Issues facing Weiser are crime rates in Colorado being at a 25-year high, with Colorado being ranked as Number one in the Country for car thefts and bank robberies and fentanyl overdoses. Weiser priorities are settling with opioid companies, advocating for firearm restrictions and fighting for consumer protections.
Colorado Secretary of State
Republican Candidate Pam Anderson
Pam Anderson is a highly qualified candidate, leader and an expert of every part of the election process. First elected to non-partisan city clerk for Wheat Ridge, she then went on to serve eight years as the Republican Clerk and Recorder for Jefferson County. This is no small feat as it is one of the largest and most complex elections to run, in Colorado. Anderson has a reputation of professionalism and fairness from both sides of the aisle and increased access, efficiency and accountability across several divisions. She was the first to implement ballot sorting equipment in the state which became a standard for many counties. Pam has contributed her voice, in the successful effort to modernize and secure Colorado elections. She has been very active in the Colorado Republican Party, including serving as a PCP in the Jefferson County Republican Committee, run elections at the Colorado Republican State Assembly and served as Director of the Colorado County Clerks Association.
It is Pam’s hope to make the office less political and focus on reassuring voters of all political stripes that Colorado’s election system is safe and secure. “I started seeing a really disturbing trend of folks running for this office for more political reasons than the reasons I got into it as a professional and decided that it was time to step up and restore some of that trusted professionalism back to the office.” Anderson comes from a long line of accomplished civil servants, who guided her commitment to public service, the rule of law and hard work. Pam and her husband, Jay, are business owners and the proud parents of two.
Additional information is available on Pam’s website: https://andersonforsos.com
Also see these sites:
Democrat Candidate Jena Griswold
Voting against Jenna Griswold is not only logical but necessary for the future of our state elections. Griswold is running less on the duties of her office and more on getting elected to higher office and her allegiance to her far-left views. Jenna, is a hyper partisan willing to tow the Democrat line, at all costs, even if it violates election laws and politicizes the office of Secretary of State. Her office also used one million dollars, of taxpayer funds, to run political commercials for her campaign. The money comes from an account that is to be used for election equipment and software updates. This begs the question, how is this legal?
Colorado State Treasurer
Republican Candidate Lang Sias
Our Republican candidate for State Treasurer visited Delta County on June 25th . He came across as a very strong candidate. He is retired military – a former Navy FA-18 pilot and served a distinguished career of 27 years, on active and reserved duty. He was an actual Topgun instructor at Miramar Air Station before they moved the Navy Fighter Weapons School to Fallon Nevada in 1996. Lang attended the London School of Economics and received a law degree at the University of Michigan. He served as State Representative for HD 27 (Jefferson County), from 2015-2019. He ran for Lieutenant Governor in 2019, with Walker Stapleton running for Governor. He has been working as a pilot for Fed Ex since he left office in 2019.
Sias feels a gut-level loyalty to small businesses and the families they support. His passion for entrepreneurship continued as an attorney at the Colorado offices of Cooley LLP. Lang will use the office to determine the economic impact of proposed policies and restore balance to state government. I think the climate has changed significantly, particularly on economic issues,” Sias said. “And those just happen to be the issues that are in my wheelhouse. I’m just going to ask voters: ‘How are you liking the economy?’” We need candidates that work for all Coloradans, the current State Treasurer has fallen short on more than a few fronts, Denver has ascended to the fifth least affordable city in the entire country and Colorado has dropped from 11 to number 29, as a ‘business friendly’ state.
For more information on Lang Sias visit his website at: https://siasforcolorado.com/meet-lang-sias/
Democrat Candidate David Young
Additional information is available on the following websites:
Colorado State Board of Education
The Colorado State Board of Education supervises academic standards and accreditation for the 1900+ public schools in Colorado. The State Board of Education is growing from seven to nine seats, and political control of the body that sets education policy could be at stake in November’s election. The addition of two seats is due to Colorado’s growing population — one new seat representing the new 8th Congressional District that includes Adams and Weld counties and another statewide at-large seat to maintain an odd number of board members. This change is introducing new dynamics into the election Delta County will be voting on the statewide-at-large seat.
Republican Candidate Dan Maloit
Dan Maloit is a family man and heavily active in his community. Parents were exposed to the education their children were receiving while remote learning, and they didn’t like what they saw. Maloit has a vision of higher-caliber, academic focus, on non-dogmatic, non-ideological education for all the children of Colorado. Dan organized groups in the fall of 2020 around metro-Denver and the Front Range, leading the fight, to reopen our schools, post-pandemic. Maloit also organized support for kid-focused parent candidates for school boards across Colorado.
Dan has a military background serving the Colorado National Guard and Airborne Division. He earned his Green Beret and served in the 5th Special Forces Group. Dan left the military in 2015 and went on the work in healthcare and medical device industry for 6 years.
