In a district that contrasts gritty urban life with protracted rural time, the candidates seeking House District 30 are just as starkly different and very much the same.
When talking about his stances on divisive political issues like illegal immigration and civil unions, Republican candidate Mike Sheely says he favors compassion over staunch Republican ideals. He supports civil unions, but not gay marriage.
He also wants to make it easier for illegal immigrants to obtain citizenship if they want to become U.S. citizens, but only under certain conditions.
Those sound a lot like political talking points for his Democratic opponent, Jenise May.
“We’re all immigrants,” Sheely said. If undocumented students have attended Colorado high schools and lived in the state for most of their lives, the state should help make it easier for them to become citizens so they can attend college and pay in-state tuition rates, he said.
Similarities could end there.
If he’s elected to the state Legislature, he won’t advocate for any new gun laws in the wake of the July 20 theater shootings.
“More laws would have never stopped (the alleged shooter) from doing what he did,” Sheely said.
Sheely aligns himself closer to Republican brethren on other aspects of the election.
He doesn’t think it’s the state’s responsibility to create jobs.
“The government can’t put you back to work by legislation,” he said. But he’s in favor of a program that might help retrain adult workers who want to change careers by using small business owners as teachers
When it comes to education, Sheely says the state should raise the level of skills and education needed to graduate from high school. He’s not satisfied with students scoring just above average in standardized test scores.
“Real education reform is an absolute must,” said Sheely, although he didn’t elaborate on specific ways to address the problem of the state’s dire financial budget for education
May said she would vote for and lobby others to approve a civil unions bill at the Legislature next year.
“Government shouldn’t be involved in personal decisions,” she said. Like Sheely, she wouldn’t support any new laws on gun control at the state level.
She’d help spur the Colorado economy by encouraging the state to hire Colorado employees in all bid projects. Taking a further step to the left, she is a proponent of repealing TABOR, which sets limits on how much revenue the state can take in and spend on different programs.
“By putting an artificial cap, we’ve hindered ourselves and our ability to function,” she said. She says it’s the responsibility of lawmakers to educate their constituents about how to comply with the new Affordable Care Act, and she’d do that by hosting town hall meetings several times a year.
From inside the state, Jenise May says she’s ready to lead from outside the fray
By SARA CASTELLANOS, Staff Writer
AURORA | After spending almost two decades at the executive level branch of state government, Jenise May decided late last year that she needed a change.
When Gov. John Hickenlooper took office in January 2011, she stepped down as deputy director of the Colorado Department of Human Services — a position she held for 16 years. “I just didn’t have it in me,” she said. Then, irked by the possible closure of the local Department of Motor Vehicles office and the Fletcher Post office, the Aurora resident decided to embark on her next career move.
“I said, ‘We need someone who will fight for our community.’ This area has so many needs, and I thought I could take what I learned in human services and transfer that to running for office.”
In November 2011, she launched on her inaugural campaign for elected office to represent House District 30. May grew up in Lakewood and southwest Denver. Her father owned an automobile upholstery shop near the current Martin Luther King Jr. Library on East Colfax Avenue. Her first job was at her father’s shop, and she became intimately acquainted with the city of Aurora during her formative years. Her mother worked in social services, determining whether people met the eligibility requirements for food stamps. Mary’s first full-time job was working in the human services department in Adams County. Having spent 26 years in human services, May says she feels ready for elected office. “I know how to do a budget, I know how to bring in programs on cost,” she said. “I want to take that expertise over to the Legislature.”
During her career, she’s also learned how to work with people of all backgrounds, socioeconomic statuses and ages. “When you bring people together and listen to each other, you can develop programs that work and are effective,” she said. If she were elected, her biggest priority would be to maintain a financially sound budget and prevent unfunded mandates from occurring. Although knocking on doors has taken a toll on her joints, she said it’s her favorite part of campaigning.
“I do love talking to people and listening to different views, and seeing how you can take that and make something happen,” she said.
