President (To Win Colorado) See Full Big Line

(D) Kamala Harris

(R) Donald Trump

80%

20%

CO-01 (Denver) See Full Big Line

(D) Diana DeGette*

(R) V. Archuleta

98%

2%

CO-02 (Boulder-ish) See Full Big Line

(D) Joe Neguse*

(R) Marshall Dawson

95%

5%

CO-03 (West & Southern CO) See Full Big Line

(D) Adam Frisch

(R) Jeff Hurd

50%

50%

CO-04 (Northeast-ish Colorado) See Full Big Line

(R) Lauren Boebert

(D) Trisha Calvarese

90%

10%

CO-05 (Colorado Springs) See Full Big Line

(R) Jeff Crank

(D) River Gassen

80%

20%

CO-06 (Aurora) See Full Big Line

(D) Jason Crow*

(R) John Fabbricatore

90%

10%

CO-07 (Jefferson County) See Full Big Line

(D) B. Pettersen

(R) Sergei Matveyuk

90%

10%

CO-08 (Northern Colo.) See Full Big Line

(D) Yadira Caraveo

(R) Gabe Evans

70%↑

30%

State Senate Majority See Full Big Line

DEMOCRATS

REPUBLICANS

80%

20%

State House Majority See Full Big Line

DEMOCRATS

REPUBLICANS

95%

5%

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
August 01, 2010 01:29 AM UTC

Candidate diary HD 12 - Jake Williams for State House

  • 20 Comments
  • by: wade norris

(Because there ARE other races this Primary season – promoted by ClubTwitty)

This week I got the chance to interview HD 12 candidate Jake Williams.

HD 12 is in  the County of Boulder including the towns of Lafayette, Longmont and Louisville.

In addition to his record of public service, Mr. Williams has the depth of knowledge necessary for solving the tough issues facing Colorado, such as fixing the budget, creating more jobs, and improving government.

Mr. Williams explains these views and the fundamental difference in philosophy on governing between himself and his primary opponent.

Question: Why are you running for office?

Answer: This is a great time to have a conversation with voters about what kind of State they want to have and what role State Government can play in it. I think Republicans and Democrats get the concept that you get what you pay for. Right now, the cracks are showing – in increased classroom sizes, in decreased investment in roads and bridges, and in our medicaid system failing. I am hopeful in this crisis we can actually see how we can have a rational conversation about funding services at an adequate level and making changes in our budget so we can meet those needs.

(because of budget cuts) …people are suffering as a consequence.

The budget is not just a sheet of paper with numbers on it. It is a moral document with real life consequences.

Question: Would you be willing to bring up and address Tabor?

Answer: Absolutely. The budget is our primary challenge we are facing in Colorado.

Question: Where are we going to get new jobs?

Answer: In the past 5 years there have been over 50 companies that have sprouted from technology at CU. Over 40 of those companies have operations in and around Boulder county. At the same time funding over the past decade for Research and Development to CU ha been on a downward trend.

(Me) So the very place that is creating jobs is getting less money?

(Jake) Yes, it makes no sense.

Question:What’s the main difference between you and your primary opponent – Matt Jones?

Answer:(my opponent) when he represented Adams county, he joined with Republicans to pass Arveschoug-Bird. This law limited General fund spending increases at 6%. The General fund is for Healthcare, Education, child protection, Senior Services, Medicaid, and services for people with disabilities. So it has been devastating. The combination of Arveschoug-Bird and Tabor has dragged down those services to a level that is almost last in the nation. That’s really formed a large part of the reason of why I am running now, because if we don’t reverse course, we will have a much dimmer future than we would have if we don’t reform our budget and reinvest in those services.

From his website:

Jake is currently employed by the Western Conservation Foundation, where he works to improve environmental public policy and to hold elected officials accountable on environmental issues.

As an advocate for working families at the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Jake led successful campaigns to pass legislation at the State Capitol, including “whistleblower” protection for every nurse in Colorado and hospital infection reporting to help every patient in Colorado.

Jake has built unlikely bi-partisan coalitions among business leaders, medical professionals, consumer advocates, labor unions and others to make progress on health care reform and environmental protection.

