If she’s elected to the state Senate, Nancy Todd said she’d want to ask voters to raise the Legislature’s TABOR limits to be able to keep more tax revenue for Colorado’s financially unstable higher education system. Lawmakers would have to promise taxpayers that the increased revenue would be spent on specific initiatives like upgrading facilities or purchasing educational materials, she said. She’s a strong supporter of civil unions, and was disappointed that the bill stalled in a Republican-dominated “kill committee” last year, calling it an “injustice to the people of Colorado and a break in democracy.” She’d support a civil unions bill next year. She’d propose ways to help people save money,
including offering a loan forgiveness program for adults who want to go back to school and switch careers. The government could help pay for schooling for an aspiring nurse or health care practitioner, but they’d be required to work in a rural, high-needs area, she said. In the wake of the July 20 theater shootings, Todd said it’s necessary to keep track of who is purchasing large quantities of ammunition, but she’s not yet set on proposing any new gun laws. The government shouldn’t infringe too much on gun owners’ rights, she said. “We need to be reasonable,” she said. When it comes to health care, she said she expects legislators to be knowledgeable in the Affordable Care Act. She maintains that it’ll be a top priority for state lawmakers to help educate Colorado residents about the new federal law and how they can comply. She has already developed a resource guide for residents who are interested in learning more about the issue. She supports offering undocumented immigrant students in-state tuition. “Kids that have never known another country and have lived in the United States all their lives, I believe have every bit as much right to higher education,” she said.
John Lyons said if he’s elected to the Senate seat he won’t support a civil unions bill next year and he doesn’t have any intention of creating any new gun laws. “If people have little regard for human life, no gun law is going to stop them from killing somebody,” he said. If he’s elected, he plans to talk to local business owners and ask them what regulations are stifling the way they do business. “We need to streamline the regulations and make sure they make sense,” he said. He wants to either reduce, modify or eliminate some regulations like the personal business property tax. He wouldn’t be in favor of offering undocumented students in-state tuition for college because they’re not citizens of the United States. He also wants to figure out why higher education is so expensive, and then find a way to make it more affordable. “We seem to be just fixing the symptoms of that problem instead of the problem,” he said.
Lyons said state needs to focus on liberties and jobs
Over the past couple of years, Senate District 28 candidate John Lyons has had a few epiphanies.
First, the Aurora Republican decided he wanted to ditch his career as a diesel mechanic, which he had been working at for nearly three decades.
He enrolled at the Community College of Aurora in a step toward fulfilling his newfound dream of becoming a high school history teacher.
Then, in January of this year, his aspirations broadened, and he decided to seek public office.
A longtime Republican, Lyons said he didn’t like the political trajectory of the state. “I asked myself whether my kids were going to have the same liberties and freedoms that I had growing up, and the answer I kept coming up with is no,” Lyons said. “This opportunity presented itself to where I wanted to do something about it, instead of sitting there screaming at my TV. I wanted to make a difference.”
What he wants most for his two children, ages 8 and 10, mirrors his hopes for Senate District 28.
“I want everybody to have good, high-paying jobs, and quite frankly they’re not out there right now,” he said.
If elected, his focus would be mainly on job growth and fiscal accountability.
Lyons is running against Democrat Nancy Todd. Since Todd is currently a state Representative for House District 41, she has a competitive edge over Lyons simply because of her name recognition. But Lyons is confident that his life experiences and hopes for the district will make him attractive to voters.
Joy Hoffman, chairwoman of the Arapahoe County Republicans, said Lyons has a good shot at winning the November election, even though this is his first bid for political office.
“I don’t think John being a newcomer is disadvantageous,” she said. “This year is a whole new ball game. I think the race will be closer and I think John has a very good chance of taking that seat.”
Lyons, 44, grew up in a small town called Westbrookville in southern New York. It didn’t have a single stop light.
“My wife and I always joke about who came from the smaller town,” said Lyons, whose wife grew up in Dove Creek, Colorado.
