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Incumbent State Rep. Chris Kennedy has served House District 23 since first being elected in 2016. He is a former architectural engineer who left that field to pursue “solving public policy problems instead.” This past session, Kennedy was elected by his colleagues to serve as assistant majority leader of the Democratic Caucus. In his time in office, he has proven to be a communicative representative who has his finger on the pulse of an impressively wide array of issues.
Kennedy’s top priorities at the end of this year were drawn to immediate needs: police accountability legislation and coronavirus relief measures for both families and small businesses. He has also been vocal in refuting the Trump administration’s false attacks on Colorado’s vaunted vote-by-mail system, emphasizing how accessible and secure our experiences have been. His yearlong efforts have ranged from health insurance transparency and insurance reform to renters’ rights laws and investment in affordable housing. Kennedy has also been a leader in the battle against the opioid epidemic and for lowering insurance premiums and rates across the state. In his public messaging, he has consistently backed doing more to support mental health access, housing assistance, abortion rights, and a number of approaches to battle climate change, such as carbon pollution limits, infrastructure for electric vehicles, and steps toward 100% renewable energy.
The clear progressive choice in this race is Kennedy.
Challenging him for the seat are Fred Clifford and Doug Anderson. Clifford is a machinist and Republican activist. Like a lot of other Republican candidates on the ballot this year, Clifford has publicly offered up no ideas of what he wants to do in the legislature. But he does want you to know that he likes the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR), which is killing the state’s ability to fund education and transportation like it should. He also doesn’t like red-flag laws, which help protect communities by keeping guns away from violent criminals and domestic abusers. Voters should reject Clifford and his handful of bad ideas.
Anderson, who is a former Lakewood city council member and a Libertarian, is also on the ballot. He has not commented on his positions to the press or on social media, so all we can say is that he’s supportive of the Libertarian Party of Colorado’s idea to privatize public education in the state. A progressive voter should instead support Kennedy’s experience and proven record.Chris Kennedy
Incumbent State Rep. Chris Kennedy has served House District 23 since first being elected in 2016.
Incumbent State Rep. Chris Kennedy has served House District 23 since first being elected in 2016. He is a former architectural engineer who left that field to pursue “solving public policy problems instead.” This past session, Kennedy was elected by his colleagues to serve as assistant majority leader of the Democratic Caucus. In his time in office, he has proven to be a communicative representative who has his finger on the pulse of an impressively wide array of issues.
Kennedy’s top priorities at the end of this year were drawn to immediate needs: police accountability legislation and coronavirus relief measures for both families and small businesses. He has also been vocal in refuting the Trump administration’s false attacks on Colorado’s vaunted vote-by-mail system, emphasizing how accessible and secure our experiences have been. His yearlong efforts have ranged from health insurance transparency and insurance reform to renters’ rights laws and investment in affordable housing. Kennedy has also been a leader in the battle against the opioid epidemic and for lowering insurance premiums and rates across the state. In his public messaging, he has consistently backed doing more to support mental health access, housing assistance, abortion rights, and a number of approaches to battle climate change, such as carbon pollution limits, infrastructure for electric vehicles, and steps toward 100% renewable energy.
The clear progressive choice in this race is Kennedy.
Challenging him for the seat are Fred Clifford and Doug Anderson. Clifford is a machinist and Republican activist. Like a lot of other Republican candidates on the ballot this year, Clifford has publicly offered up no ideas of what he wants to do in the legislature. But he does want you to know that he likes the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR), which is killing the state’s ability to fund education and transportation like it should. He also doesn’t like red-flag laws, which help protect communities by keeping guns away from violent criminals and domestic abusers. Voters should reject Clifford and his handful of bad ideas.
Anderson, who is a former Lakewood city council member and a Libertarian, is also on the ballot. He has not commented on his positions to the press or on social media, so all we can say is that he’s supportive of the Libertarian Party of Colorado’s idea to privatize public education in the state. A progressive voter should instead support Kennedy’s experience and proven record.Chris Kennedy
Incumbent State Rep. Chris Kennedy has served House District 23 since first being elected in 2016.
Ed Perlmutter
Incumbent U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter is running for reelection in Colorado’s 7th Congressional District. The lifelong Jefferson County resident has been active in his representation of this district since 2006 and is well-known for his relentless brand of door-to-door retail politics. He’s held over 100 constituent meetings in local food markets — events that he calls “Government in the Grocery.”
His main priority since taking office has been improving opportunities for the area by way of fighting to make sure good jobs remain at the National Renewable Energy Lab in Golden and ensuring the completion of the VA Medical Center in Aurora for the benefit of veterans in the Rocky Mountain region.
Another focus of his has been gun safety. As vice chair of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, he has supported requiring universal background checks and reinstating the federal ban on assault weapons. He also introduced legislation to address the gaps in federal gun policy by clarifying and expanding existing federal prohibitons related to mental health and other common risk factors in gun violence tragedies.
Perlmutter worked to secure passage of the historic Dodd-Frank Act, which placed much-needed regulations on Wall Street and big banks and established the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Other fights he has taken on include comprehensive immigration reform, a sweeping investment in America's infrastructure, and the preservation of Social Security and Medicare.
According to Georgetown University’s index, Perlmutter is one of the most bipartisan members of Congress. He is the preferred candidate in this race.
The Republican candidate he faces is Casper Stockham, who has previously run to represent the 1st and 6th Congressional Districts. His platform is that of the generic conservative Republican these days, which goes along with his parachute campaign style. He is “100% pro-life and supports President Trump’s effort to defund Planned Parenthood.” He is against “red flag” laws that keep guns away from domestic abusers and suspected violent criminals. He thinks Obamacare is “a disaster.” And he is a strong supporter of Trump, “loves his record and results,” and thinks that Trump is “winning for all of us.” These positions take us backward, not forward. We suggest voting for Perlmutter.