WEBVTT
00:00:00.239 --> 00:00:02.000
Hi, my name is John Hickenlooper.
00:00:02.240 --> 00:00:05.679
I'm running for re-election to the United States Senate from Colorado.
00:00:06.000 --> 00:00:10.960
Why are you seeking this office and what experience or perspective would you bring to the position?
00:00:11.359 --> 00:00:13.919
Well, I'm a I was a laid-off geologist.
00:00:14.240 --> 00:00:17.039
So I'm one of two scientists in the entire Senate.
00:00:17.519 --> 00:00:20.480
I became a brew pub owner, so I've been an entrepreneur.
00:00:20.559 --> 00:00:23.120
I put everything I owned on the line to start a business.
00:00:23.280 --> 00:00:28.320
Certainly, I'm some people would say I'm not running as a former mayor or a former governor.
00:00:28.399 --> 00:00:30.160
I'm running as a former bartender.
00:00:30.640 --> 00:00:34.079
I think all these experiences taught me how to bring people together.
00:00:34.960 --> 00:00:38.719
And, you know, I'm running because our fight isn't finished.
00:00:38.880 --> 00:00:44.880
We've got a lot of work to do to reign in this White House and really turn our economy around.
00:00:45.039 --> 00:00:47.520
They've they've stood our economy on its head.
00:00:48.960 --> 00:00:56.560
You know, I think what we've done when I was governor, we turned Colorado from 40th to the number one economy in the country for my last three years.
00:00:56.640 --> 00:00:59.840
We expanded healthcare, uh, we fought climate change.
00:01:00.079 --> 00:01:06.480
Um they're they're doing all the opposite things right now in Washington, in the White Houses.
00:01:06.879 --> 00:01:16.560
Um, and I want to make sure that we we turn that around and stop this incredible expansion of costs, this runaway affordability crisis.
00:01:16.959 --> 00:01:22.400
If re-elected, what would be your main priority this next term and what steps would you take toward accomplishing it?
00:01:22.799 --> 00:01:26.959
Well, we've got a couple things that we're really uh focusing on.
00:01:27.599 --> 00:01:36.480
Um we have a thing called patience deserve price tags to bring transparency to every aspect of healthcare with real teeth.
00:01:36.640 --> 00:01:43.519
And imagine that you're a company, you have 100,000 employees and you give health care to all those employees all over the country.
00:01:43.680 --> 00:01:46.560
Let's say you've got 10,000 employees in Denver.
00:01:47.040 --> 00:01:57.519
You won't, right now, the way it is, you sign your insurance contract and you don't get a chance to see whether, you know, what hospitals are charging a lower price or a better price.
00:01:57.680 --> 00:02:00.400
If you get an MRI, is it cheaper one place or another?
00:02:00.560 --> 00:02:05.840
Why do some patients get generic drugs and some of them get name name brand drugs?
00:02:06.000 --> 00:02:07.680
All that stuff is opaque.
00:02:07.920 --> 00:02:13.360
And, you know, it's a five uh a$5.7 trillion spend in healthcare now.
00:02:13.520 --> 00:02:23.120
And the American Medical Association estimates a quarter of it is excessive billing, waste, inefficiency, maybe some fraud, redundancy.
00:02:23.280 --> 00:02:29.439
Uh you think about that, a quarter of$5.7 trillion is$1.35 trillion.
00:02:30.000 --> 00:02:37.520
And if we could even get 25% of that uh for government, that would get us pretty close to universal coverage.
00:02:37.680 --> 00:02:39.439
So I think that's one big place.
00:02:39.520 --> 00:02:43.759
I also want to really get back to addressing climate change in real time.
00:02:44.159 --> 00:02:53.520
Um and you know, not just fixing the healthcare system, but making sure that we create a natural environment that does a better job of keeping us healthy.
00:02:53.840 --> 00:02:58.719
Looking back five years, name one Colorado policy you would undo and one you would defend.
00:02:59.120 --> 00:03:06.960
I think the mail-in balloting, which has really been perfected in the last five years, I think it actually started before that.
00:03:07.120 --> 00:03:09.360
Um, I would defend mail-in balloting.
