Democratic parties from Pitkin, Garfield and Eagle counties hosted their first 2024 candidate forum at the Basalt Regional Library on Monday, Feb. 12.
Many candidates agreed that they want to see more action on issues like housing affordability, gun restrictions and mental health.
Organizers invited seven Democrats who will be seen across the three county ballots in the June primary. The candidates included those running for Colorado’s Congressional District 3, State Senate District 5 and State House District 57 as well as University of Colorado Regent.
Of those races, only Senate District 5 and CU Regent at-large have more than one candidate vying for the Democratic nomination.
Former city councilor Adam Frisch’s Democratic primary opponent Grand Junction Mayor Anna Stout stepped out of the Congressional District 3 race after incumbent Republican Representative Lauren Boebert recently announced she was switching districts.
Representative Elizabeth Velasco is currently running uncontested for reelection in House District 57.
CU Regent candidate Robert Logan of Durango is also currently running unopposed in Congressional District 3.
For the candidates who are facing a Democratic primary competitor, Monday night’s forum revealed that they care about many of the same issues, though their approach to solving them might be different.
Senate District 5 Democratic Candidates
- The two Democratic candidates are Glenwood Springs resident Cole Buerger and Montrose Mayor Barbara Bynum.
- There are currently no Republicans running for the seat; incumbent Republican Perry Will of New Castle announced he plans to run for Garfield County Commissioner in November.
- Buerger’s top priorities include diversifying the local economy, protecting the environment, and addressing the housing and affordability crisis.
- Bynum’s top priorities include expanding the outdoor recreation economy, increasing early childhood education opportunities, and addressing the housing crisis.
- Both candidates also share a commitment to making mental health care more affordable and accessible.
- The Democratic primary will take place on June 25 ahead of the Nov. 5 general election.
CU Regent At-Large Democratic Candidates
- The two Democrats running are University of Colorado graduates Charles Johnson and Elliott Hood; there are currently no Republicans running for the seat.
- CU Regents are part of a governing board for the university; they help approve budgets, set tuition, establish school policies, and hire the university president.
- Hood’s top priorities include lowering tuition, restricting guns, and making CU a carbon neutral university.
- Johnson’s top priorities include strengthening diversity and equity efforts, restricting guns, and addressing the student mental health crisis.
- Both candidates also share a commitment to hiring and supporting a progressive university president.
- The Democratic primary for the CU Regent at-large seat will take place on June 25 ahead of the Nov. 5 general election.
Senate District 5 Democrats share priorities from affordable housing to mental health
Monday night was the first official Democratic candidate forum that Glenwood Springs resident Cole Buerger and Montrose Mayor Barbara Bynum have participated in together since announcing their runs for Colorado’s state Senate District 5.
The district spans all- or part- of Pitkin, Garfield, Eagle, Montrose, Gunnison, Delta and Hinsdale counties — and includes all of the Roaring Fork Valley and parts of the Colorado River Valley.
Both Buerger and Bynum’s municipalities were included in Senate District 5 after redistricting in 2021.
Cole Buerger is a 5th generation Coloradan who grew up on a ranch near Silt. He worked in international relations and public policy — and now runs a communications business and an outdoor event space on the banks of the Colorado River.
“I'm running for state Senate because I care deeply about the communities and the people who live in our district and across western Colorado,” Buerger said.
His top priorities are diversifying the local economy, protecting the environment, and addressing the housing and affordability crisis.
“I know how wonderful and lucky it is that we get to stay here and live here in Colorado, but also how challenging it can be to make ends meet here,” Buerger said. “You know, my family, we've struggled at times to keep the ranch in the family. I have friends and family members who have been brought to their knees by healthcare costs or childcare costs.”
Barbara Bynum, who is currently serving her second term as the mayor of Montrose, agrees that there’s an urgent need to tackle affordability and housing.
She said her years of experience as a Montrose city councilor and now mayor have prepared her to take these issues on at the state Capitol.
“I know what it looks like at the local level to create policy and ordinances around how we can use land so that we can build more affordable housing,” she said. “And we've done that in Montrose. We've brought workforce housing, we've brought low income housing, and we've even brought supportive housing to house our most vulnerable populations.”
Before joining city government, Bynum was on the local public school board. She said that job, along with her time in city government, have given her valuable experience working across the aisle in western Colorado where there are a large number of conservative and independent voters.
“It is sometimes surprising to learn that we have a Democratic mayor in Montrose, Colorado, but I'll tell you, it didn't happen overnight,” she said. “We have expanded our outdoor rec economy, which has brought in good paying jobs to Montrose. We have increased the early childhood education opportunities for young families.”
