Editor's note: KUNC is publishing unedited interviews with the Republican, Democratic, and unaffiliated 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 Gov. Jared Polis term-limited and unable to seek a third term. Ahead of the November 3 general election, KUNC is interviewing the Democratic, Republican and unaffiliated candidates running to replace him.
First in our general-election series is unaffiliated candidate Greg Lopez. A former Republican, Lopez briefly served in Congress and is making his third consecutive bid for governor. KUNC host Marty Lenz spoke with Lopez about housing affordability, the state’s role in regulating data centers and Flock cameras, and what he offers voters as an unaffiliated candidate.
Marty Lenz: Candidate Lopez, for many young Coloradans, buying a home, starting a family, even staying in Colorado feels a little bit out of reach, and at the same time, rising Medicaid costs are putting more pressure on Colorado's budget. As governor, how would you make the state more affordable without shifting more costs onto the citizens?
Greg Lopez: You know, one of the things that I propose is to build starter homes, 25,000 starter homes, and these starter homes are basically 1,100 square feet. They're two-bedroom, one-bath, little kitchen, little living room with a nice little yard, for about $235,000. And the way we do that is I work with the local jurisdiction, the builders, and the developers to identify where we can minimize the cost.
As a former mayor and town manager for the Town of Parker, I understand land use. I understand zoning. I understand what it costs to develop a lot, but also to build a home. And we can build these homes for less than $235,000. I think that's affordable in today's economy. You know, and this would not impact our budget. It's not that the government's going to subsidize any of these costs. What we're going to be doing is working together with local jurisdictions, the builders, and the developers to make sure that we have starter homes for the young couples that are living here in Colorado.
Lenz: We've been covering pretty extensively here on KUNC data centers and Flock license plate cameras. They’ve become major points of debate in the state. What role should the state play in regulating each data center and then Flock cameras, as well? What should remain up to local communities?
Lopez: Well, you know, as a former mayor, I believe that, you know, local control should always be primary when we are looking at what's happening within our state. I can tell you that the data centers and Flock cameras, they really are a privacy issue for a lot of Coloradans, including myself. I'm not comfortable with the data centers as they're being presented as they are today.
I think there should be some regulations on the data centers themselves as to where they're going to get built, how big they're going to be, where is this data going to be shared with, how is it going to work. And so I will tell you that local jurisdictions should have the final say, but perhaps the state should be a referral agency, a referral agency that responds to all these applications.
I think that's a reasonable request, and I think it's something that the communities here in Colorado are concerned with. I'm starting to hear that a lot of people are feeling that they're more surveillance centers than data centers, and it is something that we need to be concerned with when it comes to water and the electric grid.
Lenz: If you potentially become Colorado's next governor, I know you're well aware of this, but you'll have to work with the Trump administration. If you can, Mr. Lopez, name one issue where Colorado should cooperate with the federal government, and one where the state should push back.
Lopez: There's a lot of areas where we should work together with the federal government, when it pertains to highway construction, when it maintains building our roads, when it's also dealing with, you know, the cost of living, when it comes to the price of gas. Colorado's in a crisis. We definitely need to work with the federal government when it comes to the Colorado River and the Colorado River Compact.
Where we should push back right now is how ICE is going about apprehending individuals. You know, I think it's — they've kind of crossed the line as it pertains to how they're enforcing the immigration laws, and I don't have a problem at all pushing back on President Trump or any president, because I'm a compassionate conservative. I do believe in upholding the law, but I also believe that we must need — we need to treat people with dignity and respect.
Lenz: Final question from me. You spent more than three decades as a Republican and now run as an unaffiliated candidate. What does being unaffiliated allow you to offer voters that they would not get from either major party candidate? And I must ask, do you still, even though as an unaffiliated, do you still identify as a Republican?
Lopez: No, I don't identify as a Republican at all. I identify as a compassionate conservative, and what I offer the voters of Colorado is an individual that's willing to work with both sides. I don't see Democrats or Republicans as enemies. I see them as individuals that want to solve problems for Colorado.
I will break the divide between rural and urban Colorado, but more importantly, I won't have political bosses or a political ideology that I need to be loyal to. My loyalty belongs to the people, and I will make sure that my governing philosophies of people over politics, do no harm, and do what works is what we use to govern and move Colorado forward into the future.
