Topics:
Constituent/Candidate Priorities: 0:21
Wildfires: 1:18
Rural Healthcare: 2:27
Housing Solutions: 3:58
Latino Community Representation: 5:55
Community Safety: 7:25
Bipartisanship: 8:36
Livable Costs: 9:58
Education Priorities: 13:39
Personal Experience: 16:27
Additional Concerns/Statement: 18:58
Hattison Rensberry: This is a KDNK special candidate interview, and here in the studio we have:
Jeff Hurd: Jeff Hurd – candidate for Colorado's Third Congressional District.
Rensberry: And I'm your host, Hattison Rensberry. Thanks so much for joining us today, Jeff. I appreciate it.
Hurd: It's great to be here. Thanks for having me.
Rensberry: Fabulous. Okay, let's just jump right in and get started today. Let's talk a little bit about what you believe are the highest priorities for your constituents in the CD3 district.
Hurd: Sure, Hattie. Well, I say I'm running because I feel like rural Colorado is being left behind and our greatest exports are our kids. They oftentimes grow up and they leave and they don't come back and I want to create economic opportunities primarily so that our children can, if they want, stay and live and thrive in rural Colorado. So that's my fundamental "why."
The issues that I hear most about on the campaign trail and the ones that I will prioritize when I'm in Congress are first, securing the border. I think that's a critical issue. Second, promoting economic development, particularly when it comes to energy and energy independence, and third, supporting water and agriculture. That's the reason I'm running and those are my top priorities if I'm fortunate enough to serve in Congress.
Rensberry: Sure. Absolutely. Something that you haven't mentioned yet, but I'd love to talk about. Colorado has seen some more intense wildfires and those sorts of seasons are lasting longer than previous years. What are some of your priorities that will assist communities in dealing with these kinds of natural disasters?
Hurd: That's a great question. It's a critical issue here. We have seen changing hydrology in Colorado over the last 20 years with drying conditions and a drier climate which increases the risk of wildfire certainly.
Wildfire management is critical and thoughtful, planned wildfire management is an essential aspect of what we need to be doing here in this part of the state in terms of mitigating wildfire damage, but also helping with watershed management. A forest that's not properly managed is not good for watersheds either.
And so it's a win-win if we properly manage the forest, both from a wildfire danger perspective, but also from a watershed management and a water perspective as well. I mean, one of the greatest water projects that we could have in terms of saving water would be properly managing our forest. So, you're right: critical issues here for this part of the state.
Rensberry: Let's talk a little bit about some other issues that people have pretty top of mind. Rural health care and its limits are some pretty looming concerns for many residents. What are some policies or partnerships that you believe would be beneficial to the current situation?
Hurd: That's a great point. My father was actually in this sphere. He worked with low-income, uninsured, and underinsured adults. And so, I know firsthand the importance of providing health care – not just to folks who have a means, but also folks that don't have as much money.
And I think that's an issue that we absolutely have in rural Colorado: making sure we support our federally qualified health centers, making sure that we have the resources that we need – that we're also able to recruit qualified healthcare providers. I think that's a critical issue getting people who are qualified to serve and who want to serve in rural Colorado. To make sure that we're doing everything we can to recruit and create opportunities for folks who want to locate and live in rural Colorado to provide critical healthcare services.
Making sure that our rural hospitals have the resources they need. Those come from a lot of different funding streams, but certainly making sure that the federal funding streams they have are adequate and reliable, and that we're doing everything we can to make sure that, in this gigantic district, folks that need health care have access to it.
So critical priorities, and it's something that's personal for me based on my family history and it's something that certainly, I know is a priority as well for rural Colorado.
Rensberry: Absolutely. Housing is another big issue for people in this area. When it comes to housing, what are some solutions that you intend to encourage?
Hurd: Well, I think one of the things we need to do is increase supply first and foremost and so a lot of those things, you know, you hear about our state local issues in terms of zoning, in terms of impact fees and things like that. Obviously, we need to make sure that we're doing everything we can to encourage responsible, reasonable growth, but also making sure that we don't have fees that are too high and that inhibit growth.