Mike Sheely a contrast on the plains and in the political arena
By SARA CASTELLANOS, Staff Writer
The décor in Mike Sheely’s ranch house is a dichotomy between the past and present. Flowerpots adorn the top of a colossal record player from the 1950s. An antique, obsolete television set almost four decades old doubles as a stand for a newer, flat screen model.
“That’s kind of how I am, you take what you have and work with it. You never give up on something and throw it away,” he said.
The house he designed and had built in the 1970s is chock-full of nostalgic photographs and furniture. They are items from the past that remind him of a time when he had less to protest about in politics — a time with less regulation and more emphasis on individual accountability,
Sheely is a retired engineer and a Republican candidate for House District 30. A cowboy at heart, Sheely moved from Tennessee to Colorado in 1975, served in the U.S. Army, worked as an engineer for Raytheon, and now owns a horse boarding business with his wife on their 40-acre ranch.
In 2007, he was elected to the Board of Education at the Bennett 29J School District, and currently serves as vice president and the board’s legislative liaison to the Colorado Association of School Boards.
This is his second attempt at winning a state House seat since he ran for office in 1994.
Sheely values hard work, kindness and determination above almost anything else — qualities he’s strived to achieve during the decades he’s spent as a husband, a father of five children, and a grandfather to a dozen grandchildren, five of whom are adopted. But his compassionate nature is what makes him most appealing for the job of state representative, said his longtime friend Jerry Joyce.
“He’ll be a great man for this district,” Joyce said.
When talking about his stances on divisive political issues like illegal immigration and civil unions, Sheely says he favors compassion over staunch Republican ideals. He supports civil unions, though he won’t go so far as to support gay marriage; and he wants to make it easier for illegal immigrants to obtain citizenship after they’ve graduated from a U.S. high school so that they can attend college and pay in-state tuition rates.
The platitudes that govern Sheely’s life are the same ones he promises to govern by if he’s elected to the state House.
They’re listed on campaign flyers he leaves on prospective voters’ doors: live each day with courage; always finish what you start; be tough but fair; know where to draw the line; when you make a promise, keep it.
He never hesitates to tell an anecdote from his past that applies to most any topic. But he admits that in situations where policy making and legislating are concerned, the vignettes can sometimes be outdated. Like the punch line in the story about his Uncle Jimmy, who owned a dairy in Mississippi.
As a metaphor for teaching Sheely to trust his instincts and to know right from wrong, his uncle said this: “When you’re going out to the barn in the morning and you see something brown and steaming on the ground, you don’t need to take a stick and stir it to know what you’ve got.”
But in politics, there are always gray areas, Sheely said.
“We’ve all come from different backgrounds, we’re all different people, but when you’re running for state office, it’s never a black and white issue,” he said. “You’ve got to hear both sides of the argument. And my pledge is to listen to both sides.”
Colorado State House District 30 candidates speak for themselves
Challenger: Jenise May-D
Challenger: Mike Sheely-R
What makes you the most qualified candidate?
Jenise May:
I have dedicated my life to working with families and children in need of assistance. I started my career at the Adams County Department of Social Services as an accounting clerk in child care. I ended my 26 years of public service as the Deputy Director of the Colorado Department of Human Services. I was responsible for six veteran nursing homes, three regional centers, and disabilities determination services. This area had over 2,000 employees and over a half billion dollar budget. I have experience in running multiple businesses, complex budgets, and operating quality programs that served Coloradans most in need. I have expertise in bringing a program in on budget and understand how to prevent government from wasting taxpayer dollars. The department gave me the opportunity to work with a variety of people—from unskilled workers to people with doctorates, people of different ethnicities and abilities, and different political points of view. I learned that in order to make a difference, you need to listen to all opinions and positions, and develop solutions that take the best ideas from all to end up with a product that works for all.
