WEBVTT
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Hi, my name is Greg Lopez, and I'm running for governor of Colorado as an independent candidate.
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Greg, why are you seeking this office and what experience or perspective would you bring to the position?
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You know, I'm running for governor because I believe that both parties have failed the people.
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They no longer really focus on solving problems.
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They focus on scoring political points.
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And I think people are tired of that.
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I think people want common sense back in the government, and they want a governor that will listen to their concerns, understands their struggles, and more importantly, will do what's right.
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And so my governing principles are pretty simple: people over politics, do no harm and do what works.
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Now, my experience has been very vast as it pertains to government and business and community involvement.
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So I'm a former mayor of the town of Park of Colorado.
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I was elected at the age of 27.
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I was a strong mayor.
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So I was both the mayor and the city manager, which meant all the department has reported directly to me.
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I'm the former director of the United States Small Business Administration here in Colorado.
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So for six years, I was a voice and face of small business, making sure that they had access to capital, were able to get contracts, and were successful out in the marketplace.
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I'm a former congressman.
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I am the congressman for the fourth congressional here in Colorado.
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And so I understand the challenges both at the local level, the state level, and the federal level.
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And I think I'm the only candidate that truly understands the complexity of what it means to deal with all the issues that the state of Colorado has to deal with.
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And so I understand transportation.
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I sat on the board of V470.
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I worked with the Denver Regional Council of Governments.
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I worked with the Colorado Municipal League, which is all the mayors and council members, and also Colorado Counties Association.
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And so I think I bring a unique perspective as to when government works, how well it does, and when government doesn't work, the harm it creates in people's lives.
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And so I believe I bring something very unique.
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The other candidates bring party governance.
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They have political bosses that they have to listen to or political rhetoric that they have to support.
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My loyalty is to the people.
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My loyalty is not to any political party.
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My loyalty is to the people.
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And I can work with either side as long as we're bringing good solutions to the table.
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Tell us about a specific decision you made, either in a current job or a past one, that you would make differently today.
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What did you get wrong and what would you change because of it?
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You know, one of the one of the things that has bothered me the most about perhaps making not the right decision.
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When I was mayor in Parker, Colorado, I had the opportunity to have the town purchase about 78 acres adjacent to an existing park.
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And it was going to make it a regional park.
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And so I took it to council uh to see if we could acquire it.
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It was uh the council felt that it wasn't an appropriate purchase because it didn't have water on the property.
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And I was so caught up with a lot of different issues that I didn't make a stronger case as to why the town needed to buy it.
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And so five years later, while I was looking to buy it for about$78,000,$178,000, the town ended up buying it for close to five million dollars, the same amount of land that I was going to buy five years earlier.
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And so one of the things I've learned is that you know what, if there's something that you believe is going to be in the long-term betterment for the future of the people, you need to stand your ground.
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You need to make sure that you educate those around you of why you see the vision that you see, because oftentimes they don't.
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And so I learned that, you know what, you need to slow down, prioritize all these projects, and also understand what projects truly improve the quality of life of people in any regional park, right?
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Can be uh utilized by families, you know, kids playing soccer or baseball.
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So that's probably one of the things that you know I regret the most is I didn't fight hard enough to create a regional park in the state in the town of Parker.
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Looking back five years, and name one Colorado policy you would undo and one you would defend.
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You know, there's there's so many policies, right?
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Whether they're internal policies of the governor's office or legislative bills.
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You know, I don't know that everybody understands that predominantly every year, 600 bills are passed by the legislature, and they have predominantly a fiscal impact on them.
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So that means that there's going to be cost to these bills.
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But one of the bills that really bothers me is when, again, what does it impact families?
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And that would be House Bill 24-1370, which dealt with natural gas.
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You know, there's a movement to remove natural gas from the homes and so forth.
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And, you know, we use here at my house a natural gas stove, you know, and so natural gas is very important because most water heaters in people's homes are fueled by natural gas.
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And so the poor cannot afford to change their water heater, you know, into an electric water heater.
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They don't have that extra disposable income.
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And so all these requirements as it pertains to moving forward and getting rid of natural gas is hurting the poor, is hurting those that are struggling, and it really doesn't improve the quality of life of people.