When he was 18 he enlisted in the U.S. Army and spent four years in Fort Ord, Calif., working as a truck mechanic. Then, in 1989, he moved to Denver to attend the master technician program at the Automotive and Diesel College.
Building engines for diesel trucks had always been a passion of his.
“It’s like a jigsaw puzzle,” he said.
Over the years, he has worked for Miller Brothers Trucking, UPS freight, and Altec Industries.
He ran a youth bowling league from 1993 to 2000 and discovered a profound enthusiasm for helping kids learn the game. He decided to parlay his interest in teaching kids about bowling to a new career that would allow him to teach high school classes full-time.
He’s now getting his teaching certificate at the Community College of Aurora and hopes to eventually teach high school history classes at Cherry Creek Schools District.
“It’s hard to explain, but when you teach a child a skill, they have that certain glow about them when they get it,” he said. “That is such a rewarding experience.”
Todd wants to bring listener’s ear to state Senate
On balmy summer days, state Senate candidate Nancy Todd could be seen knocking on prospective voters’ doors, perspiring and persevering in between buying milkshakes for her husband, Terry, who was recovering from surgery.
Todd is a seasoned state House lawmaker but this summer brought about challenges in the campaign, not only because the boundaries of Senate District 28 include thousands more people than her old House district.
A balance had to be struck this go-around between work and caring for her husband, who lost a primary race in House District 41 shortly after being diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Through it all, she has found happiness along the sometimes grueling campaign trail — in the kindness of a stranger, a pretty, flower-lined front yard of a neighbor’s house, and the ideas she walks away with after having listened to potential constituents’ concerns.
“I really look for those bright moments along the way,” she said.
She doesn’t regret entering the state Senate race because she says she’s committed to her community. But the decision to do so didn’t come easily.
“I did some very serious soul-searching about it because there’s a price to pay,” she said. “It wasn’t the slam-dunk everyone just assumed it would be.”
Elected in 2004, Todd has served eight years in the state House and is now term-limited there. She’s now running for the Senate seat against Republican John Lyons, a newcomer candidate who spent almost three decades working as a diesel mechanic and is currently studying to be a high school history teacher.
Todd, a retired elementary and middle school teacher, grew up in Lawrence, Kan., and her upbringing helped forge the path to her career. Her mother was a schoolteacher and her father was the longest-serving superintendent of schools in Lawrence, a city with more than 88,000 people.
“Most kids sat around the dinner table and talked about weather, sports and music, but we talked about bond issues and mill levies,” she said.
She graduated from the University of Kansas in 1970 with an elementary education degree, then packed her boxes full of Jayhawks collectibles and moved to Colorado to work for the Cherry Creek School District that same year. She has also taught at Eastridge Elementary School in Aurora, and Belleview Elementary and West Middle School in Greenwood Village.
She’s sponsored and helped carry several education bills through the lawmaking process over her eight years as state Representative. Those include the Concurrent Enrollment Programs Act that broadens access and improves the quality of concurrent enrollment programs, where a high school student can be also enrolled in a college or university class, and the Teacher Identifier System Act, which improves teaching and student learning and rewards and develops the careers of teachers.
The population of the Senate district, which is currently represented by term-limited state Sen. Suzanne Williams, D-Aurora, is about 140,600 people, according to state documents. About 31 percent of the 64,719 registered voters are Republican and about 37 percent are Democratic. The rest are mostly unaffiliated.
People in the district will be attracted to her proven leadership and experience, said John Buckley, chairman of the Arapahoe County Democratic Party.
“I think she’s been a strong leader for Aurora and certainly has a great deal of experience in the state House, and I think that’s going to be key because so many senators are term-limited,” he said.
Todd is also confident that she’ll be able to use her experience at the Colorado Legislature as leverage in her campaign.
“I think I can bring maturity, stability and wisdom from my experience,” she said. “I also think I can bring an ability to work across the aisle, which right now I think we have to do more than ever before. We’re so stymied by partisan politics and that really bothers me a great deal.”