Dan believes that every citizen deserves to have their voice heard in the halls of government. Elected public servants are responsible for maintaining a strong moral compass and focusing on the needs of the people instead of their personal ambitions for the next election. Dan Maloit, “I’ve been traveling the state listening to the concerns of parents, students, and educators and most everyone agrees that it’s time to refocus on our kids—not politics.”
For more information visit Dan’s website: https://www.danmaloitforcolorado.com
Democrat Candidate Kathy Plomer
Kathy Plomer lists academic excellence, respecting teachers and accountability & transparency as her priorities. However, she defends the decisions to shut the schools down during the Covid pandemic and she is noticeably vague on subject matter issues such as critical-race theory and comprehensive sex-ed curricula.
Additional information is available on the following sites:
Colorado House District 54
Republican Candidate Matt Soper
Representative Soper is a 4th generation Coloradan who was born and raised in Delta, Colorado. He attended Mesa State College and graduated with a B.A. He subsequently earned two law degrees from University of Edinburgh and University of New Hampshire Law School. He subsequently became owner of three small businesses and served as editor and writer for two law journals.
Matt has served as representative for HD 54 since 2018, this will be his 3rd term. In the legislature Matt has been effective at advancing bipartisan, common-sense ideas to fight crime, protect Western Slope water and farmers, and improve rural access to healthcare. When issues attack our Western Slope, our way of life, or our principals of liberty, Matt’s colleagues will tell you there is no fiercer fighter than Matt Soper. In the 2021-2022 session he served on the Committee on Legal Services, Finance Committee, Energy and Environment Committee and the Health & Insurance Committee.
Additional information is available on Matt Soper’s website: https://www.electmattsoper.com
Democrat Candidate Alicemarie Slaven-Emond
Alicemarie Slaven-Emond is a family nurse practitioner at Delta Health and Wellness Center. She received a BS degree from Colorado State University, a BSN from Montana State University and a MSN from University of Colorado. She ran against Matt Soper in the 2020 election and received 26% of the 45,827 votes that were cast. I could find no new information on Ms. Slaven-Emond, only information from the 2020 election.
Colorado House District 58
Republican Candidate Marc Catlin
Marc Catlin currently serves as the State Representative for House District 58. Representative Catlin is currently serving his second year of his third term. The counties that now make up the 58th district, after redistricting are: eastern Delta County, Dolores, Gunnison, Hinsdale, Montezuma, Montrose, San Miguel and Ouray Counties. Catlin is seeking reelection, which will be for his fourth term. This is one of the largest districts in the State Legislature. Marc was born and raised in Montrose, Colorado, where he has spent most of his life on the family farm. The 58th district has always been his home.
Marc served on the Agriculture, Livestock & Water Committee as Vice-Chairman and on the Transportation & Local Government Committee. The issues Marc is most concerned about are the natural resources in HD 58, the transportation needs of the District and education of our children. Marc is the most knowledgeable legislator on Colorado water in the State House.
Additional information is available on Matt Soper’s website: https//www.catlinforcolorado.com
Democrat Candidate Kevin Kuns
The Democrat candidate for HD 58 is Kevin Kuns. He was born in eastern Wyoming. He owned an executive management search firm from 2001 to 2021, when it closed due to Covid 19. He and his wife, Bobbie, have resided in Montrose since 2014. He has been Chairman of the Montrose Democrat Party since 2019.
He is running on climate change, calling for all users of Colorado River water to make sacrifices to meet the over allocation of the waters in the Colorado River. Other issues that are his priorities are increased funding for public education, increased funding for Mental Health services, increased funding for affordable housing. He is pro-abortion and supports gun control legislation.
Colorado Senate District 7
(Mesa County and the Cedaredge area of Delta County)
Republican Candidate Janice Rich
Janice is the current State Representative for HD 55 (City of Grand Junction). She has served two terms as HD55 Representative in the State Legislature, serving on the Appropriations, Capital Development, Finance and Transportation & Local Government Committees. The last committee as Ranking Member. Prior to being elected to the State Legislature, Janice Rich served as Mesa County Treasurer from 2011 through 2018. And before being elected Treasurer, Janice served two terms as Mesa County Clerk & Recorder. In her two terms as HD 55 Representative in the State Legislature, Janice got 37 bills passed in the State Legislature and signed by the Governor.
Janice is running for the SD7 seat to replace Senator Ray Scott, who was term-limited. Colorado statutes limit state senators to 2 four-year consecutive terms. Janice has be very active in meeting SD7 voters here in Delta County since she declared her candidacy. She has informed me that she plans to be at Applefest in Cedaredge.