00:03:09.439 --> 00:03:13.840
It's under attack right now by a lot of you know MAGA Republicans.
00:03:14.080 --> 00:03:30.159
Um if I had if I had to do something, and this has been in the in the works for a long time, but if if if I was to change and and and get rid of something, uh Colorado has a line item veto for the governor that's almost useless.
00:03:30.400 --> 00:03:43.599
You anytime you veto, you're vetoing huge packages of the budget, which would almost always uh hold hold people that you're trying to help would harm them.
00:03:43.840 --> 00:03:59.680
So you rarely see the governor in Colorado ever use a line item veto, whereas it really is a useful tool in making sure the governor is a partner with the General Assembly and making sure that the you know the priorities of both the General Assembly and the Governor can be met.
00:04:00.080 --> 00:04:04.960
A recent bipartisan poll found that affordability is the top concern for Colorado voters.
00:04:05.199 --> 00:04:12.240
Name one specific policy on the books right now that you believe is making Colorado less affordable, and what you would do to remedy it.
00:04:12.719 --> 00:04:21.439
Well, obviously the single biggest thing right now affecting cost of living uh is Trump's, you know, broken agenda.
00:04:21.680 --> 00:04:23.360
Uh, I start with a war.
00:04:23.519 --> 00:04:37.839
I mean, the war that we saw a number today that the the extra money that that Americans are spending for diesel and for gasoline since the war started is a comes to just about a hundred billion dollars since the war started.
00:04:38.000 --> 00:04:39.519
I mean, that's a staggering cost.
00:04:39.680 --> 00:04:40.959
Then you look at healthcare.
00:04:41.199 --> 00:04:55.519
500,000 Holadins are either have lost their health insurance or they're gonna uh be paying a lot more for it because of that, you know, Magus is asterus uh one big beautiful bill.
00:04:55.759 --> 00:05:01.600
Um I said gas and gasoline already, groceries uh with a function of tariffs.
00:05:01.759 --> 00:05:17.839
And you look at farmers, and this is really true in Colorado, they are getting crunched uh because not only has gasoline and especially diesel gone up, but the war has caused a dramatic cutoff to their uh source of fertilizer.
00:05:18.079 --> 00:05:26.399
So fertilizer is up 50%, diesel's up 60%, and this is during a drought when a lot of farmers aren't even sure they should plant.
00:05:26.639 --> 00:05:29.120
Um, so I think that's that part of it.
00:05:29.199 --> 00:05:39.680
And then the the inflation that this White House has created, and again, you know, there was inflation under under Biden, but that was to get the economy going.
00:05:39.839 --> 00:05:43.439
This economy was going full tilt when President Trump came into office.
00:05:43.600 --> 00:05:51.279
And now all of a sudden we've seen the mortgage ratio pushed up over 7% over the life of a 30-year mortgage for the average size Colorado house.
00:05:51.360 --> 00:05:55.839
That means an extra hundred thousand dollars you'd have to pay over that the lifetime of that mortgage.
00:05:56.079 --> 00:06:09.920
So, anyway, I think that we need to reverse a lot of this stuff and make sure that we fix the healthcare uh system, we get back some of those subsidies for the keep more people on the exchange.
00:06:10.079 --> 00:06:16.800
Um, I think we need to make sure that we uh uh improve some of those plans.
00:06:16.959 --> 00:06:19.920
Um, and and and again, get really focused.
00:06:20.000 --> 00:06:24.879
We got a couple bills on the the cost of housing and how do we bring that?
00:06:25.040 --> 00:06:29.519
You know, it's just the inflation and housing is just out of control for for everybody.
00:06:29.839 --> 00:06:36.480
Can you tell us about a specific decision that you made, either in your current job or a past one, that you would make differently today?
00:06:36.639 --> 00:06:38.720
And what did you change because of it?
00:06:39.120 --> 00:06:57.600
Well, in some cases, you know, I again I owned a bunch of restaurants uh and uh was a former geologist when I ran for mayor, and and I don't think I really understood that I could have a lot of the things I did that were really good ideas, I could have made them more permanent.
