Where Liz stands, focuses on families

I believe in an open, transparent, and responsive government and want you to know where I stand on issues that impact us in Southern El Paso County in the Fountain Valley Communities  and across Colorado. 

I am also committed to innovating long-term solutions so that we can correct today’s problems and set our future generations up for success. A big part of this is recognizing the intersections between seemingly unrelated topics. For example, clean and safe drinking water in our area – one of my key issues – is connected to the health care costs, economy, mental health and the environment. Rural, suburbs, and small cities depend on each other's successes. I have made sure our voices are heard at all levels of local government so our unincorporated areas have just as much access to grants for filtration systems needed to remove PFAS chemicals as all the municipalities have access to, and this even included trips to Washington DC getting $4 billion+ into the Infrastructure Bill. 

Recently I made sure our Wigwam Water district connected with the state’s health department for the funding needed to design, build, and soon to implement the PFAS filtration system. This system will make our drinking water improve overall and remove harsh minerals, too. The funding for this is from the house bill I worked on in 2019 with Senator Tony Exum (he was HD17 rep at that time). And since that first bill six have passed with the seventh one in the current session being discussed. This was needed because the person currently in this seat was a co-sponsor on this bill and stripped out our 2022 bill when she was supposed to be working towards protecting our health, and instead she sided with the “poisoning for profit” corporations. I believe in justice and a right to live our lives free of intentional poisonings. 

I bring resources to our communities, real action that we need to be successful here.  I will have townhalls, both in person and virtual, during session, and after. The legislation I support, sponsor, and co-sponsor needs to represent OUR needs.  

Our rural areas are viewed as a sacrifice zone by larger communities, a place to use our space for solving their problems while creating problems for us without solutions or input by us. We will have the Powers Expansion happen, and it needs to have residents in the rooms as the decisions are being made. 

More solar fields will be put out here, and if our voices continue to not be at the table during decisions being made, the water run off won't be discussed because the people making the decisions don't live here. Honestly, this is already happening and if you want a voice, then you know I will include you. It is what I do. 

We have been abandoned by healthcare corporations. We deserve a hospital here, I will seek out or set up the necessary meetings to accomplish this. I am not a "wait around for something to happen" person. As a health insurance broker I have first hand experience on the level of neglect that is happening to us. We will be poisoned again here unless WE fix this and bring in more healthcare facilities. We deserve this! 

We need more legislation to set up water protections here and across the state. We need grants and incentives to bring in healthcare facilities here. 

Our family moved to Colorado during the summer of 2000 thanks to the US Army! My husband Dan did not re-enlist so we could stay here, we both attended college and made this area our forever home. We raised our kids in the Widefield School District and now they are both grown and live in other states with amazing successful careers.  

We have lived in the Midway area since 2018 and we love the wide open spaces and rural community. Even though we have moved around a bit between Widefield to further out, we have always been in the Fountain Valley. 

The national economy is strong. Each month, the US Department of Labor posts strong jobs numbers with continued low unemployment. In March of 2024, the national unemployment rate fell to 3.8%. According to the New York Times, wages are also rising. The State of Colorado also continues to see strong economic factors. As of February 2024, the state unemployment rate was 3.5%. That rate is expected to remain at or below 3.8% for the remainder of the year.

So why aren’t we feeling the effects of this strong economy here in House District 21? We in the Fountain Valley fall far below the mean average for family income within our county. The county average mean annual family income is just over $121K and the same number for House District 21 is just under $89K. Children under the age of 18 account for about 29% of our population, whereas countywide, children under the age of 18 make up only about 23% of our population. We have larger families and bring home a smaller paycheck. As a district, we feel it when the price of eggs rises due to bird flu, or a gallon of gas increases due to unrest in the Middle East and Russia.

Much of our district is suburban with little industry or employment opportunities. While it’s true we have Fort Carson and an Amazon facility right next-door, professional jobs paying a living wage are difficult to find. At the state capitol, Liz will work to bring career-track job opportunities to Fountain Valley and surrounding areas, creating pathways to home ownership and greater financial security in our communities.

Let’s be honest, education is the great equalizer among Americans. The promise of a quality education for our children is fundamental to a thriving society. Each child should be given the opportunity to pursue academic excellence in safe, engaging, and modern schools, taught by professional, caring educators.

