From the videos that I’ve seen from the Club 20 debates, there is one moment that stood out in my mind in which Paul Jones, candidate for Colorado House, District 59, reveals his position on crucial community issues.
Jones: “Can you actually say that every vote was in support of the district?”
Barbara McLachlan: “Yes, otherwise I wouldn’t have supported it.”
Jones: “So you think a mandatory minimum wage and partial paid maternity leave was good for the district?”
McLachlan: “Yes!”
This scares me. Jones was attacking McLachlan, our current representative, on her support of both a minimum wage increase and paid maternity leave – policies that are designed to support working families.
Too many people on the Western Slope are already working two to three jobs just to make ends meet. As living costs skyrocket and wages remain stagnant, we need leaders that are positioned to protect working families, not would-be politicians intent on dismantling our support systems.
Finally, neither of those initiatives were actually decided by the legislature, they were ballots of the people. The fact that Jones doesn’t understand the difference between a constitutional amendment (that was passed at the same time that Rep. McLachlan was elected) is a concern. He doesn’t understand even the basics to our legislative and tax process. How is he supposed to “get more resources for the things we need” if he doesn’t even understand how taxes are raised or lowered in our state?
Anne Markward
Durango