00:06:57.759 --> 00:07:15.360
We did a campaign-dend chronic homelessness, um, and we reduced chronic homelessness by 61% in the first five years, but then we had the the financial crisis of 2009, and then I ended up becoming governor uh and the next mayor, I hadn't built that in place.
00:07:15.680 --> 00:07:22.800
Um I think that I look at when I was governor, we created a national model for youth apprenticeships.
00:07:22.959 --> 00:07:36.399
So, like Switzerland has, where young people, it's not about becoming a plumber or electrician, but you know, what when you're 16, 17, 18, still in high school, you can go work one two days a week when you're in like 10th grade or 11th grade.
00:07:36.480 --> 00:07:40.560
Uh, then you work three or four days when you're junior or senior, and you get paid.
00:07:40.639 --> 00:07:45.839
And you can work in an insurance company, you can work in a bank, you can work in a hospital, you get real job experience.
00:07:46.000 --> 00:07:57.120
We we didn't, we don't, we continue not to recognize that 65%, 70%, but 65% for sure of our kids are never going to get a four-year degree.
00:07:57.199 --> 00:08:02.560
And yet we keep telling them that the best way to a good life is to go get a four-year degree.
00:08:02.879 --> 00:08:05.759
For most kids, that means they end up racking up a bunch of debt.
00:08:05.839 --> 00:08:09.279
We're we're at$1.7 trillion in student debt in this country.
00:08:09.439 --> 00:08:13.759
Whereas an apprenticeship program, it could be a godsend.
00:08:13.839 --> 00:08:22.639
They get paid while they're in high school, they learn what a job's like, they can take community college courses that would actually count towards a degree if they want to work in that direction.
00:08:22.800 --> 00:08:33.919
Uh, I think we did career-wise in Colorado, it's been successful, but we didn't, I didn't fight for the funding to make it expand dramatically and and really make it permanent.
00:08:34.080 --> 00:08:36.240
And uh I regret that.
00:08:36.399 --> 00:08:39.039
I think that that's something that it's it's that important.
00:08:39.360 --> 00:08:47.120
And I think if I had created the time and elbowed my way into the debate, uh, we could have made it something that is national level.
00:08:47.360 --> 00:08:50.559
I'm certainly trying to do it in Washington.
00:08:50.720 --> 00:08:58.399
Uh, we've worked real hard between the Department of Education and the Department of Labor, and they're both kind of saying that you know, the other guys are keeping us from doing it.
00:08:58.559 --> 00:09:10.720
Uh I think I'm hopeful that in a in a uh last two years, the President Trump could be talked into a youth apprenticeship model just because he made his name with a TV show called The Apprenticeship.
00:09:10.879 --> 00:09:13.840
Um he could he could get some glory from it.
00:09:14.080 --> 00:09:21.840
What is one thing you believe Colorado needs to do that may be difficult, unpopular, or expensive, but that you believe is necessary?
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And what role would your office play in moving it forward?
00:09:25.039 --> 00:09:34.639
Well, I think that a lot of of what we need to do is things like apprenticeships, where the federal the federal government can go and provide a big chunk of the money, not all of it.
00:09:34.799 --> 00:09:44.240
I think the best programs are the ones that are our partner, our partnership between the federal government, uh, the state government, and then local, county, municipal government.
00:09:44.399 --> 00:09:47.600
Um and uh apprenticeships are a good example of that.
00:09:47.759 --> 00:10:11.120
I I think that uh helping small farmers, um, you know, uh it's it's a if you spend time out on the eastern plains, these are amazing people uh and they know their land, they know the farms, but the the economy, the giant factory farms and gigantic meat processing plants make it really hard for the you know the smaller farmers to survive.
00:10:11.200 --> 00:10:32.480
And I think there's a way to set up um uh selling almost like co-ops, but systems where we market uh beef or pork uh or or vegetables to a local local purchasers through special um streamlined systems.
00:10:32.559 --> 00:10:55.200
And there would be some tax incentives, uh, some ways to motivate these markets uh carrying local goods because we know that they can they're organic, uh they're grown grown with love and affection, they're healthier than the mass-produced food that you know often comes in boxes and cans, uh, and the money goes right into our own farms.
