ROLLIE HEATH
What issue areas will your first five bills address? Provide as much detail as possible.
Our Economy - My first priority will be to deal with the fiscal policies that are constraining our state, particularly TABOR. If we are going to properly fund the opportunities we all need, we must find a solution, and I have the experience, the knowledge and the political will to meet this challenge.
Our Environment and Our World — We know global warming is dramatically changing our world. To begin to minimize the negative effects of greenhouse gases, we must develop alternative energy sources such as wind and solar, and we need to support the businesses developing these alternatives and their workers.
Our Health Care — We need universal coverage for every person in this state, and I support a single-payer system to accomplish this. My first priority will be to immediately seek coverage for all of our children. We must also adequately fund mental health coverage, defend and protect a woman's right to choose, and reduce administrative costs.
Our Education — I believe that public education is the cornerstone of our democracy. We must make it a priority by supporting our classroom teachers, who most influence a child's ability to learn. We must help prepare children to learn by providing preschool for every four-year-old and full-day kindergarten. And, we must develop creative approaches to restore the funding levels for higher education by evaluating traditional funding methods and by examining alternatives such as a higher severance tax. We also need to be conscious of the skills required for the 21st century workforce. This includes not only college level training but training in technical areas as well. As a previous owner of a manufacturing business, I recognize the needs for skills found in machinists, welders, etc., and we must be sure that community colleges are prepared to meet these needs. In this regard, training provided by unions is also critical.
Our Transportation — We know that our roads and bridges continue to deteriorate and will pose major safety issues if we donŐt maintain and repair them. We need new ways to fund highways, such as a vehicle-miles traveled tax. We need to embrace and promote alternative means of transportation to include FasTracks.
It is clear that if we do not solve our fiscal stalemate, we are not going to be able to accomplish any significant part of this agenda. Simply put, we must convince the citizens of this state that it is in their best interests to invest in the state and that the legislature will spend their money wisely. A system of accountability and measurement must be put in place to allow the citizens to determine the success of their investments.
Your Support of Progressive Issues and Candidates: Which parts of the current Colorado Democratic Party Platform do you support? Explain why you do or do not support the planks that you consider most important. Have you supported the issues articulated in the current platform in previous elections, either as a candidate or a supporter or opponent of other candidates?
In 2004, I chaired the Democratic state party platform committee. The platform committee sought and received input on the platform from every county in the state. We then held several days of discussion, resulting in a platform that was presented to the state convention. At the state convention, we held a lengthy discussion on various parts of the platform, ultimately adopting a platform that is similar to this yearŐs. I mention this because as a result of the process a platform is a compromise document. Although I was not a direct participant in this yearŐs process, I did sit in on some of the discussions within the Boulder County Democratic Party and attended the state convention where additional debate was held on the platform. I did not find any plank in the platform that I could not support.
Do you support the platform plank advocating simplification of the tax code and revocation of the TABOR amendment? Do you support more progressive taxation in Colorado? How will you persuade TABOR supporters that there are better and more just possibilities for limiting taxes?
As mentioned above, finding a solution to TABOR is my principal reason for running. I am a strong supporter of Andrew RomanoffŐs SAFE initiative, and assuming that I am successful in winning the Democratic primary, I intend to travel the state and urge its adoption.
Where do public education and children's issues fit into your priorities for the state budget?
I am running to make a difference in public education, P-20. It is clear that without adequate funding, this goal will not be realized. I would ask to be assigned to the Senate Finance Committee and potentially the Joint Budget Committee, which would allow me to provide much-needed leadership on revenue streams that prioritize education. In a democracy, public education is the most critical institution -- without an educated electorate, democracy will fail.
Funding in Colorado for P-12 and higher education is unconscionably low and an embarrassment. We are not serving our students well. I will work hard on a bipartisan approach to modify TABOR through a citizensŐ initiative or a legislative referendum. I will also strongly support a Romanoff-like initiative that will put the so-called ŇTABOR surplusÓ into an education fund. I support the proposal to use the oil severance tax to provide scholarships for college students. However, I would have preferred that the money be available for more flexible uses within higher education. I believe that the majority of Coloradans can be persuaded to fund preschool through graduate school at a higher level. I will work to better explain the benefits and rewards that come through an education system that is funded adequately.
What is your stand on single-payer universal health care, one in which health care is publicly financed and privately delivered? Please elaborate.
I support universal health care and a single-payer system. That is easy to say and much tougher to accomplish. There is an old adage about how one eats an elephant. The answer: one bite at a time. My first bite in health care would be to make certain that every child under 18 has adequate health care. When that has been accomplished, we can then tackle the major problem of providing health care for everyone. As 24 cents of every dollar spent on health care goes for administration, I will work hard to implement a single-payer system, which will go a long way toward reducing these administrative costs and thereby helping to accomplish the goal of health care for everyone.
The Colorado Democratic Party platform develops specific planks in the areas of election reform including the requirement that the paper ballot become the official record of voter intent, that any electronic voting machine produce a voter-verifiable paper record, and that proprietary software programs by vendors be eliminated. Will you support these planks? Will you resist efforts to scrap precinct polling places and move Colorado to a mandatory all mail-in ballot?
Yes, I support these planks. As I talk to voters, I find a high percentage of voters who value going to a precinct polling place to vote. I would therefore strongly resist moving Colorado to a mandatory all mail-in ballot.
What measures do you propose to reduce abuses of undocumented immigrants and detainees in Colorado?
Colorado has one of the most severe immigration policies in the country, and I find this not to be in keeping with the values of the average voter in Colorado. We need to reexamine all of these policies with a view toward a more humanitarian approach. It is particularly reprehensible that community health centers are not reimbursed for providing health care for undocumented workers and their dependents.
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have condemned the United States for suppressing workers' rights to unionize and bargain collectively. Governor Bill Ritter vetoed an attempt to change the Colorado Labor Peace Act (which restricts these rights). How would you guarantee the right of Colorado workers to form and join unions and bargain collectively?
I believe in the workers of Colorado. The efforts of unions support business and our economy at every level. The future of Colorado depends on its economic vitality, never more so than in these uncertain financial times. The worker is key to this economic vitality. I will do everything possible to guarantee the right of Colorado workers to form and join unions and bargain collectively.
What would you do to promote new technologies and infrastructures to bring Colorado into a new sustainable energy economy?
Global climate change is the over-arching issue, also now referred to as global climate disruption. Thus, it is mandatory that we focus on renewable energy and conservation. Policies must be adopted to encourage the use of renewable energy as well as conservation of all our resources, especially energy and water. We must also look at the issues surrounding growth. In Boulder County and in Colorado, sprawl is an increasing problem. Among other things, sprawl prevents mass transit from working. All one has to do is witness the number of cars coming into Boulder every day to see how many people are being forced to drive long distances to their jobs. We need to reset the playing field so that good planning can be done at all levels, which would allow people to live closer to their work.
To encourage business and home-owners to utilize renewable energy, we must provide an incentive to make large up-front investments. My wife and I installed solar panels on our home in the 1980Ős when the federal government provided tax incentives for doing so. One option is for the government to provide a loan for investment in either solar or wind technology. Repayment of the loan would be through the property tax over a number of years. The loan would be tied to the building and not to the person if the person no longer owns the building.
HB 1350 allows counties and newly-created improvement districts to finance the installation of capital improvements to reduce energy consumption and to produce energy from renewable resources such as solar thermal systems in residences and commercial buildings. Improvements within the new districts will be financed by assessments to those properties where the owners have agreed to the improvements. Boulder County has already signed on. I will work hard to implement HB 1350 across the state and to obtain additional funding for the Colorado clean energy development fund.