When it comes to federal issues, I mean, certainly there are federal tax policies that help folks who are looking to go into homes. Also expanding the federal tax breaks for folks who are building affordable, attainable housing, I think is something that will help increase that supply.
But fundamentally, I see it as a supply issue, and making sure that we do everything we can to have federal regulations, codes, electrical codes, energy codes, things like that often add in costs. We need to make sure that those codes are consistent, they're reliable, they're stable and we do everything we can to avoid that death-by-a-thousand-cuts that often happens when you layer in the federal regulations, the state regulations, the local regulations.
I had a builder friend that said we sometimes made it effectively illegal for an ordinary person to own a home. It's just so hard to attain that housing. So, making sure that the regulations that we have in place, not just from a local and state perspective, but also a federal perspective are sound, reasonable regulations and that they're not too onerous and they don't add in unnecessary costs that make it harder to build homes and for, ultimately, for families to buy them.
Rensberry: Sure thing. Yeah. Our region in the past couple of decades has seen a growing Latino community. How do you intend to represent them fully?
Hurd: That's a great question. I was actually just at the Mexican-American Development Association meeting in La Raza Park in Montrose last weekend.
That is absolutely something that I see as critical, not just from an elections perspective for those in my party who are looking to grow the party, but also from a constituent standpoint. We do have a large Hispanic population here in the Third Congressional District.
I have been breaking out some of my rusty Spanish, when appropriate, on the campaign trail and trying to let folks know that I'm a candidate who is sincere, authentic, and concerned about everyone in this district, regardless of whether or not I have their vote or not. Obviously, I'd love to have their vote and I'm working hard to earn it. But that includes folks in the Hispanic community here in the Third Congressional District throughout the district.
A lot of those folks are multiple generations in this country, but some of them are first generation or have just come recently making sure that they know that their needs are recognized and critical and important.
And that's something that if I'm fortunate enough to serve in Congress, I will take very seriously. And making sure that we have that outreach to the Latino community is something that I have taken seriously and I will continue to do if I'm fortunate enough to serve in Congress.
Rensberry: What's one thing that you believe can be done to make communities safer?
Hurd: I think first and foremost, we need to secure the border. We have a flow of crime and drugs coming across the border that is hurting rural Colorado. I know here in Mesa County where I was raised and where I'm raising my children, we can see just based on the price of fentanyl in the streets, that law enforcement can see just how much fentanyl is flowing across the border. And how porous that border is.
If the cost goes up for a little while that means the supply has been constricted, but then the prices will go down to just a couple of cents a pill and we know that the drugs are flooding across the border. So, what you have also with that – so fentanyl and securing the border – but also then people will commit small crimes, petty crimes in order to pay for these drugs as well.
So, I think stopping the flow of drugs, addressing those root causes of crime in our communities are critical things that I think we need to be prioritizing as elected officials and as folks who aspire to be in elected office.
Rensberry: Fair enough. How do you plan to promote bipartisanship in a legislature with a lot of communities requesting that of their leaders?
Hurd: That's also a very good question. I would say that if the issues matter to Western and Southern Colorado, I will work with anyone regardless of what letter they have after their name. And we may disagree on certain things. And if that's the case, then – and I know we will, that's just the nature of politics – I will strive to do so without being disagreeable, but I will also look to find areas.
The ones that come to mind right away are water and ag, just as examples where we can work across party lines to create opportunities and make sure that our farmers and ranchers are protected. And I will work with folks on the Democratic side of the aisle, absolutely, on those issues.
Housing, you mentioned as well, crime. I don't think those issues are necessarily partisan issues or have to be partisan issues. And so yes, I expect that we will probably have disagreements, me and my Democratic colleagues in Congress. But, on the things that we can agree on, I will be a hard-working and sincere partner to advance rural interests in Colorado and make life better for small businesses and for families and communities.
