Editor's note: KUNC is publishing un-edited interviews with the Republican and Democratic gubernatorial candidates so the public can view their answers in a transparent and unfiltered manner. Their answers may include statements that are not supported by evidence.
Colorado voters will choose a new governor this year, with Governor Jared Polis term-limited and unable to seek a third term. Ahead of the June 30 primary election, KUNC is interviewing each of the Democratic and Republican candidates running to replace him.
Next in our series is Democratic candidate and U.S. Senator Michael Bennet. KUNC host Mike Lyle sat down with Bennet to discuss his campaign, what he'd bring to the governor's office and the issues he says matter most to Colorado voters.
MIKE LYLE: A top concern for Colorado voters right now is affordability. What are some specific policies that you would implement as governor to bring down Coloradans' everyday cost of living?
MICHAEL BENNET: I think that that is the number one concern. We're having a cost-of-living crisis in this state. Housing is at the top of that list everywhere in Colorado, rural and urban. I think that we should have as a goal in Colorado that no working person should have to spend more than 30% of their income on housing, and I think one way to get there, the principal way to get there, is to build more housing.
We've got to build more starter homes, we've got to build more condominiums that are affordable for the next generation of Coloradans. There are a lot of people in Colorado who feel like, you know, people my age have done really well in real estate, but they have no chance to be able to participate in the American dream in Colorado, I think we need to change that, and a big part of that also is to cut red tape, both at the state level and the local level, to make sure that we're able to build housing more efficiently.
LYLE: Now, other than affordability, what are two other top issues that you would like to prioritize as governor, and how would you address them?
BENNET: I would say another concern that a lot of people have is the Trump administration, and the way they've run roughshod over the rule of law and over our democracy. I think that it's really important for us to fight the worst impulses of Donald Trump, which are almost all of his impulses, which is why I've said that if I'm elected governor, we're not going to allow Trump's ICE agents to come to Colorado wearing masks, we're not going to allow him to knock on doors without warrants, we're not going to allow him to separate families from their children at the border.
But on top of that, we got to make sure we're not just fighting Trump, we got to have a positive vision for the future, and that means dealing with the cost of living crisis, making sure that Colorado, again, is welcoming businesses in our state. This is the first time since the 1980s that we were actually losing businesses.
Then I would say the final thing is we need to address climate change, because Donald Trump is certainly not going to do that. I'm the only candidate in this race who has put forward a plan to cap emissions economy-wide, statewide in Colorado. It's called Cap and Invest, and I think we'll be able to raise Colorado's banner across this country as a leader when it comes to the fight against climate change.
LYLE: Many Coloradans are also worried about the state of our democracy. So, when it comes to the democratic process, what is working and what is not, and what would you do to address those problems?
BENNET: I don't think there's much that's working about our democracy right now, and I believe we're living in a Gilded Age where the benefits of the last 40 or 50 years of our economy have accrued to the people at the very top, and it's become harder and harder for people to live a middle-class life. It's harder and harder for working families to get ahead, or to see their kids doing better than they did, and that's what we have to turn around, because in my mind these things are linked, you know.
I think that Donald Trump has caused many, many problems for Colorado, for this nation, but I think he also needs to be understood as a symptom of our problems, a symptom of an economy that hasn't worked well enough for working people. We've got to make sure that in Colorado there are high-paying jobs for people, so that they can support their family, and we're dealing with the cost crisis that we're talking about. And in my mind, those things together will help us begin to build faith in our democracy again, and we will begin to fight back, and frankly, reclaim the democracy.
On the one side, you see Donald Trump, who represents hatred and chaos and division. On the other side, I think there is Colorado, which represents a politics of coalition building, a politics that says we're not going to leave anybody behind, a politics that says we can do better than division, and just like 100 years ago when we were living in a Gilded Age, this is a moment where the American people themselves are going to reclaim our democracy. I want Colorado to be at the head of that line, and frankly, that's one of the fundamental reasons I'm running for governor.
LYLE: Speaking of Donald Trump, as a U.S. Senator, you've been positioned to push back on the Trump administration through Congress. You would be in a very different position as governor. So, what would your approach be to working with or fighting back against the Trump administration?
BENNET: I've been pleased to have the chance to fight Donald Trump on health care, to fight Donald Trump on ICE, to fight and beat Donald Trump on saving our public lands, and I think that that fight will continue as governor of Colorado. For the reasons that I said earlier, I'm not going to let Donald Trump violate our civil rights. I'm not going to let Donald Trump, you know, fight or mistreat immigrants in Colorado either.
But I think that the other thing we have to do is provide a vision for the future. It's not enough just to point out how corrupt Trump is, although he is incredibly corrupt. It's important to be able to show that we have a path forward ourselves, and I think we're already building that path forward.
The proposals that I've made in this campaign to make housing affordable for working people, to create a true public option so people don't have to rely on private health insurance for their health insurance, and my plan on cap and invest to really provide leadership in this nation on climate change. We're not going to get leadership from an administration whose climate and energy policy are drill baby drill, we are the ones that we're waiting for. There is no one riding to our rescue, and I think Colorado is going to be a shining beacon for everybody else.
This is not going to be easy. It's going to be really hard, but I think the experience that I have in the private sector, being a superintendent of Colorado's largest school district, and also three terms at the highest level of our national politics, gives me the experience and the perspective, and frankly, the toughness, to be able to help us in the moment that we're going through right now.
LYLE: What I was going to say at the end was that, while you're doing this, going against Trump, how are you going to do so while making sure that the Coloradans' best interests remain at the forefront here?
BENNET: Well, I think that going against Trump is in Colorado's best interest. I don't think that you can reward lawlessness by capitulating to lawlessness, because that will just breed more of it, and that's one of the reasons why I disagree with Governor Polis' commutation of Tina Peters sentence. I think that we need to act boldly, we need to act resolutely, we need to act with confidence.
I have no doubt that this generation of Coloradans and this generation of Americans is going to be able to put a stake through ‘Trumpism’ and build an economy again in America, and in Colorado, that when it grows, it grows for everybody, not just the people at the very top. That we have confidence again that our kids can live the American dream, and that we can restore our democracy and America's place in the world. Colorado has leadership to provide right now, and I feel very grateful to have the experience that I'm bringing to this election.