In working as a public sector employee, I learned the harm that unfunded mandates can cause. When legislatures pass into law expectations in the community that are not funded, it creates a lose-lose situation. I will not support ideas that can’t be funded. Taxpayers deserve better than an empty package. This experience transfers to the job I’m currently seeking as State Representative for House District 30. This district has enormous needs and my background will bring the passion and expertise to assist my community in being the best that it can be: a place where people feel safe, where the education system helps children excel, and a community where people can find stable, high-paying jobs.
Mike Sheely:
Did not participate.
Should the state revisit sentencing restrictions to reduce prison spending?
Jenise May:
It’s good public policy and part of legislative responsibility to review all programs to determine if they are efficient and cost effective. I would not be against reviewing current policies to determine if we have the appropriate sentencing restrictions in place.
Mike Sheely:
Did not participate.
Would you support creating a public school voucher program?
Jenise May:
I support a parent’s right of choice and agree with the idea of using tax dollars to support public schools and charters schools.
Mike Sheely:
Did not participate.
Should Colorado grant homosexuals the right to marry, create civil unions or neither?
Jenise May:
My general philosophy and principals is that government should not interfere in one’s personal life choices. I support the creation of civil unions.
Mike Sheely:
Did not participate.
With so many state “entitlements,” such as Medicaid and public schools, how can Colorado best increase spending on roads, bridges and other transportation projects?
Jenise May:
There are two ways to increase funding for these much needed investments in our infrastructure. The first is to raise revenue through mill levy overrides or bond initiatives, which is completely out of the hands of the legislature. If the people of Colorado, Adams County, or any of her municipalities want to improve our infrastructure and create much needed construction and maintenance jobs, it’s up to them to vote for that at the ballot box. The other way to increase investment in infrastructure without cutting our classrooms is to work with Colorado businesses, both small and large, to find out how we can help them grow as our economy recovers. A thriving business community and job market means more jobs and more revenue for programs and fewer people needing government assistance. That’s why I support the HIRE Colorado plan – a commonsense economic policy that would give Colorado companies the first crack at state contracts so we can keep our tax dollars here, helping Colorado businesses hire Colorado workers, instead of outsourcing our tax dollars to other states or overseas.
Mike Sheely:
Did not participate.
Should the state increase regulation of fracking or ease off?
Jenise May:
I support the new state regulations that were passed this last year. Colorado must have a balance in its energy policy that supports both strong environmental standards while also allowing for exploration and extraction of natural gas and other resources so that we develop our energy in a smart way and become more and more energy independent.
Mike Sheely:
Did not participate.
Above all, what should the state do to improve student performance in public schools?
Jenise May:
The state needs to implement SB191 that provides for the yearly evaluation of teachers, executes new CORE standards that have been adopted in 45 states, employs the validated tools that measure compliance with those standards, and provides the necessary funding that is required without using the negative factor as an artificial deflator. We have a plan in place, and we ought to not move or hide the ball until we see the full implementation of SB191 come to fruition.
Mike Sheely:
Did not participate.
In what ways could, or should, Colorado step up efforts to make life for illegal immigrants inconvenient so that they would leave the state?
Jenise May:
Colorado already has one of strongest illegal immigration laws on the books. It would be more beneficial if Colorado would put pressure on the Congress whose responsibility is to pass comprehensive immigration reform, and then enforce the laws passed by them. It is not the responsibility of the individual states to shoulder this issue.
Mike Sheely:
Did not participate.
What one thing could the Legislature do to create private sector jobs?
Jenise May:
It could pass the HIRE Colorado Plan which would allow for Colorado companies that employ 90% of its employees from Colorado, pay a livable wage, and provide some form of health care and retirement package, to have the first crack at state contracts. This would result increase of private sector jobs using Colorado’s tax dollars with no increase to the taxpayer, keeping our tax dollars right here instead of shipping them out of state or overseas.
Mike Sheely:
Did not participate.
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?
It is unclear if the theater shooting could have been prevented with a longer “cooling off” period, but it would be in the best interest of the citizens of Colorado to review the facts once they are known to determine what steps could be taken if any to prevent this from occurring in the future.
Mike Sheely:
Did not participate.