00:10:55.440 --> 00:10:57.360
So I think that's a classic.
00:10:57.759 --> 00:11:07.919
There are lots of places like that where you can find get uh federal programs, provide some incentives, the state reinforces that and provides some of the machinery, and then the locals are the ones who really make it happen.
00:11:08.159 --> 00:11:11.840
And lastly, working in politics can sometimes be stressful.
00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:15.919
What is your favorite way to de-stress or a favorite activity outside of work?
00:11:16.240 --> 00:11:16.960
Oh my gosh.
00:11:17.120 --> 00:11:21.600
Well, it feels these days, the last couple of years, like there's nothing I do but work.
00:11:21.840 --> 00:11:27.039
Um, I I mean, I've always loved reading, I love um film and movies.
00:11:27.360 --> 00:11:32.480
Uh, my wife and I love sitting down and and and um and seeing a film when we get a chance.
00:11:32.639 --> 00:11:38.000
We you know, we have a three and a half-year-old son, so we don't get to see too many films anymore.
00:11:38.240 --> 00:11:47.120
Um uh up until a year ago, or I hurt my shoulder, but I was a nationally ranked double squash player, squash kind of an indoor version of tennis.
00:11:47.360 --> 00:11:49.840
Uh, I mean, there's I've always loved sports.
00:11:50.000 --> 00:11:54.399
Um, I love music, so I try to get out to Red Rocks every chance I can get.
00:11:54.639 --> 00:12:00.799
Um, although that's again, it's um if I get out there two or three times a year, I consider myself lucky.
00:12:00.960 --> 00:12:07.120
Um, the the real issue here is just making sure that I get enough time to do my job.
00:12:07.279 --> 00:12:09.519
Um, and that's really the highest priority.
00:12:09.840 --> 00:12:15.120
Well, Senator Hickenlooper, thank you so much for taking the time to interview with us today and best of luck with the elections.
00:12:15.440 --> 00:12:16.240
Thanks so much.
00:12:16.399 --> 00:12:17.679
Good luck to you.
00:00:00.239 --> 00:00:02.000
Hi, my name is John Hickenlooper.
00:00:02.240 --> 00:00:05.679
I'm running for re-election to the United States Senate from Colorado.
00:00:06.000 --> 00:00:10.960
Why are you seeking this office and what experience or perspective would you bring to the position?
00:00:11.359 --> 00:00:13.919
Well, I'm a I was a laid-off geologist.
00:00:14.240 --> 00:00:17.039
So I'm one of two scientists in the entire Senate.
00:00:17.519 --> 00:00:20.480
I became a brew pub owner, so I've been an entrepreneur.
00:00:20.559 --> 00:00:23.120
I put everything I owned on the line to start a business.
00:00:23.280 --> 00:00:28.320
Certainly, I'm some people would say I'm not running as a former mayor or a former governor.
00:00:28.399 --> 00:00:30.160
I'm running as a former bartender.
00:00:30.640 --> 00:00:34.079
I think all these experiences taught me how to bring people together.
00:00:34.960 --> 00:00:38.719
And, you know, I'm running because our fight isn't finished.
00:00:38.880 --> 00:00:44.880
We've got a lot of work to do to reign in this White House and really turn our economy around.
00:00:45.039 --> 00:00:47.520
They've they've stood our economy on its head.
00:00:48.960 --> 00:00:56.560
You know, I think what we've done when I was governor, we turned Colorado from 40th to the number one economy in the country for my last three years.
00:00:56.640 --> 00:00:59.840
We expanded healthcare, uh, we fought climate change.
00:01:00.079 --> 00:01:06.480
Um they're they're doing all the opposite things right now in Washington, in the White Houses.
00:01:06.879 --> 00:01:16.560
Um, and I want to make sure that we we turn that around and stop this incredible expansion of costs, this runaway affordability crisis.
00:01:16.959 --> 00:01:22.400
If re-elected, what would be your main priority this next term and what steps would you take toward accomplishing it?
00:01:22.799 --> 00:01:26.959
Well, we've got a couple things that we're really uh focusing on.