Additional information is available on Janice’s website: https://www.janicerichforcolorado.com
Democrat Candidate David Stahlke
According to a September 25, 2022 article in the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, David Stahlke moved to Grand Junction from Denver about six years ago. Other than learning that Stahlke is 68 years old, I could find almost no information on him. He also did not participate in the Club 20 Debates in Grand Junction on September 10th.
Delta County Commissioner District 1
Republican Candidate Mike Lane
Mike Lane is a Delta Colorado native, whose family history is steeped in farming and agriculture. The name “Lane” is synonymous with the Delta Sales Yard where Mike worked alongside his dad and uncle for many years. Mike enjoyed a lengthy career with Halliburton before retiring. Mike was elected to the Delta County Board of Commissioners in 2018; he served as the Board Chair in 2021. As a Delta County Commissioner, Mike is one of three individuals who comprise the governing board of Delta County. The Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) has administrative and policy-making authority. The Commissioners serve as the County Board of Equalization and the Delta County Board of Health Services. The BoCC has the authority to levy taxes, make appropriations, authorize bonds, appoint citizens to boards, authorize licenses, acquire and dispose of property and enter into cooperative agreements with other governmental agencies. The BoCC is also responsible for the County budget, construction and management of roads within the County Road system and County owned and operated airports and landfills and takes final action on recommendations by the planning commission. Some of Mikes’s accomplishments since he was elected to the BOCC in 2018 are the development of the County Land Use Plan, approving the Solar Array in Peach Valley and helping get approval for the flag pole for the U.S. flag along U.S. Highway 50 near the Delta – Montrose County Line.
Democrat Candidate Dick Gilmore
The Democrat candidate for County Commissioner, District 1, is Dick Gilmore. Gilmore ran against Mike Lane in the 2018 election. He received 4,801 votes (32.23%) of the 14,904 ballots that were cast. Gilmore is running on the issues of climate change, affordable housing, spending more money on the county libraries, embracing change and he was endorsed by Hotchkiss resident Kim Shea. Gilmore states on his website that the “right to bear arms” was inserted in the Bill of Rights by southern slave owners who wanted unfettered use of possess to round up runaway slaves. He also notes that he believes both women and men should have full and equal bodily autonomy, free from government interference. Obviously, these are euphemistic phrases for gun control and abortion. These are not issues that the County Commissioners can legally address, so it is interesting that Mr. Gilmore chose to put them on his candidate website.
The following are the Republican candidates that will be on the November ballot but are running unopposed in the election. These are all incumbent candidates, except for Jolene George, who is running for County Assessor following the retirement of long-time assessor Debbie Griffith. For more information on Jolene see the entry on County Assessor below.
Delta County Sheriff
Republican candidate Mark Taylor - Unopposed
Delta County Clerk
Republican candidate Terri Stephenson - Unopposed.
Delta County Assessor
Republican candidate Jolene George - Unopposed. Jolene has 16 years of experience working in real estate appraisal and property assessment in Delta County. She is a licensed Colorado Certified General Appraiser. (This is the highest level of licensure that can be obtained in the state.) Her education credentials include a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Administration and an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Accounting. She is a member of the International Association of Assessing Officers
Delta County Treasurer
Republican candidate Lisa Tafoya – Unopposed.
Delta County Coroner Republican candidate Lance Boren – Unopposed.
Delta County Surveyor There are no candidates for this race.
So, you can see this is a VERY FULL ballot. And this is just the candidates. I will put out another blog this next week on the Judges and the Ballot Measures. Remember, it is critical that you vote and vote STRAIGHT REPUBLICAN. These are strong candidates. If you are tempted to vote for a Third-Party candidate or a Write-in candidate, remember voting for one of these NEVER results in that candidate winning but ALWAYS helps the opposition candidate to win. A vote for Danielle Neuschwanger is the same as voting for Jared Polis. And a vote for a write-in for County Commissioner is the same as a vote for Dick Gilmore. Be smart and vote for the Republican candidates that are going to turn things around and bring us back to the state and country that Colorado and the United States are capable of being.
David Bradford Delta County Republican Central Committee Chairman
PS – A note on the information used to write this blog. I used Ballotpedia, the Colorado Legislature website, candidate websites and newspaper articles that have been posted on the Internet to pull this article together. I am simply trying to present sufficient information for voters to make informed decisions on the candidates.
PSS – I also would like to thank Felicia Lucero who contributed some of the research to this blog. db
Bradford - You are truly shameless. You have supported untruths and vicious behavior. I wonder what would be said of your ethics. It's truly sad when you have to tell everyong how to vote. Your research is in complete especially when you say you can't find out about my qualifications. The "gaslighting" you are promoting tells me a great deal about your need for power and not for supporting the Consitution. Feel very sorry for the decent Republicans you "ramrod". Win or loss, be assured we are watching and will hold you all accountable! - AliceMarie Slaven-Emond, APRN
Thank You