Incumbent Democratic Representative Dominique Jackson prevailed once again over Republican Mike Donald, Arapahoe County Republicans’ pick to run in HD 42 every two years since 2012.
As of 10:59 p.m., Tuesday — and with 47.8 percent of the counties reporting — Jackson had garnered 70.9 percent of the votes to 29.1 percent for Donald.
HD 42 is bounded by Colfax Avenue to the north, Mississippi Avenue on the south, and stretches from Yosemite Street to Chambers Road at its widest. The district represents about 80,300 Aurorans with a median income of about $39,000, significantly lower than other house districts in Aurora.
Jackson has represented HD 42 since election in 2016. She’s participated in the 2017 and 2018 legislative sessions in the Capitol and sat on three committees.
Notably, Jackson co-sponsored a bill this year that would have required oil and gas developers to map the location of their pipelines and share the information with local governments. The legislation was prompted by an explosion that killed two in 2017 after a pipeline leaked gas into a basement. The bill was killed in the Republican-controlled Senate.
On growth, Jackson said that Aurorans like teachers are struggling to keep up with the rising cost of living, but stopped short of weighing in on measures like a tax on newcomers.
Jackson also co-sponsored a bill to implement a reduced fare for low-income commuters on RTD services like buses and light rail. That bill was also killed in a committee, but RTD already has reduced fair for seniors, students, military members and disabled residents, and a new pay structure will determine fare price by income, age and other factors.
Jackson said she supports Governor John Hickenlooper’s order on greenhouse gas reductions, which aims for a 26 percent cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2025. She fell short of supporting a medicaid-for-all healthcare plan that would provide government insurance to all Colorado residents.
On guns, she supported the red flag measure that empowers law enforcement to temporarily confiscate guns from people deemed mentally unstable and dangerous. She does not support arming teachers in schools.