00:01:27.599 --> 00:01:36.480
Um we have a thing called patience deserve price tags to bring transparency to every aspect of healthcare with real teeth.
00:01:36.640 --> 00:01:43.519
And imagine that you're a company, you have 100,000 employees and you give health care to all those employees all over the country.
00:01:43.680 --> 00:01:46.560
Let's say you've got 10,000 employees in Denver.
00:01:47.040 --> 00:01:57.519
You won't, right now, the way it is, you sign your insurance contract and you don't get a chance to see whether, you know, what hospitals are charging a lower price or a better price.
00:01:57.680 --> 00:02:00.400
If you get an MRI, is it cheaper one place or another?
00:02:00.560 --> 00:02:05.840
Why do some patients get generic drugs and some of them get name name brand drugs?
00:02:06.000 --> 00:02:07.680
All that stuff is opaque.
00:02:07.920 --> 00:02:13.360
And, you know, it's a five uh a$5.7 trillion spend in healthcare now.
00:02:13.520 --> 00:02:23.120
And the American Medical Association estimates a quarter of it is excessive billing, waste, inefficiency, maybe some fraud, redundancy.
00:02:23.280 --> 00:02:29.439
Uh you think about that, a quarter of$5.7 trillion is$1.35 trillion.
00:02:30.000 --> 00:02:37.520
And if we could even get 25% of that uh for government, that would get us pretty close to universal coverage.
00:02:37.680 --> 00:02:39.439
So I think that's one big place.
00:02:39.520 --> 00:02:43.759
I also want to really get back to addressing climate change in real time.
00:02:44.159 --> 00:02:53.520
Um and you know, not just fixing the healthcare system, but making sure that we create a natural environment that does a better job of keeping us healthy.
00:02:53.840 --> 00:02:58.719
Looking back five years, name one Colorado policy you would undo and one you would defend.
00:02:59.120 --> 00:03:06.960
I think the mail-in balloting, which has really been perfected in the last five years, I think it actually started before that.
00:03:07.120 --> 00:03:09.360
Um, I would defend mail-in balloting.
00:03:09.439 --> 00:03:13.840
It's under attack right now by a lot of you know MAGA Republicans.
00:03:14.080 --> 00:03:30.159
Um if I had if I had to do something, and this has been in the in the works for a long time, but if if if I was to change and and and get rid of something, uh Colorado has a line item veto for the governor that's almost useless.
00:03:30.400 --> 00:03:43.599
You anytime you veto, you're vetoing huge packages of the budget, which would almost always uh hold hold people that you're trying to help would harm them.
00:03:43.840 --> 00:03:59.680
So you rarely see the governor in Colorado ever use a line item veto, whereas it really is a useful tool in making sure the governor is a partner with the General Assembly and making sure that the you know the priorities of both the General Assembly and the Governor can be met.
00:04:00.080 --> 00:04:04.960
A recent bipartisan poll found that affordability is the top concern for Colorado voters.
00:04:05.199 --> 00:04:12.240
Name one specific policy on the books right now that you believe is making Colorado less affordable, and what you would do to remedy it.
00:04:12.719 --> 00:04:21.439
Well, obviously the single biggest thing right now affecting cost of living uh is Trump's, you know, broken agenda.
00:04:21.680 --> 00:04:23.360
Uh, I start with a war.
00:04:23.519 --> 00:04:37.839
I mean, the war that we saw a number today that the the extra money that that Americans are spending for diesel and for gasoline since the war started is a comes to just about a hundred billion dollars since the war started.
00:04:38.000 --> 00:04:39.519
I mean, that's a staggering cost.
00:04:39.680 --> 00:04:40.959
Then you look at healthcare.
00:04:41.199 --> 00:04:55.519
500,000 Holadins are either have lost their health insurance or they're gonna uh be paying a lot more for it because of that, you know, Magus is asterus uh one big beautiful bill.
00:04:55.759 --> 00:05:01.600
Um I said gas and gasoline already, groceries uh with a function of tariffs.
00:05:01.759 --> 00:05:17.839
And you look at farmers, and this is really true in Colorado, they are getting crunched uh because not only has gasoline and especially diesel gone up, but the war has caused a dramatic cutoff to their uh source of fertilizer.