Rensberry: So your constituents in this area often deal with a high cost of living, and many are concerned about the financial difficulties of living in this region. What are some solutions that you intend to encourage to address this issue?
Hurd: Well, I mentioned previously housing and housing supply and doing what we can to incentivize growth in the housing market in the construction of units and multifamily units as well.
That increase in supply will hopefully help temper some of those housing costs that I've heard loud and clear from across the district. But, I would also say, one of the other issues that we can be focused on to reduce costs for folks is energy and doing what we can to responsibly grow our domestic energy market, particularly here in Western and Southern Colorado.
I think that is a great way to not only create jobs in Western and Southern Colorado that support strong families and that support strong communities, but also lower costs. And that's not just your utility bill that you pay every month to your electric company. Which is something I know well, having represented rural electric cooperatives up and down the Western Slope, but also lowering the cost of energy means lower cost at the gas pump. It means lower costs at the grocery store.
Essentially keeping lower energy costs will ripple through the economy in a really good way that helps people in ways that they can't even imagine when it comes to the cost of goods and services they buy.
So, that cost of living piece on the housing front, growing that supply, but on the energy front, increasing abundant, reliable, affordable energy here in Western Southern Colorado and in our country, I think, are two solid public policies that would help address the cost that we're facing here in this part of the state.
Rensberry: Could you say a little bit more about what that would look like in increasing that affordability and abundance of energy for people? Just to get people a little bit more of a look inside your thought process for this.
Hurd: Sure, well, I would say we need to have a best-of-the-above energy approach when it comes to the resources that we're using to power our economy and power our homes and our cars.
And so I would encourage the responsible development of hydrocarbon. We have some of the cleanest coal in the country here in Colorado's Third Congressional District, and natural gas as well. I would also look at renewables, including in that mix. But we need to make sure that we're using generation resources that are not just intermittent but that are reliable, where we can have them on, always or as we need, and increasing that energy supply in terms of natural gas, but also looking at things like uranium and possibly nuclear energy.
I think that's another way we can lower our carbon intensity of our generation in a way that's responsible through resources like nuclear energy, so that's also something that I would look at. And I would hope our other public policymakers would look at going forward as well.
So, growing those sectors of our economy. I tell my democratic friends if you genuinely care about reducing global greenhouse gas emissions then you ought to support getting as much energy out of Western and Southern Colorado as possible because we do it better than anyone else. And we will responsibly source those energy sources and utilize them in a way that is, in my view, second to none, and that will improve our economy, improve the climate, and help our country also from a national security perspective when it comes to energy as well.
Rensberry: Thanks for expounding upon that. Let's talk a little bit about education. Teacher retention in this area of the country, in rural areas especially, is down. There's a nationwide shortage of professionals, and there are a lot of conversations going on about where parents should be in the decision-making of what their kids are learning and whether or not teachers need to be more in on that decision-making, and everybody's got a lot of different priorities.
When it comes to education, what are your top priorities?
Hurd: Well, the first one from my perspective is creating a healthy economy and creating opportunities so that we have good jobs that allow supporting our teachers and spouses of teachers also. That's one of the issues that we have when it comes to recruiting folks is oftentimes you have a teacher with a spouse that can't get a job. It kind of goes back to a similar situation with healthcare and finding healthcare providers and recruiting talented healthcare providers.
We need to have a strong, solid economy as a fundamental sort of base requirement of a healthy community and a healthy education system. So, recruiting teachers, retaining teachers, and identifying the most talented ones. I think those are all critical things. I think making sure that we're paying them adequately and that we have the support that they need is something that's critical.
I know folks oftentimes think of that as primarily a state or local issue. And that's certainly those entities that have a critical role in that. But I think from my perspective there also is an important role that something Congress can do and – big picture – helping create an economic climate that helps communities thrive and grow and recruit and retain talent when it comes to education. And making sure that we're doing the very best we can to educate our children and prepare them for a world that is challenging and diverse and they need to be prepared for.
Rensberry: Is there anything else that you want to say on the subject? Or do you want to move on?
