Trisha Calvarese

How does your experience make you qualified to represent the people of the 4th Congressional District?

I’m the candidate most qualified to represent the values of the 4th Congressional District because I was raised on them – I was baptized at St. Anthony's in Sterling and graduated from Highlands Ranch High School in Douglas County. My conservative parents taught me to respect veterans, elders, and the dignity of work. Those values helped me earn a full academic scholarship to college and have guided my life. I went on to work for the AFL-CIO, fighting for folks who work for a living and to restore America’s promise that if you work hard, you should be able to earn a family-supporting wage and benefits. I worked at the U.S. National Science Foundation on advancing scientific innovation and standing up to China. I worked on key legislation like the CHIPS and Science Act, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and the Inflation Reduction Act.

Then, life happened. Mom was diagnosed with cancer, with both parents facing terminal illnesses, I moved back home to provide end-of-life care. Before they passed last year, my Dad, a lifelong Republican, told me to step up and run to serve the community that raised me. I’m so glad he did because every day I get to fight for the very values my parents taught me. When I go to towns across the district, Democrats, Republicans, and Independents all tell me they want a representative who will work hard to serve others, not themself. That’s what my parents taught me, it’s how I have lived my life, and that’s the approach I will take with me to Congress.

What are your top policy priorities for the 4th Congressional District? 

I spend a lot of time talking to Coloradans, and what I hear about most is how expensive things are from housing to groceries, and how health care is unaffordable and inaccessible. I’ve felt those same pains in my own life, and I know that we need to get costs down and expand access to high-quality, affordable health care.

Our healthcare system is broken. I saw it firsthand when trying to access and afford care for my parents. We got four years with my Dad beyond his cancer diagnosis because his union-retiree health insurance plan covered life-extending $191,000 a year. That was covered under his private insurance plan, and that allowed me to have four more years with him. 

I strongly believe we need to expand access to Medicare and allow Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices so that we can get prices down and ensure everyone has access to high-quality affordable healthcare and can spend more time with the ones they love. 

We need local economic development on the eastern plains for American competitiveness. There’s a shortage in workers ready for the jobs in cutting-edge industries and tremendous potential to extend pathways to those jobs in our district. 

What is your approach to addressing immigration issues facing our country and Colorado? 

I start from a worker perspective, when people can be exploited because of their documentation status, it creates a race to the bottom, hurts all workers, and defiles American values. The current system is broken, we need to fix it - enforce our laws, secure the border, and stop playing games. We had an opportunity to pass a broadly popular, bipartisan border bill this year. It would have sent over 1,500 new agents to secure the border and invested in critical technology to stop fentanyl from entering our country. But Congresswoman Lauren Boebert and other extreme politicians stopped it. They put politics before the country, headlines over solutions. 

I will work hard to support immigration policies that secure our border, protect our economic interests, and provide legal pathways for migrants to citizenship and continue contributing to our communities. And let’s make no mistake, migrants are a critical part of our economy, in our district, especially for farmers and care providers. And frankly, we are in a global competition for STEM talent. We want to remain the brightest beacon for the world’s talent. We need to collaborate with employers and allied nations to ensure that immigrants, from farm workers to STEM professionals, can stay, work, and contribute to our communities. By creating legal and efficient pathways to citizenship, we can continue to keep America competitive. 

Coloradans are struggling with the cost of living because of skyrocketing inflation. What do you think needs to be done to help families?

Costs have gotten out of control, and Coloradans feel that when they go to the grocery store and fill up their tanks. To address inflation, we must focus on creating sustainable economic opportunities, passing comprehensive labor law reforms, and safeguarding Medicare and Social Security. Political gridlock and corporate price gouging have left working families unable to afford everyday essentials like food and housing. We need to build pathways to well-paying jobs that make the middle class attainable and sustainable once again.

Colorado's 4th district is one of the nation's leading agricultural producers, yet many families still face food insecurity. This is unacceptable. Additionally, skyrocketing housing costs and rising property taxes are squeezing young families and long-time residents alike. We need targeted policies to address these issues, such as increasing affordable housing, providing property tax relief, and supporting local agriculture to ensure that no one in our community goes hungry. By tackling these problems head-on, we can create a more equitable and prosperous future for all Coloradans.

What role do you believe the federal government has in addressing gun violence? Do you have 

I support the Second Amendment, and I believe the federal government has a crucial role in ensuring the safety and well-being of its citizens and addressing gun violence is a vital part of this responsibility. I will advocate for common sense gun safety, including comprehensive background checks and safe storage laws. These measures are essential to prevent firearms from falling into the wrong hands and to reduce accidental shootings, especially among children, which is currently the leading cause of death. We should also put power back in the hands of citizens and end the special protections the gun industry currently enjoys so ordinary people can stand up to them like they did to Big Pharma and Big Tobacco. 

We aren’t going to solve gun violence with one regulation or law. Gun violence is a public health crisis that requires a multi-faceted approach, including federal action for mental health. By implementing sensible regulations, we can reduce the prevalence of gun violence and create safer communities and families for all Americans. The federal government must lead the way in enacting and enforcing these reforms to protect our citizens and ensure that our neighborhoods, schools, and public spaces are safe from the threat of gun violence.

What can be done on the federal level to increase affordable housing? 

Housing affordability is a significant issue across our communities. To address this, I will explore measures to ban hedge funds and other investment speculators from buying homes solely to drive up costs. Homes should be prioritized for working people and families, not for profit-driven investors. We must also invest in developing the workforce of carpenters, plumbers, and electricians that are essential to building new housing. That’s why I support the North American Building Trades Union (NABTU) Multi-Core Craft Curriculum to deliver high-quality training that can support the good jobs we need to fill to address our housing crisis.  I'll work with the Colorado Building and Construction Trades and Colorado Treasurer Dave Young to build housing that working people can afford while training a new generation of workers in the skilled building and construction trades. 

Additionally, we should increase federal funding for affordable housing initiatives, such as the Housing Trust Fund and Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, to stimulate the construction and preservation of affordable housing units. We must also work on expanding access to rental assistance programs to help those struggling with high rents. By prioritizing these efforts, we can make significant strides in ensuring that every Coloradan has access to a safe, stable, and affordable home.