Bennet: “Colorado must confront its deficit with a long-term vision”

COLORADO SENATOR AIMS TO BECOME DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR

Jesús Sánchez Meleán/ El Comercio de Colorado

Michael Bennet is proposing a long-term vision to reorganize priorities in housing, healthcare, and education in response to Colorado’s structural US$1 billion deficit. The Democratic gubernatorial hopeful is calling for an expansion of affordable housing, the creation of a public healthcare option, reform of TABOR to sustain essential services, and higher teacher salaries.

Jesús Sánchez Meleán: What is your vision for governing a state facing a one-billion-dollar deficit?

Michael Bennet: It is essential that we confront this reality. And that reality is the result of a combination of factors. On one hand, it stems from President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” which cut Medicaid funding and financial support for Colorado, creating devastating problems for our budget. But it is also the result of TABOR and other constitutional restrictions in Colorado.

In addition, I am deeply concerned — and it is very likely — that an economic recession is also approaching. All of these factors together will trigger the fiscal crisis you are referring to. What I want to stop doing is trying to solve these problems year after year in isolation. The people of Colorado — especially our children — need us to have a vision for the next decade.

Jesús Sánchez Meleán: What do you propose to address housing?

Michael Bennet: We need to build more condos and homes that people can actually afford to buy. There are many people in the Hispanic community spending 30, 40, or even 50 percent of their income on housing. I want us to become the first state in the country where no working person has to spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing, whether that’s rent or a mortgage payment; and the only way to achieve that is by building more homes.

INTERVIEW | Senator Michael Bennet speaks with Jesús Sánchez Meleán, Editor of El Comercio de Colorado. (Photo/El Comercio de Colorado)

Jesús Sánchez Meleán: What is your proposal regarding healthcare?

Michael Bennet: I believe every Coloradan should have access to a “public option” — meaning an alternative choice besides private insurance. If people want private insurance, that’s fine with me. But I want us to be a state where anyone can access public insurance if they choose to; and that option should be just as available in rural Colorado as it is in urban Colorado.

The same applies to mental health. We should place the same importance on physical health and mental health; and that is exactly what my insurance program would provide. We are facing projections of 9% annual increases in Medicaid costs over the next several years. This situation will bankrupt our state and our counties; in fact, it will also have the effect of bankrupting our businesses.

Therefore, we will need to adjust those increases to align with what we can actually afford as a state, while at the same time promoting access to healthcare by focusing on primary care: making sure people can see a doctor and access the necessary lab tests so they can take better care of their own health and help us avoid unnecessary expenses.

Jesús Sánchez Meleán: What is your specific plan for education?

Michael Bennet: We want an education system where we know that when students graduate from high school, they do so with the skills necessary to earn a living wage — not a minimum wage —; a system where, from the beginning, students can obtain hands-on learning credentials and business certifications so they can access jobs that pay a real living wage and place them on a path toward the middle class.

And another thing I would add — which also brings us back to teachers — is that we must be able to pay our teachers in Colorado. Right now, we are losing teachers to Wyoming, Utah, or New Mexico, and some are leaving the profession altogether. Can you imagine if, in the 1960s in Denver, people had accepted the idea that teachers would have to go to food banks to feed their own children? That is what we are dealing with here, right now.

Jesús Sánchez Meleán: Would you support a bill to abolish TABOR?

Michael Bennet: We need to reform it. That’s what I would say. We need to reform the restrictions imposed by TABOR. We are not going to touch the right Coloradans have to vote on tax increases. That right exists because of TABOR. I do not believe we should change that right; likewise, there are other aspects of TABOR that have been popular. But what kind of state do we want to live in? Achieving that will require reforming those restrictions.

Jesús Sánchez Meleán: As governor, how do you plan to use the powers of clemency, pardons, or sentence commutations?

Michael Bennet: Well, I think it is a very important part of our constitutional system. It is a fundamental element in achieving justice in our society, and I will exercise that power very deliberately. I should also say that I do not believe Tina Peters should be pardoned.

SPORTS | Senator Michael Bennet declared himself a fan of the Denver Summit, the women’s soccer team. (Photo/El Comercio de Colorado)

Jesús Sánchez Meleán: Do you have a different approach to lawsuits as a method for managing conflicts with the government?

Michael Bennet: I do not criticize lawsuits. By the way, almost all the lawsuits he [Phil Weiser, his opponent] has joined are legal actions initiated by other attorneys general that he simply signed onto. However, I do believe we clearly need a governor who is strong enough to stand up to Trump. People know me because of the work I have done in the Senate and the work I did as a school superintendent, experiences that I bring to this position.

And with all due respect to my opponent, we are not going to make housing more affordable in Colorado through lawsuits. We are not going to expand access to high-quality healthcare through lawsuits. We are not going to create affordable childcare through lawsuits, while also paying a living wage to the people providing that service in this state.

Jesús Sánchez Meleán: If you had three free days, where in Colorado would you go?

Michael Bennet: I would go hiking on any of Colorado’s 14,000-foot peaks, or “fourteeners.” If it were summer, I would climb one of those peaks with Susan and my three daughters. And in winter, the activity would be skiing in Colorado with my family. We are very fortunate to live in this state.

El Comercio de Colorado: Which Colorado professional sports team is your favorite?

Michael Bennet: Right now, it’s the Denver Summit women’s soccer team. Seeing more than 64,000 people attend its inaugural match is exciting. That’s my new favorite team.