My name is Shelli Shaw and I am not a politician. Like you, I’ve been watching our nation and our beautiful state go in a direction that breaks my heart. Children are being used as a political football; drugs and crime are skyrocketing; agriculture and gas and oil are being overregulated to the point of extinction. I felt it was time to do something.

My father was a Vietnam veteran and construction worker, and my mother was a teacher (and to everyone who served during Vietnam, I say, “Welcome home”). They taught me the value of hard work, and as I raised my three children – now all adults – I taught them the value of earning a living, saving for the future and respecting our fellow man. I taught them to be good stewards of the land and what God gave us. Those values are the foundation of who I am.

As a former English teacher and district-level administrator, one of my priorities is education. I have been listening to parents across our district, and many feel they are not included in educational decisions nor have access to curriculum or lessons being taught in their children’s school. And when the government-assigned school fails their children, I will work to ensure parents have a choice.

Crime is also increasing across Colorado exponentially. I am saddened by the amount of drugs entering our state. Fentanyl is killing our children, family, friends and neighbors. I will fight to make fentanyl possession a felony and strengthen law enforcement to counteract the rising crime in our towns and outlying communities.

I will rollback legislation that hinders the growth and sustainability of our agriculture industry and our farming families. I will protect individual agriculture and farmer water rights, as well as water rights for Colorado.

Government regulations are crippling our natural gas and oil industry. I will encourage gas and oil production in our state by reducing permitting bottlenecks. I will also support energy independence in Colorado.

It is vital that we have a voice in Denver. Too often, rural Colorado is overlooked and ignored. It is time we had a representative who truly stood up for our rights, listened to our needs and served the people. I will be that representative. Vote Shelli Shaw to be your voice in the Colorado House of Representatives this November.

Shelli Shaw and her husband live between Durango and Bayfield, where they run a bed and breakfast. She is running for the Colorado House of Representatives District 59.