Hurd: No, I would say I'm a proud graduate of Orchard Avenue Elementary School here in Grand Junction and then graduated from Grand Junction High School. So proud. I know personally the importance of a good, solid education. I’m sending my oldest to a public school here in Grand Junction. So I know the importance of education, the critical importance of that. And I know it's also important to parents as well. And you know, the future is our children. That's a cliche, of course, but how we're educating them is critical. And that's something that I understand and I hear from folks throughout the district and I agree as a parent myself, that education is critical and we absolutely need to take that seriously as public policymakers.
Rensberry: We're going to move into a couple of more personal questions. What's a personal experience or part of your lifestyle that you believe can help you to better serve your communities?
Hurd: I think it's my humble roots here in Western Colorado. My first job was bagging groceries at the City Market in Grand Junction, one of the City Markets here. I've worked fast food at the Taco John's here. I've waited tables at one of the restaurants in town. That personal experience – I also cleaned an office building on the weekends when I was a teenager as well – those humble experiences of hard work, I think inform who I am, and my roots are very much here in Western Colorado.
I'm a first-time candidate. I've never run for anything in my life, not even dog catcher, and that authenticity and those humble roots and those Colorado values are something that I bring to bear with me in the way I live my life, how I approach work, and how I am in public and private with my family.
And so those humble middle-class Western Colorado roots are something that, may not be at the top of my mind, but they certainly inform the decisions that I make in my perspective on life as well.
Rensberry: What's something that as this campaign progresses and you meet more people, what's something that you wish that more people knew about you?
Hurd: I would say that I have a depth of knowledge. Just given my job as an attorney representing rural electric cooperatives, primarily up and down the Western Slope is that I have a depth of knowledge when it comes to the challenges that rural Colorado faces, but also the opportunities and I'm optimistic about rural Colorado, Western Colorado, Southern Colorado.
I think our best days are ahead of us. We just need to have public policymakers who have a vision, who are smart, who don't pretend to have all the answers who are willing to listen, and who are motivated to make life better for families and communities in the district.
That would be the thing I would say is I've got that background in terms of my rural law knowledge that I will bring to bear as well in Congress and just having met people and knowing how people live their lives here in, in Southern and Western Colorado, that background that I have I think will be a particularly useful asset if I'm fortunate enough to serve in Congress.
Rensberry: All right, one more question. I know we've talked a lot about a lot of things today, and covered a lot of bases. Is there anything else that you want to discuss that we just have not covered yet?
Hurd: I would say I would love to have folks who are looking for a sincere, authentic, and hardworking representative in Congress, I'd be honored to have their vote. I say what I mean. I mean what I say. I've been a small businessman. I've run a small law practice and I've stressed out about meeting payroll. I'm a pretty normal guy. And maybe that's what we need in Congress. Is somebody who understands, is from this district who understands this district, and who doesn't put on airs. That's me.
And I will never pretend to have all the answers. And I would say that folks who are listening who may not even vote for me, just know that I'd be honored to have your vote, but even if I don't have it, know that I will work my hardest to represent you in Congress.
And if there's ever anything that you need even if you didn't vote for me, I will do everything I can to make sure if I'm in Congress that we take care of those needs and and make sure that you get the absolute best constituent service that you can get from from your member of Congress.
So I think that's all I'd have to say, Hattie.
Rensberry: If people want to get a hold of you or learn more about your campaign, where can they go to do that?
Hurd: So the best way is online at www.jeffhurdforcolorado.com That's j-e-f-f-h-u-r-d-f-o-r colorado.com is probably the best way to get a hold of me.
You can also reach out on social media. I'm not as adept on social media but there's certainly folks on my team who will reach out if that's the easiest way to contact me. We will make sure that we get back to you as well.
Rensberry: Awesome. Well, thank you so much, Jeff, for making the time to come on today and chat on KDNK about your campaign and your priorities. We really appreciate you taking the time.
Hurd: It's a pleasure, Hattie. Anytime.
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