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It just creates another anxiety point by which they have to deal with.
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So that would be one that I would definitely roll back.
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You know, the one that I I support is Senate Bill 25261.
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And this is dealing with property tax.
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This is property tax, a deferral program that if you can't pay it all at once, you can defer paying your property taxes without the threat of you losing your home.
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And I think it's important for people to not to lose their home for whatever reason, but predominantly if you if you're not able to pay your property tax because of a fixed income or life throw you through you a curveball.
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And we all know that the property tax is through the ceiling.
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I would like to see the property taxes go away completely or reduce them to such a point where it's not creating a financial burden on the poor, on the young men and women that have just bought the home and starting a family.
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That is one that I support, and that is managing the high rise of property taxes.
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If elected, what would be your main priority while in office and what steps would you take toward accomplishing it?
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You know, we all know affordability.
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Affordability is hurting every single household.
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That's what people talk about at the kitchen table.
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Can we actually afford this?
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What are we going to do to pay our bills, right?
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They're having to make these hard choices because of the affordability issue.
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And so one of the things that I want to do is first of all, remove the heavy hand of government on small business, the heavy hand of government on everyday lives.
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You know, enterprise funds, people don't understand that under Governor Polis' administration, they created more enterprise funds, which are funded by fees.
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They're not funded by taxpayers' dollars.
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And so every time they create an enterprise, it is another tax on the people that is not considered a tax because it's identified as a fee.
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So those are the types of things that I want to roll back, is remove those fee burdens on people.
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When it comes to housing and affordability, I want to build starter homes.
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We don't build starter homes anymore.
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You know, starter homes should be 1,100 square feet, two bedrooms, one bath, a small kitchen, a little living room with a nice little yard.
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Not as the fancy upgrades of granite countertops and vaulted ceilings.
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These are starter homes.
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And these homes would range around$235,000 for people to purchase.
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This can be done.
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I understand land use, I understand zoning, I've worked with builders, developers, understand the cost of developing a lot to put a house on there.
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So those are the types of things that I would work us on very closely is fees.
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What are they doing?
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They're hurting people, that the uh overreach of government as it pertains to regulations and pushing small business out of the marketplace, and also affordability with homes.
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So you talked about this a little bit already, but a recent bipartisan poll found that affordability is the top concern for Colorado voters.
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Can you name a specific policy on the books right now that you believe is making Colorado less affordable and what you would do to remedy it?
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Yeah, you know, and again, right?
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My governing principles, again, are pretty simple.
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People over politics, do no harm and do what works.
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And so I'm going to look at every legislation and ask those three questions.
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Is this politically driven or is this really being driven by the need of the people?
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Is it hurting people?
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If it is hurting people, what do we do to modify it so it doesn't hurt individuals out there?
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And then the next question, which is the most important question, is can it work?
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Does it actually work?
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Or are we just passing these bills because it feels good, it sounds good, it's an emotional appeal to people's fears and concerns.
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I think those are the types of things that are very important.
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One of the things that, and I don't remember what bill it is, but there is a bill that mandated these transportation-oriented communities where they want to bill next to RTD light rail stops.
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And they increased the density from 15 units to the acre up to 40 units to the acre.
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They're actually mandating people to live on top of each other because they believe the government believes that that's the way we should live.
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Here in Colorado, we love our open space.
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We love to be able to have our own little yard.
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People don't want to live in townhomes.
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They don't want to live in apartments.
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They want to live in single-family homes, they want to establish their roots, they want to be able to raise a family.
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So we got to stop mandating people to live in these transoriented communities, these 15-minute communities, is not work in Colorado.
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It may work in LA, it may work in New York, but that's not the Colorado fabric.
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And so these are the types of things that I would pull back and allow local control to decide where they want to build, not state government telling them where they must build.
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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 that forward?
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You know, the biggest challenge right now is water.
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A lot of people don't understand the importance of water.
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And we must capture more water.
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Which what does that mean?
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That means we gotta invest serious dollars in reservoirs.
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We got to invest serious dollars in improving the infrastructure of how water gets transported throughout the state.
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And I know it's not you know uh luxury or fancy, you know, nobody wants to cut a ribbon on a water pipe, nobody wants to cut a ribbon, you know, on a reservoir.