Colorado State Senate District 28 candidates speak for themselves
EDITOR’S NOTE: This Q&A was misprinted in the Oct. 11 edition of the Aurora Sentinel. The answers between candidates were reversed. Below are the actual answers from each candidate.
Nancy Todd – D
John Lyons-R
What makes you the most qualified candidate?
John Lyons:
I am the only candidate that understands what a lot of people are going through in these tough economic times. I have to live within my means, sometimes the kids do not get to do some fun activity. After almost thirty years as a diesel technician I am going into middle age and have to reinvent myself. I have no other political aspirations than getting elected serving my time as a public servant, getting re-elected then going back to my civilian life. With that comes an understanding of the problems and concerns of blue collar workers. I look at situations differently than most career politicians like my opponent. I look at things through the eyes of a mechanic. The way I see how to repair things is to fix the problem not the symptoms.
Nancy Todd:
I have the experience of having served as a teacher in Cherry Creek School District for 25 years, and am very familiar with education issues facing our students, teachers, administrators, as well as communities. I have served as a State representative for the past 8 years, providing me experience with the legislative process, my community, and the executive branch of government on statewide issues. I know how to work across the aisle to create solutions that serve our Colorado constituents. My experience as the chair of State Veterans and Military Affairs also provided me great opportunities to work with the secretary of state on election issues as well as military and veterans support.
Should the state revisit sentencing restrictions to reduce prison spending?
John Lyons:
No. There are consequences when laws are broken.
Nancy Todd:
We have addressed sentencing reform over the past 8 years I have served in the state legislature. By addressing this issue, we have been able to reduce the prison population and close
CSP II, thus saving money spent on corrections for the state of Colorado. I support these efforts and am very honored to have supported legislation to move us in the direction.
Would you support creating a public school voucher program?
John Lyons:
Parents need to have more choices where they want to educate their children. Choice and competition are the direction that our schools need to be heading. If parents want to send them to a private Christian school great; a conservative school, fine; a school that liberalism is taught – so be it. Ultimately it is the parents’ choice where their children go and the tax dollars should follow the child. Choices for education need to be brought down to the local level, not some far-off capital.
Nancy Todd:
I am not a supporter of using public school monies for private school vouchers. Colorado is one of the leading states for school choice and many opportunities are available for students to attend a public school outside of their own district as well as within their district. If a parent chooses to enroll their child in a private school, that is the parent’s choice and also responsibility to make that personal financial decision.
Should Colorado grant homosexuals the right to marry, create civil unions or neither?
John Lyons:
Against both (short answer). As a small government conservative it is not my place to tell people how to live their lives according to my set of morals or values. I would be no better than the liberals/ progressives that tell me how to live my life according to their set of morals or values. We need to have dignity for all without redefining marriage. There is one issue that all of us can agree upon; both gay and straight people want high paying quality jobs.
Nancy Todd:
I believe Colorado should allow legal recognition of civil unions. I voted for this legislation in the 2012 special session when it was heard in State Veterans and Military Affairs committee. Unfortunately it was not allowed to be heard on the house floor during the regular session. I do believe equal rights for those in committed relationships should be allowed in Colorado. This would be a change in the Constitution and require a vote of the people to overturn the current constitutional amendment of marriage as between one man and one woman.
With so many state “entitlements,” such as Medicaid and public schools, how can Colorado best increase spending on roads, bridges and other transportation projects?
John Lyons:
Colorado can best increase spending on entitlements by cutting waste and fraud within each program and by creating a stronger, larger tax base by creating a positive environment for jobs creation.
Nancy Todd:
The state constitution and federal law have created a fixed formula for budget items such as Medicaid, k-12 education, and corrections. With so little left over it is difficult to have much flexibility in the state budget to cover all other expenses. To make any kind of change, we need to go to the vote of the people to invest in transportation maintenance as well as expansion. In Aurora we will have that opportunity to address expansion of I-225 with 2B, which is not a tax increase, but an extension of taxes already being paid by the citizens. We need to address spending formulas in Colorado with Tabor, Amendment 23, and Gallagher in order that we have more flexibility to serve the best interests of our Colorado citizens.
