Shelli Shaw

Republican Party

AGE
47
RESIDENCE
Durango
PROFESSION
Own BnB, former educator
EDUCATION
Master’s, Education Administration; Bachelor’s of Arts, English
EXPERIENCE
 
WEBSITE • FACEBOOK

What are your top three priorities for the next legislative session?
Overregulation of Colorado agriculture and natural gas industries are destroying family farms and small natural gas operators. They are closing because they cannot keep up with the countless regulations or fees imposed on them.

We must focus on teaching our children skills for the future and how to be productive citizens. When the government assigned schools are failing our children, parents should have options.

Drugs are killing our children, friends, and family members; it is tearing communities apart. I will work to get possession of dangerous drugs back to a felony while finding ways to help those caught in addiction.

The chamber may see split Democrat-Republican control next year. On what issues do you see common ground with the opposite party?
The economy and education. I will work with any legislator in the House or Senate that is committed to bringing back economic prosperity to our state. I want to assist every small business owner in filling their “Help Wanted Signs.”

What perspective or background would you bring to the chamber that is currently missing?
I will represent the concerns and aspirations of all those who call District 59 home. I am the owner and manager of a bed and breakfast as well as a former English teacher and district-level administrator for a school district. I know the value of listening and understanding where others are coming from, and it is my constituents’ voices that will set my agenda and guide solutions to issues that impact their lives and freedoms.

What more can the state legislature do to ease housing costs across Colorado?
Government regulations hinder the building of affordable homes in our communities. With fees tacked on to every delivery or interstate transaction, builders no longer want to do business in Colorado. They move on to other states where it is easier and more cost-efficient to build homes. This means fewer homes sold for increasingly higher prices. New or young families cannot afford to live here anymore, so we are losing third- and fourth-generation Coloradans. The state legislature can remove regulations and fees stifling the housing industry in Colorado.

Do you support the current law on fentanyl possession and resources for treatment?
I do not support the current law on fentanyl possession. The increasing loss of life and societal damage caused by fentanyl requires that possession of this deadly substance be zero grams. We must allow law enforcement to take those dealing in fentanyl off the streets and away from our kids.

I believe in increasing the number of 30- to 90-day care facilities in the Southwest corner of Colorado in order to provide the support and help needed to those caught in drug and alcohol addiction. These local facilities would mean no one would have to travel hours away from their family and friends as they work on getting clean and sober.

Barbara McLachlan

Democratic Party

AGE
67
RESIDENCE
Durango
PROFESSION
Teacher
EDUCATION
MA, Learning and Teaching; BA, English; BS Journalism
EXPERIENCE
I have represented HD59 for 6 years, as Chair of the Education Committee, member of the Agriculture, Livestock, & Water Committee; member of the Water and Global Talent Task Force interim committees
WEBSITE • FACEBOOK • TWITTER

What are your top three priorities for the next legislative session?
1. Add as much money as we can into the School Finance package and pay educators what they are worth. 2. Find innovative ways each community can address affordable and attainable housing. 3. Conserve, store, and manage Colorado’s water.

The chamber may see split Democrat-Republican control next year. On what issues do you see common ground with the opposite party?
Agriculture and water always feel non-partisan; we usually agree on the bills we discuss in committee. Democrats and Republicans also agree we face affordable housing shortages and that we have a need for small business economic development. We may get there in different ways, but we are on the same basic page.

What perspective or background would you bring to the chamber that is currently missing?
I bring a strong rural voice to the chamber. I know the value of living in a small town, knowing most of our neighbors. I grew up in the Denver area, so have a good perspective on the needs of both rural and urban issues.

What more can the state legislature do to ease housing costs across Colorado?
Some of it takes money, but some of the work also involves innovation, incentives, and land. We have to come together as communities and decide that our workforce, as well as our teachers, peace officers, and other government employees, deserve a home of their own. Maybe we can figure out a way to outlaw greed and increase kindness.

Do you support the current law on fentanyl possession and resources for treatment?
I voted on an amendment to hold the penalty limit to zero grams instead of one, but was outvoted. I do agree, otherwise, with the current law because it adds pressure on the dealer, not the people who unwillingly ingested fentanyl. It also adds test strips to determine fentanyl’s presence, and therapy for those who use it. Voluntarily or not. If Coloradans someday believe the law should be modified, then we should listen and act.

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How candidate order was determined: A lot drawing was held at the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office on Aug. 3 to determine the general election ballot order for major and minor party candidates. Colorado law (1-5-404, C.R.S.) requires that candidates are ordered on the ballot in three tiers: major party candidates followed by minor party candidates followed by unaffiliated candidates. Within each tier, the candidates are ordered by a lot drawing with the exception of the office of Governor and Lt. Governor, which are ordered by the last name of the gubernatorial candidate.

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