The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
The candidates for House District 61 in the Colorado House of Representatives appeared at the Crested Butte News candidate forum last week. Millie Hamner, the incumbent Democrat, Independent Kathleen Curry and Republican Debra Irvine took questions from the audience after making brief opening statements.
Moderator Denis Hall and the audience covered everything from protecting local waters from diversion to the Front Range, to the attack ads spreading false information about Curry (and now Irvine, too), to supporting education. Here is a sampling of the Q & A:
On transmountain water diversion
Curry wants to see better safety nets in state statutes to deal with the impacts of water diversion, and said one of the keys is to have a good offense by “putting the water we have here to beneficial use.” She also called for education to make sure the Front Range understands the Western Slope has an obligation to deliver water to the state line for lower states.
Hamner said, “We’ve diverted enough water to the Denver Metro area.” She argued that legislators on the Western Slope have to work together on water issues, particularly with future weather patterns predicting that it will be hotter, drier and windier. She wants to incentivize water conservation and help the Front Range find water solutions that do not rely on trans-mountain diversion.
Irvine said covered conduits help stop the loss of water to evaporation and that leaking reservoirs is an issue that needs to be addressed. “We need to look at that now so we don’t lose the reservoirs altogether,” she said.
On representing those who didn’t vote for them
Hamner said the first order of business is to convince the people who didn’t vote for her that she can listen and she cares about their concerns. As a former teacher, she said her background shows she can listen to divergent opinions, whether that’s “between two third graders or community members concerned about tax money and education.”
Irvine said, “This election is not about me. I am a candidate, but I’m running because I want to represent our district and our state.” She said the needs of each county are different and the key will be focusing on the common needs of each county in our district.
Curry pointed out that in District 61, 42 percent of registered voters are not affiliated. “Having a three-way race is a great fit for the way people are in this district,” she said.
On education
Hamner pointed out that she serves on the Education Committee, and sponsored a K-3 Literacy Bill that was signed into law. She wants to make sure there’s adequate funding for its implementation, and that teachers and principals are properly prepared for their jobs.
Curry wants to make sure the Teacher Evaluation Bill already passed in Colorado doesn’t become an unfunded mandate. She believes it was a sound concept but wants to make sure there are adequate funds to implement it.
And Irvine wants to get creative within education, whether that’s fundraising or teaching with new technologies. She pointed out that test scores at Crested Butte Community School are good, but those results are not consistent across the valley. She wants to look at making education more consistent.
