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 Republican candidate and current state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer. KUNC host Mike Lyle sat down with Kirkmeyer to discuss her campaign, priorities, and the issues facing 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?
KIRKMEYER: Great question, and as governor in my administration, one of my highest priorities will be restoring affordability for Colorado families. As you've mentioned, the rising cost of housing, groceries, energy, insurance — the list goes on. It's just making it, you know, everyday necessities, it’s just making it harder for hardworking Coloradans to get ahead.
So, in my first year, and quite frankly, within my first six months, I will work to whip that budget into shape. That's been an issue for us, but even more importantly, you know, a governor gets to appoint a lot of members to boards and commissions. In fact, there are over 300 boards and commissions in the state of Colorado, and those boards and commissions are responsible for writing the rules and the regulations by which you know government has to live by, industry has to live by, and people have to live by. So, we're going to go in and start looking at how do we cut some of these unnecessary regulations and claw them back. On day one, my administration, my department heads will have a list of all the boards that are within their department, a list of all the people on there, and we'll start looking at who hasn't been focused on making sure that regulations are working for people instead of working against people, are working for business instead of working against against business, as well. So we'll start that.
Also, the increase in housing supply, you know, we need to work on increasing housing supply. I'm going to work on that by working with local governments, not preempting them, but working with them, and asking them, you know, and I have a fairly good idea because I come from a local government background, but I have a fairly good idea on what kind of resources we need to be providing at the state, and things that we need to clean up, like in our Department of Public Health and Environment — where the wastewater sewage treatment facilities are permanent. We're on a five year administrative extension. So, in other words, we aren't getting sewer permits and facilities permitted quickly enough, and it's taking five years, and that's driving up the cost of housing.
Another thing that's driving up the cost of housing and affordability in our state is what the PUC, the Public Utilities Commission, did just last December, where they effectively put a ban on natural gas, not even thinking how much that was going to cost the rate payer. So, again, that goes back to let's get these boards and commissions, like the Public Utilities Commission or the Water Quality Board, and get them in line to where they're getting their job done in a more timely fashion, claw back some of those regulations that are making it more unaffordable for us in the state.
Lastly, one of the things, you know, I'm not an expert on this, but I know it needs to be done, we need to reform our insurance policies. That means instead of, you know, the fake holder meetings that have been occurring over the last few years within this administration, we're truly going to have stakeholder meetings, bring everybody to the table, and start talking about how do we reform insurance policies and pull down the cost on insurance policies. And then last thing that I have done as a state senator and even as a county commissioner is lowered property taxes.
In 2024, I carried not one, but two bills, that resulted in the largest property tax cut in the state's history. Now, granted, that was a cut in the increase, so there was still an increase happening. We didn't get, you know, get down below the line there with property taxes, but we did make a cut in any future increases in property taxes, and actually also put a cap on it as well — trying to pull back those policies that were taken away from us when the Gallagher amendment was repealed back in 2020, trying to fix that. But I think there's more work there to do, so I'll look at cutting taxes, as well.
LYLE: Now, other than affordability, what are two other top issues that you would prioritize as governor, and how would you address them?
KIRKMEYER: One of the other issues I want to prioritize, and will prioritize, is working with law enforcement. For the last eight years, you know, we've had – I mean, I don't know – I think people have had enough, and I feel the frustration, where we've had one-party control, and they've just made a mess out of our state. So, it's not just unaffordability, but people are also feeling unsafe in their communities, and they want to just feel safer in their communities.
So I think there's a role to play with the state working with, again, local law enforcement. Let's pull in the sheriffs and the police chiefs, along with, you know, my Criminal Bureau of Investigation folks and the Department of Public Safety, and start talking about how can we all work together to improve the safety in our communities and in our state, quite frankly.
One of the other things I did as a state senator is, you know, I've always backed the blue, whether as a county commissioner or state senator, and I'll continue to do that in my administration. But one of the things that I was able to get passed and pushed through was $350 million state general fund money to go to local law enforcement to assist with recruitment, retention, and training of local law enforcement. So, that would be important.