Reaching more conservative voters and understanding the issues they care about is something that Buerger also takes seriously.
“I've been going to the Holy Cross Cattleman's dinner for years and I'll continue to go there and get yelled at a little bit from people who don't always agree with me, but it's really about showing up,” Buerger said. “It's going to places where we can get our message out and make sure that we're building bridges.”
When asked about strategies to address mental health challenges in western Colorado, Bynum praised the current state senator’s effort to expand services for farmers and ranchers, but said even more needs to be done.
Bynum would like to see insurance companies cover more mental health costs and she’d like to see more state support for mental health providers who are often stretched thin.
“My husband is a physician, and we talk about things like how insurance isn't doing its job and how we don't have enough providers in this community,” she said.
For his part, Buerger emphasized the importance of taking a system-wide approach to improving mental health care.
“Mental health is not just a singular issue isolated by itself, but it's linked to a lot of other things, including the cost of housing and paychecks,” he said.
Buerger suggested that the state could help providers find buildings or office space, lessen the amount of paperwork they have to fill out to comply with state standards, and reach more community members experiencing mental health challenges.
“It's really hard to overcome that stigma,” he said. “If you're, you know, a rancher from Silt, you get up the courage to (get help), and then you don't necessarily know where to go or you're rejected at that first point.”
The Democratic primary for Senate District 5 will take place on June 25 ahead of the Nov. 5 general election.
The district is currently represented by Republican Perry Will of New Castle, who announced he plans to run for Garfield County Commissioner in November.
CU Regent at-large candidates propose lowering tuition and restricting guns
Two Democrats running for the University of Colorado Regent at-large seat also participated in their first forum in the Roaring Fork Valley this week: Elliott Hood and Charles Johnson.
CU Regents are part of a governing board for the university; they help approve budgets, set tuition, and establish school policies across the university system. They also help manage, hire and fire the university president.
CU graduate Elliot Hood is a former public school teacher and union member who now works as an attorney representing public school districts across the state.
“Number one, we've got to make it more affordable to attend CU. Going to college shouldn't be a luxury item,” Hood said. “Two, we've got to get guns out of our classrooms and ban concealed carry at the University of Colorado. And three, we need to establish measurable targets to become a carbon neutral university, which currently we lack.”
Candidate Charles Johnson also went to CU, where he was a football quarterback and led the university’s Black Student Alliance.
He now oversees diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at the Ball Corporation, a packaging company, and he serves on the board of advisors for CU’s business school and the board of trustees for the CU Foundation.
Johnson agrees that tuition is too high and guns should not be allowed on campus.
“I was an undergrad on that campus,” he said. “I know what happens on college campuses and it makes absolutely zero sense for there to be concealed weapon opportunities for our students on campus.”
Democrats have a narrow majority on the university’s board of regents and he questioned why guns and mental health haven’t been more of a priority for current leadership.
“Mental health services and awareness is a big issue that we don't pay enough attention to,” Johnson said. “And in my role as a member of the board of advisors for the business school, I see statistics on our student body and the general health and welfare of our student body. The number of suicides, the number of suicide attempts are alarming.”
During Monday night’s forum, Johnson and Hood were also asked about what qualities they would like to see in future university presidents.
Hood emphasized that he would support a leader who has progressive values and vision, unlike CU’s former president Mark Kennedy who was pressured to leave his post in 2021.
“They have to care about student learning and research and making sure that we're setting targets for becoming carbon neutral, getting guns out of our classrooms,” he said. “We have to make sure that someone, unlike Mark Kennedy, who had none of those things, will be the leader of our university.”
For his part, Johnson agreed that progressive values are critical to the role of university president.
“When we talk about things like access to higher education for our citizens across the state, that's a value statement. When we talk about the value of diversity, equity, and inclusion, those are value statements,” he said. “And when we talk about DEI, we're not just talking about race or ethnicity or gender, we're also talking about geographical diversity.”
The Colorado State Board of Regents has one at-large member and eight members elected from each of the state's congressional districts.
The Democratic primary for the CU Regent at-large seat will take place on June 25 ahead of the Nov. 5 general election.
The incumbent, Democrat Lesley Smith, announced last year that she would run for state House District 49, leaving the seat open.
There are currently no Republicans running for the seat.
Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect that there were seven candidates, not six, that participated in Monday night's democratic forum, including Robert Logan of Durango who is running for CU Regent in Congressional District 3.