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But right now, Colorado is out of water.
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Every drop that we're currently using is water that we saved over the years.
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If you haven't gone up to the mountains to Lake Dillon or to Blue Mesa Reservoir, to Green Mount Reservoir, if you do go, it is shocking.
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It is shocking to see how much mud and how little water exists in these huge reservoirs that we used to use for boating and hiking.
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And you know, water is a huge component of our economy.
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It's not just drinking water that we must preserve, but we gotta preserve the economy.
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Fishing, boating, river rafting, all those things that bring people to Colorado to enjoy the beauty of what we have.
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And now the word's getting out that we had a bad snow season last year.
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We gotta hope we get a good snowfall this year because it's starting to hurt our economy, it's starting to hurt the local communities up in the mountains, and people are really stressing out about the future.
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So we must make sure that if there's one thing we focus in on is water.
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Water is life here in Colorado, and we are a headwater state, which means no water flows in, all the water flows out, and we provide water to 19 states across the United States.
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So, water is a major infrastructure project, it's gonna cost a lot of money, and people may not like the fact that we're looking to preserve water, but this is a difficult discussion that we must have.
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This is a discussion that will lead us into the future.
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We must have water if we want to maintain the beauty and the ambiance of Colorado, as well as providing a good quality of life for everybody that currently lives here.
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And lastly, working in politics can be stressful.
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What's your favorite way to de-stress and unwind or a favorite activity outside of work?
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You know, it's it's interesting because, you know, um I never really know that I'm under a lot of stress.
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I know that there are times where I'm thinking a lot about a topic or an issue.
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Uh, my wife is the one that says, you know, you're stressed out.
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I said, really?
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She goes, Yeah, I can tell.
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I can tell in your demeanor.
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I can tell the way you carry yourself.
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You know, one of the things that I really enjoy is either getting on the elliptical and just kind of getting that energy, right?
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And sweating it out and feeling that you're doing two things simultaneously, right?
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You're reducing stress, but you're taking care of your health.
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And the other thing is, you know, I love to read.
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I love to read good books.
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And just being quiet, uh, I like to do that.
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And the last thing I like to do is just really sit in nature and just sit still and just enjoy the silence and enjoy the beauty of what Colorado offers and what the Lord has created.
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That gives me peace, which is really what we need is less stress and more peace.
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Well, thank you so much for your time today and best of luck with the elections.
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Thank you, Rachel.
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Appreciate it.
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Hi, my name is Greg Lopez, and I'm running for governor of Colorado as an independent candidate.
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Greg, why are you seeking this office and what experience or perspective would you bring to the position?
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You know, I'm running for governor because I believe that both parties have failed the people.
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They no longer really focus on solving problems.
00:00:20.640 --> 00:00:22.960
They focus on scoring political points.
00:00:23.199 --> 00:00:25.039
And I think people are tired of that.
00:00:25.199 --> 00:00:36.399
I think people want common sense back in the government, and they want a governor that will listen to their concerns, understands their struggles, and more importantly, will do what's right.
00:00:36.479 --> 00:00:42.960
And so my governing principles are pretty simple: people over politics, do no harm and do what works.
00:00:43.200 --> 00:00:52.479
Now, my experience has been very vast as it pertains to government and business and community involvement.
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So I'm a former mayor of the town of Park of Colorado.
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I was elected at the age of 27.
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I was a strong mayor.
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So I was both the mayor and the city manager, which meant all the department has reported directly to me.
00:01:05.680 --> 00:01:09.760
I'm the former director of the United States Small Business Administration here in Colorado.
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So for six years, I was a voice and face of small business, making sure that they had access to capital, were able to get contracts, and were successful out in the marketplace.
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I'm a former congressman.
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I am the congressman for the fourth congressional here in Colorado.
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And so I understand the challenges both at the local level, the state level, and the federal level.
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And I think I'm the only candidate that truly understands the complexity of what it means to deal with all the issues that the state of Colorado has to deal with.
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And so I understand transportation.
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I sat on the board of V470.
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I worked with the Denver Regional Council of Governments.
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I worked with the Colorado Municipal League, which is all the mayors and council members, and also Colorado Counties Association.