Education is the silver bullet that can defeat poverty, disease and environmental crises. We don’t know who the next Madame Curie or Katherine Johnson will be or where they will be born. We must ensure that every child is given the opportunity to reach their highest potential.

Children under the age of 18 years old make up almost 30% of the population in our district. Quality schools could not be a more important issue. As a former teacher, I saw firsthand how budget inadequacies affect our districts. The Colorado State Legislature has finally eliminated the budget stabilization factor (commonly referred to as the BS Factor). For years, Colorado has balanced its budget on the backs of our children. Eliminating the BS Factor is a start, but we need to raise funding levels so that the education budget accounts for inflation.

We must pay teachers a professional wage. We cannot require bachelor’s and master’s degrees and then pay them wages that do not allow them to buy a home in our district. Teacher pay must be competitive so as to attract quality educators.

Living in a district with so many working families, we must provide additional funding for students who prefer vocational training in order to pursue a career as a tradesperson. I believe we should increase funding to expand vocational training at our local schools. These can lead to paid Union Apprenticeships, which can lead to a lucrative career, without the need for a four-year university degree.*

* https://www.ibew.org/media-center/Articles/22Daily/2202/220209_Apprenticeships

*https://mill.wsd3.org/about-us 

* https://www.ffc8.org/programs/career-technical-education

* https://www.hanoverhornets.org/

The language we use when discussing reproductive health has a profound impact on what people hear and learn. Much of the language that is colloquially used to describe abortion or discuss health policies that impact abortion has a basis in anti-choice rhetoric and is inherently biased and inaccurate—and at the very least, is not medically appropriate. 

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists 

https://www.acog.org/contact/media-center/abortion-language-guide

Currently I have been the Regional Organizer for Cobalt Advocates and collecting signatures for Prop 89. For now I will say, the majority of Coloradans are strongly supporting this ballot initiative of bodily autonomy and removing government interference from health care decisions.

I will be adding more to this section. 

We know what it’s like to not have clean drinking water and to stand up for ourselves.  Liz will continue her strong advocacy for clean and safe water and air in our natural environment, while addressing food deserts and healthcare shortages in our built environment.

Everyone who knows me knows that I have been on the frontlines, fighting for clean and safe drinking water since 2016. When the EPA reassessed what were considered safe levels of PFAS in our water, we discovered that our Widefield Aquifer had been contaminated with toxins that have a half-life of thousands of years.  Working together with other community leaders, I formed the Fountain Valley Clean Water Coalition. Within six years, the three main water districts in our area have installed filters that reduced the PFAS levels in our drinking water down to a non-detect.

Since then, I have worked with various members of our state legislature and state senate to get laws passed that limit the sale and use of PFAS in products in the State of Colorado. Our fight is ongoing, but progress is being made at every level.

Our district, in many ways, has become a dumping ground for projects that benefit other communities but damage ours. I am not a fan of NIMBY (not in my back yard) but after so many contaminating events, maybe it’s time to ask, “Why in my backyard?” or WIMBY. Many of the census tracts within our district have been recognized as communities that have been marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened with pollution by the White House Justice40 Initiative. If elected I will work hard to procure investment grants for our district and ensure that we are no longer used as a convenient dumping ground for projects that other districts don’t want.

We need to continue to pass legislation that will combat the negative effects of catastrophic climate change. Colorado must lead the nation in reducing greenhouse gases and creating sustainable infrastructure. Achieving these goals will preserve our beautiful state and reduce air pollution over our mountain ranges and cities.

Our natural environment requires attention but so does our local built environment.

We must address our desert district. Our district is a food desert and even more concerning, a healthcare desert. Our district of almost 90,000 residents has only three major grocery stores. Two of these are Walmart Supercenters, with one of those a decent drive up the Interstate. Kroger has announced that they are building a new grocery store in the district, but it will be in the same general vicinity of our Safeway. I will work to find grants that will enable partnerships between grocers and the community in order to increase our food options.

One of the most important issues in our district is the lack of civilian healthcare facilities. We don’t have a hospital and we have only a few medical offices left. There has been an exodus of medical groups and doctors’ offices. The closest hospital, Memorial UC Health, is at least 20 minutes away. If you live in one of our rural communities, it can take as long as 45 minutes to get to a hospital and in an emergency, minutes count. I will work to make our voices heard and do everything I can to extend El Paso County’s thriving healthcare system down into our district.