By Pat Hill Pikes Peak Courier
In a candidate forum last week Stephanie Luck, (R), the incumbent, faced challenger Kathryn Green (D) in the race to represent State House District 60.
Hosted by the Greater Woodland Park Chamber of Commerce, the forum was moderated by Steve Woolf with Mark Maruszak as the timekeeper.
If re-elected, Luck said she would work to reduce the cost of living in Colorado, where utility bills have risen by 40%, she said recently. In part, Luck blames the state legislature for policies that have increased prices and added to regulations for businesses.
“Bad ideas have consequences,” she said.
Luck, a lawyer, adheres to a conservative agenda when it comes to freedom of religion, the Bill of Rights, low taxes, where possible, and the free market. Her platform includes advocating for programs that strengthen families to help reduce incidents of domestic violence, many of which are caused by fatherless families, she said.
Green intends to work on rural healthcare, education and water issues for Colorado.
“I want to see that Colorado gets the water it deserves,” she said.
If elected, Green would continue talking to constituents in the district, which includes parts of Chaffee County and Pueblo West, in addition to Custer, Fremont, Pueblo and Teller counties.
“It’s 90-plus percent rural,” she said.
While Green expressed concern that people cannot live on the minimum wage, Luck said the issue should be between the employer and employee.
“It’s a contract arrangement,” Luck said. Colorado’s mandated minimum wage is $14.42 per hour.
Both candidates agreed that there are too many regulations for businesses in Colorado.
Luck outlined her “litmus test” for proposed bills in the state legislature: is it the role of government to address the issue, does it fall under the jurisdiction of the state legislature, is it constitutional?
Luck lives in Penrose and Green lives in Florence.
While Brittany Pettersen, (D), the incumbent who represents the 7th Congressional District was not at the candidate forum, her opponent, Sergei Matveyuk (R) was.
A U.S. citizen who emigrated from the Soviet Union 35 years ago, Matveyuk is a small business owner who, in the forum, praised the advantages of capitalism. Concerned about national debt, Matveyuk would, if elected, work to cut government spending.
He believes in school choice and closing the southern border. To help businesses thrive, he wants to cut taxes and impose tariffs on foreign goods and drugs made overseas.
Matveyuk speaks of achieving the American Dream, after fleeing from a country where his grandfather and father had been imprisoned.
Pettersen and Matveyuk face challengers: Patrick Bohan, a Libertarian, and Ron Tupa, Unity Party of Colorado. In his website, Bohan speaks of disgust with the current two-party system and as a “constitutionalist” wants to return the United States to being a Constitutional Republic.
The forum is available at www.woodlandparkchamber.com. To help voters learn about the issues, the chamber released its own Blue Book last week which is available on the website. The document is also available in the chamber offices in the Ute Pass Cultural Center.