Then, I was just recently able to get a bill passed, we called it the Home Champions Law, where the individuals who are first responders in our state have the ability to work through Chaffetz. So, no tax increase — it wasn't like a tax credit or anything of that nature — looked at a program, redid it, revised it, added to it, and created a second mortgage program for first responders that gives them the ability to pay their down payment, and the second mortgage would be interest free, and they'd be able to make a down payment on their home and live in the communities that they serve. I think having, whether it's law enforcement or firefighters or other first responders, paramedics, living in your community, is a way to make our communities safer.
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?
KIRKMEYER: The way I would address it is this. We have had legislation that was just passed recently, and it was House Bill 1430, and what it did was pull the rug out from underneath regular Coloradans who were petitioning a ballot initiative onto the ballot. We have that First Amendment right to go in as citizens here in Colorado, within our Constitution, to go in and petition our government when you know we think they're screwing up, when we have a grievance with them. For the legislature to go in and pass a bill that says, look, no we don't like your ballot initiative, so we're going to come up with, you know, I call it a shenanigan, a shell game shenanigan kind of thing, that we're going to come up with a thought or a process to make sure that your ballot initiative basically will be put on pause for three years and will be irrelevant. I think that's so disrespectful to the public that that would have been a bill that I, quite frankly, would have vetoed.
So, I think democracy in our system needs to be fair and balanced. We need to recognize that the Constitution is there, and that we need to protect and defend that Constitution as elected officials. So, I will do that. Not only have I done that as a state senator, but I will continue to do that as a governor in this state, is protect and defend our Constitution, and make sure that we are playing by the same rules.
Then I think the other thing in the message that gets sent out to our voters is, when they do vote on a ballot initiative, and it passes, it doesn't matter if I like it or not – it's the will of the voter. Legislators and the governor have to live by that, and they should honor the will of the voters. And remember that everyone has the right to vote in this state, you know, as long as they're registered, and that we, we need to honor when they vote on something, we need to honor that, and make sure that we're not trying to change it through statute.
LYLE: Coloradans have repeatedly chosen Democrats for all of Colorado's statewide offices over Republicans in recent years, including the governor's office. So, why are you the Republican to change that trend?
KIRKMEYER: Quite frankly, I'm the Republican that has the proven track record. But you know, first of all, let me just talk about where I come from. I'm a mom and a grandmother, and I have — I'm a fourth-generation Colorado — and I grew up on a dairy farm in northern Jefferson County. So, I have that experience going into this. Also, I have the experience and background of being a small business owner, of owning a dairy farm, of serving as a county commissioner for a total of 20 years, and then I've served as a state legislator for the last six years, and four of those six years I've served on the Joint Budget Committee.
So, I have a proven track record of getting the job done and delivering for the people of the state of Colorado — whether that's lowering taxes or ensuring that we have access to health care in our state by stabilizing the health care safety net, by working with law enforcement to work on improving our safety in our areas in our communities. Then, also, I have the experience in delivering on creating the only county highway in the state of Colorado, and working on getting our roads back into shape and building stronger roads that are safe to drive on in our state. I hear from a lot of folks around the state, that look, these roads are horrible, and they're wrecking our cars, and it's costing us a lot of money.
So, I have the background, the experience, and the proven track record of getting the job done. Quite frankly, I believe I'm the only candidate in this race, either side of the aisle, that has actually governed before and has the qualifications and is qualified to govern into the future to, you know, lead us into a state that… where I have a vision for our state. I want history to be able to say that my administration, that Colorado changed the course at a critical moment, because we are at a critical moment. People are telling us that we are — and it's not just Democrats or Republicans — it's the unaffiliates and the independents in the state are saying overwhelmingly we're going the wrong direction on the wrong track. I just want to remind everybody, it's been one party control for the last eight years, and that's how we've gotten so far off course.