00:05:18.079 --> 00:05:26.399
So fertilizer is up 50%, diesel's up 60%, and this is during a drought when a lot of farmers aren't even sure they should plant.
00:05:26.639 --> 00:05:29.120
Um, so I think that's that part of it.
00:05:29.199 --> 00:05:39.680
And then the the inflation that this White House has created, and again, you know, there was inflation under under Biden, but that was to get the economy going.
00:05:39.839 --> 00:05:43.439
This economy was going full tilt when President Trump came into office.
00:05:43.600 --> 00:05:51.279
And now all of a sudden we've seen the mortgage ratio pushed up over 7% over the life of a 30-year mortgage for the average size Colorado house.
00:05:51.360 --> 00:05:55.839
That means an extra hundred thousand dollars you'd have to pay over that the lifetime of that mortgage.
00:05:56.079 --> 00:06:09.920
So, anyway, I think that we need to reverse a lot of this stuff and make sure that we fix the healthcare uh system, we get back some of those subsidies for the keep more people on the exchange.
00:06:10.079 --> 00:06:16.800
Um, I think we need to make sure that we uh uh improve some of those plans.
00:06:16.959 --> 00:06:19.920
Um, and and and again, get really focused.
00:06:20.000 --> 00:06:24.879
We got a couple bills on the the cost of housing and how do we bring that?
00:06:25.040 --> 00:06:29.519
You know, it's just the inflation and housing is just out of control for for everybody.
00:06:29.839 --> 00:06:36.480
Can you tell us about a specific decision that you made, either in your current job or a past one, that you would make differently today?
00:06:36.639 --> 00:06:38.720
And what did you change because of it?
00:06:39.120 --> 00:06:57.600
Well, in some cases, you know, I again I owned a bunch of restaurants uh and uh was a former geologist when I ran for mayor, and and I don't think I really understood that I could have a lot of the things I did that were really good ideas, I could have made them more permanent.
00:06:57.759 --> 00:07:15.360
We did a campaign-dend chronic homelessness, um, and we reduced chronic homelessness by 61% in the first five years, but then we had the the financial crisis of 2009, and then I ended up becoming governor uh and the next mayor, I hadn't built that in place.
00:07:15.680 --> 00:07:22.800
Um I think that I look at when I was governor, we created a national model for youth apprenticeships.
00:07:22.959 --> 00:07:36.399
So, like Switzerland has, where young people, it's not about becoming a plumber or electrician, but you know, what when you're 16, 17, 18, still in high school, you can go work one two days a week when you're in like 10th grade or 11th grade.
00:07:36.480 --> 00:07:40.560
Uh, then you work three or four days when you're junior or senior, and you get paid.
00:07:40.639 --> 00:07:45.839
And you can work in an insurance company, you can work in a bank, you can work in a hospital, you get real job experience.
00:07:46.000 --> 00:07:57.120
We we didn't, we don't, we continue not to recognize that 65%, 70%, but 65% for sure of our kids are never going to get a four-year degree.
00:07:57.199 --> 00:08:02.560
And yet we keep telling them that the best way to a good life is to go get a four-year degree.
00:08:02.879 --> 00:08:05.759
For most kids, that means they end up racking up a bunch of debt.
00:08:05.839 --> 00:08:09.279
We're we're at$1.7 trillion in student debt in this country.
00:08:09.439 --> 00:08:13.759
Whereas an apprenticeship program, it could be a godsend.
00:08:13.839 --> 00:08:22.639
They get paid while they're in high school, they learn what a job's like, they can take community college courses that would actually count towards a degree if they want to work in that direction.
00:08:22.800 --> 00:08:33.919
Uh, I think we did career-wise in Colorado, it's been successful, but we didn't, I didn't fight for the funding to make it expand dramatically and and really make it permanent.
00:08:34.080 --> 00:08:36.240
And uh I regret that.
00:08:36.399 --> 00:08:39.039
I think that that's something that it's it's that important.
00:08:39.360 --> 00:08:47.120
And I think if I had created the time and elbowed my way into the debate, uh, we could have made it something that is national level.
