House district 49 candidate info - Coloradoan
Thomas Clayton
Do you live in House District 49? Here's what to know about the 2 primary candidates
Rebecca Powell
Rural Larimer County voters who plan on voting the Democratic ballot in this month's primary election will decide between two candidates for House District 49: Lesley Smith, a scientist, aquanaut and CU Regent; and Max Woodfin, a mental health counselor, educator and veteran.
District 49 covers parts of rural Larimer County, but it's a large district that also encompasses parts of rural Boulder County, along with Clear Creek and Gilpin counties. It's currently represented by Rep. Judy Amabile, who is leaving the seat to run for Senate District 18.
You can find out what district you're in by entering your address here.
The winner of this Democratic primary will face Republican Steve Ferrante in November.
Read on to learn about the candidates and their top issues. Answers came from an emailed questionnaire and interviews with the candidates.
Be an informed voter:Your guide to the 2024 Colorado primary election
What are the candidates' backgrounds?
WOODFIN: "I have never held political office, but have served as an Army officer in the National Guard for 10 years and, in that sense, hold the public trust. My career experience spans from being an experiential educator with an international guiding program (in Southeast Asia, China, Tibet, and India) and a public school teacher to my current work as a mental health counselor (psychotherapist).
"Over the last 12 years, I have been in private practice and contract with first responder agencies to provide resilience and psychological trauma trainings, working with organizations like the Boulder Police Department and Boulder's Open Space and Mountain Parks. As an Army officer, I have served as a company commander, staff officer, and the lead for a multinational liaison team in eastern Europe."
SMITH: Smith had a 30-year career as a research scientist at the University of Colorado’s Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES). She was a research scientist studying greenhouse gas emissions from natural and constructed wetlands the first half of her career. The second half of her career she was a science education and outreach scientist at CIRES.
She is the first woman aquanaut in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s underwater research habitat, Aquarius. Smith raised more than $7 million in grant money from the National Science Foundation to bring science alive in classrooms. She also developed and directed the Research Experience for Community College Students program, which prepares students from across Colorado to be successful in four-year STEM degree programs. Smith as been a CU Regent since 2019 and served on the Boulder Valley School District board of education and Boulder's Water Resources Advisory Board.
Why are they running for this office?
WOODFIN: "I really want to invigorate local democracy. Aside from policy issues, I saw an opportunity with a vacating seat and someone else who was running in the Democratic party who has spent a lot of time in public office. Conversations with friends and neighbors (revealed) that we really need to reinvigorate local politics, especially in our current political climate."
SMITH: In fall 2022, "we were in a really awful drought situation and the Colorado River was at record lows and we weren't certain there was going to be enough water flowing through the turbines to produce electricity, and my background is in water." Additionally, her research focused on measuring greenhouse gas emissions from wetlands. "I thought maybe I should think about running for the legislature. Between my background in K-12 and higher ed and then my scientific background, people got pretty excited," she said, citing over 100 endorsements.
What are the candidates' top focus areas?
WOODFIN:
- Increased access to preventive health care, including mental and behavioral health care, along with improved access to mental health care for veterans and first responders. He said he would like to help providers cut through the bureaucracy and require insurers to offer minimum number of mental health service providers to increase availability in Colorado.
- Robust protections for women’s body sovereignty and medical choice, as well as access to essential reproductive health care. He said providers should not fear repercussions for giving health care, and if the proposed constitutional amendment enshrining the right to an abortion in the Colorado Constitution doesn't pass in November, he would work for more robust law.
- Sustainable public land management that encourages people of all backgrounds and abilities to spend time outside. Sprague Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park is a good example of an accessible trail. "I want to see more of that. I see a lot of the access to lands around me is good for people who can run, hike or mountain bike," but people who do not have the same abilities should be able to get deeper into natural areas, he said. And getting more people out into nature will help shape policies to protect the natural environment.
- Comprehensive community solutions to local threats from climate change: wildfires, water scarcity and weather-related disasters. He wants to see more funding for sustainable wildfire programs, like shaded fuel brakes, which maintain integrity of the forest, instead of clear cuts. He also said technical innovations to address climate change have their place, but a focus on sustainable lifestyles is also needed to live side by side with nature.
SMITH:
- Protecting our environment and climate change: Even though the district is quite large, Smith said, everyone seems to have the same concerns about resilience to fires and floods, along with forest health and the cost of home insurance due to those risks. While she doesn't have any specific bills in mind, she said she would like to serve on the Water, Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee because that's where her expertise and experience is.
- Public education — better funding K-12 and higher education: "We all know that the real issue is TABOR (the Taxpayers' Bill of Rights), which really ties the legislature's hands as far as how much money is available." While she's glad the legislature this session eliminated the budget stabilization factor that limited spending, the state is still at 1990s funding levels. She said the legislature could consider referring a temporary timeout on TABOR to voters.
- Affordability — housing and health insurance: With the bills recently passed at the legislature focused on housing, "it’s going to be sort of wait and see how this actually does impact affordability of housing," she said. She cited two bills she was strongly in favor of: One requires communities to develop their own housing needs assessment, and Smith said this allows communities to tailor them to their unique needs. She said the transit-oriented housing bill that is meant to encourage more density along transportation corridors will have benefits for the climate as well as housing. "Because I worked at the university, I got free bus pass. ... The more people that live along these corridors, if there’s incentives or better public transportation, that would also cut down on number of cars going down the highway."
- Health care: She would like to help pass a bill that allows for a study of how universal health care could be rolled out in Colorado.
What do they think distinguishes them from their opponent?
WOODFIN: "I think I bring a lot of energy and a real focus on the idea of open dialogue and civil dialogue. Even though I may have strong policy positions, I'm interested in people who may have different perspectives and building a civil dialogue, because right now in our country and including Colorado, there's so much divisiveness and we really need to relearn how to be in civil dialogue even if we have policy opposition to each other. My personality revolves around being kind of open with the world and open with other people.
"I have a very strong focus on mental health, and my priority is to get better access to mental health care for folks.
"I've always wanted to live close to the ground, and that's why I was educator for years and now why I am a mental health counselor. I want to continue to work very close to the people."
SMITH: "I have nearly 20 years experience as a public servant" on policy-focused bodies, she said. "If I got elected, I would have a good understanding of what it takes to formulate a bill and move it forward. Also, it takes stakeholding, and I have a strong track record in stakeholding, in both in my job at CU as well as serving on these various boards.
"And I’m a scientist, so I'm very much data driven, data focused. I carefully weigh out the pros and cons but I also take into account the various stakeholders.
"And I’m actually the first woman aquanaut to be in NOAA's underwater Aquarius habitat," she said.
How much money has been raised?
WOODFIN: $14,617
SMITH: $56,045
Source: Colorado Secretary of State's Office reports filed as of May 30
Where can I learn more?
- Woodfin's website: maxforcolorado.com
- Smith's website: lesleyforco.com
 | Tom Clayton Communication and Media Specialist, Public Affairs |
| Commissioners' Office 200 W Oak St, Fort Collins, 80522 | 2nd Floor W: (970) 498-7005 tcla...@larimer.org | www.larimer.org |