Should the state increase regulation of fracking or ease off?
John Lyons:
The technology is not available to make wind and solar commercially viable without subsidies from some level of government. Developing the state’s resources while private companies improve green energy technology is where the state needs to focus its efforts. Focusing on development of our own resources will provide high paying quality jobs for the people in Senate District 28.
Nancy Todd:
I believe we are continuing to address necessary regulations for the overall safety and well-being of our citizens. We have had many opportunities to discuss the effects of noise, traffic, smell, and proximity to individual residences with a focus on the air, land, and water quality for Coloradans. Fracking is a part of our Colorado economy but it needs to be done with good will towards the neighbors most affected and an increased awareness of the decreased amounts of available water in our state.
Above all, what should the state do to improve student performance in public schools?
John Lyons:
Schools need to focus on their primary responsibility of educating the students and maintaining discipline so students can continue their education to seek out and be employed in high paying, quality jobs.
Nancy Todd:
This is an issue that affects all of us. The answers are not one silver bullet. The stronger a collaboration between parents and teachers with their child’s education, the greater chance for success for all Colorado kids! It is a combination of providing quality learning environments with qualified and quality teachers who are supported with materials, supplies, safe learning environments and time to plan and collaborate to operate at their highest level of effectiveness. Beginning with early childhood and full day kindergarten for all children is one of the best investments to improve student performance. Intervention along the way as students face challenges for extra academic support, and goal setting for students and parents to find relevancy in education and plan for post-secondary options. We have created legislation that provides opportunities for Colorado students to attend schools of their choice, enroll in post- secondary classes to receive both high school and college credit and graduate with an associate degree; raised the common core standards to align with other states across the nation; and increased the number of high school counselors to guide students and parents into planning for the future. (Answer has been trimmed for length, see the full response on aurorasentinel.com)
In what ways could, or should, Colorado step up efforts to make life for illegal immigrants inconvenient so that they would leave the state?
John Lyons:
We should not and need not make anyone’s life inconvenient or uncomfortable to evoke a response. We should be enforcing the law.
Nancy Todd:
Colorado passed some of the most stringent immigration laws in the special session of 2006. Requiring employers to not hire undocumented individuals and all workers must have ID on file were two of the requirements.
What one thing could the Legislature do to create private sector jobs?
John Lyons:
Provide a positive business environment which includes low taxes for businesses, less government interference for startup businesses. Propose legislation that will make it the responsibility of the employee to pay dues directly to the union instead of employer. Regulations from the Colorado Dept. of Public Health & Environment and E.P.A. are often complicated, ineffective and duplicated. They place undue burdens, hardships and costs on businesses. The cost associated with compliance with these regulations would allow businesses to provide more high paying quality jobs to the people within Senate District 28.
Nancy Todd:
Build a strong infrastructure with high quality transportation, education, health care, and a favorable business climate is the most important focus for our state to help create private sector jobs in Colorado. If we build it, they will come.
Should Colorado work to increase a “cooling off” period for the sale of guns and ammunition, increasing the requirement to ensure the mental health of gun buyers?
John Lyons:
Most laws and regulations make it hard for law-abiding citizens to exercise their Second Amendment rights and these same laws and regulations are ineffective against criminals. It is not law-abiding citizens that commit terrible acts of violence. It is people that have little regard for human life and contempt for our laws that commit unspeakable acts of violence. Gun control policies have not worked and will continue to fail because laws on paper cannot change what is in the human heart.
Nancy Todd:
We have gun laws that are in the books. It is making sure that those selling the guns and ammunition keep records and crosscheck the databases to prevent selling to someone who has not passed the gun permit screening. Mental health issues are not always evident to the average person. These discussions will definitely occur in the legislature after the Aurora theater shooting in July, 2012.