00:08:47.360 --> 00:08:50.559
I'm certainly trying to do it in Washington.
00:08:50.720 --> 00:08:58.399
Uh, we've worked real hard between the Department of Education and the Department of Labor, and they're both kind of saying that you know, the other guys are keeping us from doing it.
00:08:58.559 --> 00:09:10.720
Uh I think I'm hopeful that in a in a uh last two years, the President Trump could be talked into a youth apprenticeship model just because he made his name with a TV show called The Apprenticeship.
00:09:10.879 --> 00:09:13.840
Um he could he could get some glory from it.
00:09:14.080 --> 00:09:21.840
What is one thing you believe Colorado needs to do that may be difficult, unpopular, or expensive, but that you believe is necessary?
00:09:21.919 --> 00:09:24.639
And what role would your office play in moving it forward?
00:09:25.039 --> 00:09:34.639
Well, I think that a lot of of what we need to do is things like apprenticeships, where the federal the federal government can go and provide a big chunk of the money, not all of it.
00:09:34.799 --> 00:09:44.240
I think the best programs are the ones that are our partner, our partnership between the federal government, uh, the state government, and then local, county, municipal government.
00:09:44.399 --> 00:09:47.600
Um and uh apprenticeships are a good example of that.
00:09:47.759 --> 00:10:11.120
I I think that uh helping small farmers, um, you know, uh it's it's a if you spend time out on the eastern plains, these are amazing people uh and they know their land, they know the farms, but the the economy, the giant factory farms and gigantic meat processing plants make it really hard for the you know the smaller farmers to survive.
00:10:11.200 --> 00:10:32.480
And I think there's a way to set up um uh selling almost like co-ops, but systems where we market uh beef or pork uh or or vegetables to a local local purchasers through special um streamlined systems.
00:10:32.559 --> 00:10:55.200
And there would be some tax incentives, uh, some ways to motivate these markets uh carrying local goods because we know that they can they're organic, uh they're grown grown with love and affection, they're healthier than the mass-produced food that you know often comes in boxes and cans, uh, and the money goes right into our own farms.
00:10:55.440 --> 00:10:57.360
So I think that's a classic.
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There are lots of places like that where you can find get uh federal programs, provide some incentives, the state reinforces that and provides some of the machinery, and then the locals are the ones who really make it happen.
00:11:08.159 --> 00:11:11.840
And lastly, working in politics can sometimes be stressful.
00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:15.919
What is your favorite way to de-stress or a favorite activity outside of work?
00:11:16.240 --> 00:11:16.960
Oh my gosh.
00:11:17.120 --> 00:11:21.600
Well, it feels these days, the last couple of years, like there's nothing I do but work.
00:11:21.840 --> 00:11:27.039
Um, I I mean, I've always loved reading, I love um film and movies.
00:11:27.360 --> 00:11:32.480
Uh, my wife and I love sitting down and and and um and seeing a film when we get a chance.
00:11:32.639 --> 00:11:38.000
We you know, we have a three and a half-year-old son, so we don't get to see too many films anymore.
00:11:38.240 --> 00:11:47.120
Um uh up until a year ago, or I hurt my shoulder, but I was a nationally ranked double squash player, squash kind of an indoor version of tennis.
00:11:47.360 --> 00:11:49.840
Uh, I mean, there's I've always loved sports.
00:11:50.000 --> 00:11:54.399
Um, I love music, so I try to get out to Red Rocks every chance I can get.
00:11:54.639 --> 00:12:00.799
Um, although that's again, it's um if I get out there two or three times a year, I consider myself lucky.
00:12:00.960 --> 00:12:07.120
Um, the the real issue here is just making sure that I get enough time to do my job.
00:12:07.279 --> 00:12:09.519
Um, and that's really the highest priority.
00:12:09.840 --> 00:12:15.120
Well, Senator Hickenlooper, thank you so much for taking the time to interview with us today and best of luck with the elections.
00:12:15.440 --> 00:12:16.240
Thanks so much.
00:12:16.399 --> 00:12:17.679
Good luck to you.