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And so I think I bring a unique perspective as to when government works, how well it does, and when government doesn't work, the harm it creates in people's lives.
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And so I believe I bring something very unique.
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The other candidates bring party governance.
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They have political bosses that they have to listen to or political rhetoric that they have to support.
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My loyalty is to the people.
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My loyalty is not to any political party.
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My loyalty is to the people.
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And I can work with either side as long as we're bringing good solutions to the table.
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Tell us about a specific decision you made, either in a current job or a past one, that you would make differently today.
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What did you get wrong and what would you change because of it?
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You know, one of the one of the things that has bothered me the most about perhaps making not the right decision.
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When I was mayor in Parker, Colorado, I had the opportunity to have the town purchase about 78 acres adjacent to an existing park.
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And it was going to make it a regional park.
00:03:01.360 --> 00:03:06.080
And so I took it to council uh to see if we could acquire it.
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It was uh the council felt that it wasn't an appropriate purchase because it didn't have water on the property.
00:03:12.240 --> 00:03:20.639
And I was so caught up with a lot of different issues that I didn't make a stronger case as to why the town needed to buy it.
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And so five years later, while I was looking to buy it for about$78,000,$178,000, the town ended up buying it for close to five million dollars, the same amount of land that I was going to buy five years earlier.
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And so one of the things I've learned is that you know what, if there's something that you believe is going to be in the long-term betterment for the future of the people, you need to stand your ground.
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You need to make sure that you educate those around you of why you see the vision that you see, because oftentimes they don't.
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And so I learned that, you know what, you need to slow down, prioritize all these projects, and also understand what projects truly improve the quality of life of people in any regional park, right?
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Can be uh utilized by families, you know, kids playing soccer or baseball.
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So that's probably one of the things that you know I regret the most is I didn't fight hard enough to create a regional park in the state in the town of Parker.
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Looking back five years, and name one Colorado policy you would undo and one you would defend.
00:04:25.839 --> 00:04:28.800
You know, there's there's so many policies, right?
00:04:28.959 --> 00:04:33.759
Whether they're internal policies of the governor's office or legislative bills.
00:04:33.920 --> 00:04:44.160
You know, I don't know that everybody understands that predominantly every year, 600 bills are passed by the legislature, and they have predominantly a fiscal impact on them.
00:04:44.319 --> 00:04:47.279
So that means that there's going to be cost to these bills.
00:04:47.439 --> 00:04:52.720
But one of the bills that really bothers me is when, again, what does it impact families?
00:04:52.800 --> 00:04:59.279
And that would be House Bill 24-1370, which dealt with natural gas.
00:04:59.439 --> 00:05:04.319
You know, there's a movement to remove natural gas from the homes and so forth.
00:05:04.480 --> 00:05:18.000
And, you know, we use here at my house a natural gas stove, you know, and so natural gas is very important because most water heaters in people's homes are fueled by natural gas.
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And so the poor cannot afford to change their water heater, you know, into an electric water heater.
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They don't have that extra disposable income.
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And so all these requirements as it pertains to moving forward and getting rid of natural gas is hurting the poor, is hurting those that are struggling, and it really doesn't improve the quality of life of people.
00:05:40.560 --> 00:05:44.879
It just creates another anxiety point by which they have to deal with.
00:05:44.959 --> 00:05:47.360
So that would be one that I would definitely roll back.
00:05:47.519 --> 00:05:52.639
You know, the one that I I support is Senate Bill 25261.
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And this is dealing with property tax.
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This is property tax, a deferral program that if you can't pay it all at once, you can defer paying your property taxes without the threat of you losing your home.
00:06:04.720 --> 00:06:18.480
And I think it's important for people to not to lose their home for whatever reason, but predominantly if you if you're not able to pay your property tax because of a fixed income or life throw you through you a curveball.
00:06:18.639 --> 00:06:21.519
And we all know that the property tax is through the ceiling.
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I would like to see the property taxes go away completely or reduce them to such a point where it's not creating a financial burden on the poor, on the young men and women that have just bought the home and starting a family.
00:06:36.319 --> 00:06:42.240
That is one that I support, and that is managing the high rise of property taxes.