Jake has helped scores of Democratic candidates win tough elections. As campaign manager for Kathy Hartman, he helped achieve the only victory for a Democrat in a Jefferson County Commissioner race in the past 16 years. As an advisor to Rep. Dianne Primavera, he helped Primavera win a State House seat that had never been occupied by a Democrat.

Jake is a loyal party activist who has worked to elect democrats to office, has experience crafting policy and has experience building broad coalitions. His Master’s Degree from the London School of Economics also equips him for working with our other expert financial leaders, such as Rep. Mark Ferrandino.

Our state can’t afford to rank last in vital services like Medicaid, Education and Healthcare. We need a leader who understands complex budget issues and who won’t vote for mistakes like Arveschoug-Bird. Vote for Jake Williams.

Tweet
Share

Comments

20 thoughts on “Candidate diary HD 12 – Jake Williams for State House”

    1. I don’t know Jake but the organization does a lot of great work and has top-notch staff.  

      Primaries get heated–turning it into a personal hate-fest and individual attacks suck, IMO.  

      1. that Jake wants to introduce legislation to close the lobbyist loophole at the capitol.

        Apparently, lobbyists can set up LLC companies that do not have to report donations from corporations – and it is all perfectly legal.

        Transparency in Government – an important issue that Jake Williams supports.

  3. Something Wade Norris and I are passionate about where we are actually on the same side!  

    Jake Williams is an amazing candidate who walks his talk. When we were organizing for health care reform (11/2008-recently), Jake was there with us.  He showed up to rallies, he helped us motivate voters and wasn’t afraid to stand out in the hot sun for hours on end.  

    If you have a facebook account, look up the groups, “In pictures — Colorado’s Health Care Reform Movement of 2009” or “Health care reform candidate hall of fame”.  You will see photos of all of the other candidates and legislators who walked their talk and hit the pavement for us trying to sway public opinion on the need for health reform — Mark Thrun, Jake Williams, Daniel Kagan, Mark Udall, Morgan Carroll, Suzanne Williams, Su Ryden, Amber Tafoya, George Kafalas, Ray Fleischer, and yes — one who is in many of the photos, Michael Bennet. (I am sorry if I left anyone out. Check out their photos — you’ll see who helped.)

    They all have my undying gratitude and respect (undying… health care reform — no pun intended.)

  5. Nice to learn more about Williams, I’ve heard good things about him. Don’t know much about Jones other than the fact that he was in the legislature and didn’t he lose a city council race at some point

    1. You should know, then, that Matt has been working on clean energy, health care, and open space issues since Jake was in college.  He beat a Republican incumbant and was picked for a leadership position (in the minority then as we all know).  So he’s been there, and got a lot of things done, and in that sense he has certainly walked the walk.  And what Jake says about Matt’s position on A-B & Tabor is incorrect.  

  6. Jake sounds like a nice guy, but, I am supporting Matt Jones both with a small campaign contribution and volunteering for Matt.

    Matt is a cancer survivor. A great person who cares deeply about people and is a doer not a talker. Matt is a problem solver, someone who looks for solutions. I like this about him. In fact, I will be meeting Matt Jones and his volunteers tonight in Louisville and making phone calls to undecided’s and getting out the vote for Matt! Google Matt Jones Colorado. And, those of you who know me, call me, and I will tell you more about why I support Matt Jones. Great Democrat, Wonderful Person, and touching/moving life story! Doesn’t get any better than Matt Jones when you talk about Candidates for State House!

  7. I’d rather see some new energy and ideas down at the capitol, rather than someone who has already been there and done that.  I get nervous too, about someone who can’t even win a local race. Does anyone know what town it was in?

Leave a Comment

Recent Comments


Posts about

Donald Trump
SEE MORE

Posts about

Rep. Lauren Boebert
SEE MORE

Posts about

Rep. Yadira Caraveo
SEE MORE

Posts about

Colorado House
SEE MORE

Posts about

Colorado Senate
SEE MORE

191 readers online now

Newsletter

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter to stay in the loop with regular updates!