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If elected, what would be your main priority while in office and what steps would you take toward accomplishing it?
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You know, we all know affordability.
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Affordability is hurting every single household.
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That's what people talk about at the kitchen table.
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Can we actually afford this?
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What are we going to do to pay our bills, right?
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They're having to make these hard choices because of the affordability issue.
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And so one of the things that I want to do is first of all, remove the heavy hand of government on small business, the heavy hand of government on everyday lives.
00:07:14.240 --> 00:07:23.839
You know, enterprise funds, people don't understand that under Governor Polis' administration, they created more enterprise funds, which are funded by fees.
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They're not funded by taxpayers' dollars.
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And so every time they create an enterprise, it is another tax on the people that is not considered a tax because it's identified as a fee.
00:07:37.759 --> 00:07:43.040
So those are the types of things that I want to roll back, is remove those fee burdens on people.
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When it comes to housing and affordability, I want to build starter homes.
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We don't build starter homes anymore.
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You know, starter homes should be 1,100 square feet, two bedrooms, one bath, a small kitchen, a little living room with a nice little yard.
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Not as the fancy upgrades of granite countertops and vaulted ceilings.
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These are starter homes.
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And these homes would range around$235,000 for people to purchase.
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This can be done.
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I understand land use, I understand zoning, I've worked with builders, developers, understand the cost of developing a lot to put a house on there.
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So those are the types of things that I would work us on very closely is fees.
00:08:23.680 --> 00:08:24.720
What are they doing?
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They're hurting people, that the uh overreach of government as it pertains to regulations and pushing small business out of the marketplace, and also affordability with homes.
00:08:37.279 --> 00:08:44.720
So you talked about this a little bit already, but a recent bipartisan poll found that affordability is the top concern for Colorado voters.
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Can you name a specific policy on the books right now that you believe is making Colorado less affordable and what you would do to remedy it?
00:08:53.200 --> 00:08:54.960
Yeah, you know, and again, right?
00:08:55.279 --> 00:08:57.600
My governing principles, again, are pretty simple.
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People over politics, do no harm and do what works.
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And so I'm going to look at every legislation and ask those three questions.
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Is this politically driven or is this really being driven by the need of the people?
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Is it hurting people?
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If it is hurting people, what do we do to modify it so it doesn't hurt individuals out there?
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And then the next question, which is the most important question, is can it work?
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Does it actually work?
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Or are we just passing these bills because it feels good, it sounds good, it's an emotional appeal to people's fears and concerns.
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I think those are the types of things that are very important.
00:09:34.480 --> 00:09:46.960
One of the things that, and I don't remember what bill it is, but there is a bill that mandated these transportation-oriented communities where they want to bill next to RTD light rail stops.
00:09:47.039 --> 00:09:53.039
And they increased the density from 15 units to the acre up to 40 units to the acre.
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They're actually mandating people to live on top of each other because they believe the government believes that that's the way we should live.
00:10:01.279 --> 00:10:03.600
Here in Colorado, we love our open space.
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We love to be able to have our own little yard.
00:10:06.320 --> 00:10:08.000
People don't want to live in townhomes.
00:10:08.080 --> 00:10:09.440
They don't want to live in apartments.
00:10:09.600 --> 00:10:14.799
They want to live in single-family homes, they want to establish their roots, they want to be able to raise a family.
00:10:14.960 --> 00:10:25.200
So we got to stop mandating people to live in these transoriented communities, these 15-minute communities, is not work in Colorado.
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It may work in LA, it may work in New York, but that's not the Colorado fabric.
00:10:30.399 --> 00:10:40.480
And so these are the types of things that I would pull back and allow local control to decide where they want to build, not state government telling them where they must build.
00:10:40.960 --> 00:10:49.120
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 that forward?
00:10:52.559 --> 00:10:55.120
You know, the biggest challenge right now is water.
00:10:55.360 --> 00:10:58.639
A lot of people don't understand the importance of water.
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And we must capture more water.
00:11:00.960 --> 00:11:02.000
Which what does that mean?
00:11:02.159 --> 00:11:06.240
That means we gotta invest serious dollars in reservoirs.
00:11:06.320 --> 00:11:14.159
We got to invest serious dollars in improving the infrastructure of how water gets transported throughout the state.
00:11:14.399 --> 00:11:24.960
And I know it's not you know uh luxury or fancy, you know, nobody wants to cut a ribbon on a water pipe, nobody wants to cut a ribbon, you know, on a reservoir.
00:11:25.279 --> 00:11:28.720
But right now, Colorado is out of water.
00:11:28.960 --> 00:11:34.000
Every drop that we're currently using is water that we saved over the years.
00:11:34.240 --> 00:11:43.919
If you haven't gone up to the mountains to Lake Dillon or to Blue Mesa Reservoir, to Green Mount Reservoir, if you do go, it is shocking.
00:11:44.080 --> 00:11:54.480
It is shocking to see how much mud and how little water exists in these huge reservoirs that we used to use for boating and hiking.
00:11:54.559 --> 00:11:58.159
And you know, water is a huge component of our economy.
00:11:58.320 --> 00:12:02.879
It's not just drinking water that we must preserve, but we gotta preserve the economy.
00:12:03.039 --> 00:12:11.759
Fishing, boating, river rafting, all those things that bring people to Colorado to enjoy the beauty of what we have.
00:12:11.919 --> 00:12:16.240
And now the word's getting out that we had a bad snow season last year.
00:12:16.480 --> 00:12:27.440
We gotta hope we get a good snowfall this year because it's starting to hurt our economy, it's starting to hurt the local communities up in the mountains, and people are really stressing out about the future.
00:12:27.679 --> 00:12:32.879
So we must make sure that if there's one thing we focus in on is water.
00:12:33.039 --> 00:12:48.240
Water is life here in Colorado, and we are a headwater state, which means no water flows in, all the water flows out, and we provide water to 19 states across the United States.
00:12:48.480 --> 00:12:59.600
So, water is a major infrastructure project, it's gonna cost a lot of money, and people may not like the fact that we're looking to preserve water, but this is a difficult discussion that we must have.
00:12:59.840 --> 00:13:03.120
This is a discussion that will lead us into the future.
00:13:03.360 --> 00:13:14.240
We must have water if we want to maintain the beauty and the ambiance of Colorado, as well as providing a good quality of life for everybody that currently lives here.
00:13:14.559 --> 00:13:17.919
And lastly, working in politics can be stressful.
00:13:18.080 --> 00:13:23.039
What's your favorite way to de-stress and unwind or a favorite activity outside of work?
00:13:24.159 --> 00:13:30.080
You know, it's it's interesting because, you know, um I never really know that I'm under a lot of stress.
00:13:30.159 --> 00:13:34.080
I know that there are times where I'm thinking a lot about a topic or an issue.
00:13:34.240 --> 00:13:37.600
Uh, my wife is the one that says, you know, you're stressed out.
00:13:37.759 --> 00:13:38.240
I said, really?
00:13:38.480 --> 00:13:39.600
She goes, Yeah, I can tell.
00:13:39.759 --> 00:13:41.120
I can tell in your demeanor.
00:13:41.200 --> 00:13:42.639
I can tell the way you carry yourself.
00:13:42.799 --> 00:13:50.240
You know, one of the things that I really enjoy is either getting on the elliptical and just kind of getting that energy, right?
00:13:50.320 --> 00:13:54.799
And sweating it out and feeling that you're doing two things simultaneously, right?
00:13:54.879 --> 00:13:57.440
You're reducing stress, but you're taking care of your health.
00:13:57.600 --> 00:14:00.240
And the other thing is, you know, I love to read.
00:14:00.399 --> 00:14:02.080
I love to read good books.
00:14:02.399 --> 00:14:06.000
And just being quiet, uh, I like to do that.
00:14:06.080 --> 00:14:19.440
And the last thing I like to do is just really sit in nature and just sit still and just enjoy the silence and enjoy the beauty of what Colorado offers and what the Lord has created.
00:14:19.679 --> 00:14:25.519
That gives me peace, which is really what we need is less stress and more peace.
00:14:26.480 --> 00:14:30.080
Well, thank you so much for your time today and best of luck with the elections.
00:14:30.639 --> 00:14:31.360
Thank you, Rachel.
00:14:31.600 --> 00:14:32.159
Appreciate it.
