Stan VanderWerf

How does your experience qualify you to represent the people of State Senate District 12?

First off, I want to thank you for the opportunity to respond to your survey. I have extensive federal, state, and local government experience, diplomatic skills, policy expertise, legislative expertise, and a desire to serve the citizens of Colorado.

I have over 35 years in public service; first, as an Air Force officer (28 years), and then as a County Commissioner. In both cases, I worked extensively on large public budgets, complicated programs, large teams, and political dynamics with both state and federal legislation. I have held leadership roles in all. I have worked as a budget specialist, policy developer, USAF commander, and community leader. I understand the needs of El Paso County and Senate District 12 and have served on many community, public, and private boards. This includes a decade of service as chair of various boards, including Chair of the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments, Chair of the Board of County Commissioners, Chair of the Pikes Peak Workforce Center, and Chair of numerous other boards. I also serve on the State Board of Health and the State Homeland Security Advisory Committee.

I have an Industrial Engineering degree which specializes in operations analysis, design, and re-design. For decades I have been designing policy implementation for all kinds of state and federal policies and this skill-set will serve Colorado well. Often costs for compliance and implementation can be reduced with better design. For example, as an El Paso County Commissioner, we doubled our road paving and repairs, increased our budget’s emergency reserves, added regional parks, and obtained the highest bond rating a County can receive, all without raising taxes. I am ready to take these skills to the State.

What are your top policy priorities for State Senate District 12?

My top priorities are my constituents' priorities: illegal immigration, inflation, the economy, and public safety. Inflation destroys savings and harms everyone but especially harms people on fixed incomes. Growing state government and increased regulatory burdens cost citizens and businesses alike. Open borders have allowed for increased fentanyl deaths, human trafficking, and higher risk of terrorism. None are acceptable and each concern can benefit from legislative commitment and action, which I will bring to the Senate.

While these are my top priorities, there are many other things to work on and I will deliver common sense solutions with my Senate colleagues to move these forward. These include reducing property and business taxes, protecting local government from State unfunded mandates, improving public safety, refocusing school funding from administrators to teachers, helping parents with school choice, working on affordable housing, improving job opportunities, reducing the cost of healthcare, and improving our State roads. Many of these relate to the top four priorities as pathways for improvement.

What will your approach and thoughts on how we will address immigration issues facing our country and Colorado?

The major strategic concerns here must be addressed by the federal government. As Senator, I will work with our delegation and other states to help implement reforms that closes the border, enforces current laws enacted by Congress, AND reforms pathways to citizenship. Future immigration law must be able to handle the scale of people wanting to enter the country AND continue to vet these applicants to ensure our safety. We can and should permit immigrants who want to improve their lives and become Americans with the job skills they bring to our country. But, we must deny entry to those who want to harm us. Proper vetting, an essential component of national security, is impossible without regulating the border. Keep in mind, that this does not mean closing the legal entry points already in place. It simply means allowing entry ONLY at these locations.

In Colorado, we need to increase our fight against illegal importation of fentanyl and human trafficking. We also need to allow our local law enforcement to work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). This decades-long relationship was harmed with recent State legislation that severely restricted our relationship with ICE, a law that simply makes no sense to me. County Sheriffs can work with any other law enforcement agency including the FBI, DoD, and Drug Enforcement Agency, but our State legislature chose to stop cooperation with ICE. I will work to reverse this mistake.

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

First and foremost is the need to let businesses operate with less government interference, so that consumer demands can be met with greater supply and innovation. Everyone is talking about the rapidly growing regulatory burdens from our State government and it has indeed grown. The Colorado think-tank, Common Sense Institute, in its published research, has shown large increases in appropriations, personnel, and formation of State agencies. Combined with high inflation, our citizens and families have less buying power, more expensive homes, fuel, and groceries, and increased time-consuming regulatory headaches.

These challenges can be addressed in two major ways: First, we can work to reduce the costs of goods, services, and housing; and second, we can grow salaries and job opportunities so families have more resources to cover these costs. As Senator I want to reduce regulatory burdens to both families and businesses. This alone will help in saving money and time. We need construction defect reform to allow developers to increase our supply of less expensive, multi-family condominiums. Land use and housing codes can be made more efficient and easier to comply with while still delivering safe housing and neighborhoods. Regulations, while often well-intentioned, are growing rapidly in healthcare and other industries. All add costs to the delivery of essential goods and services. Increased energy production of all types will bring down the cost of transportation, utility costs, and every product that needs energy for production. Recent legislation has been harmful to ranching, agriculture, small businesses, health care, and many other industries.

What role do you believe the state government has in addressing gun violence? What are your ideas on implementing gun policies?

I am very interested in increasing penalties for those who commit violent crimes with guns. While this seems logical, our legislature has been unable to achieve this because it conflicts with several legislator's desire to deliver justice reform, an agenda that often lowers criminal penalties. I will continue to work with my Senate colleagues to ultimately deliver a stronger deterrent to gun crime that punishes criminals, not law-abiding citizens. Efforts to improve mental health, strengthen families, and strengthen neighborhoods will also be excellent deterrents to criminal behavior that can create gun violence.

I oppose laws that harm law-abiding citizens who use guns for work, recreation, or personal safety. Several recently enacted laws in the State have done exactly this. For example, HB24-1174, the Concealed Carry Permits Bill, sponsored by my Democrat opponent, Marc Snyder, will do nothing except cost law-abiding gun owners millions of dollars to keep their permits. No criminal will abide by this law or any of the other gun control laws.

Do you have any ideas on what can be done on the state level to increase affordable housing?

This issue starts with passing construction defect reform laws. Builders should have the right to cure a defect in multi-family housing before proceeding to litigation. The Colorado law that restricts this right has made the industry's liability insurance costs so high that multi-family construction has been suppressed for years. I will work with my Senate colleagues to address this issue. Additionally, “Senior Homestead Portability” will also help. When Senior Citizens want to sell their existing home and move to a smaller home, current Colorado law does not allow them to take their Senior tax exemption with them. Moving to a smaller home would, in turn, free up the larger home for a family and make more efficient use of the housing stock we have. I will support legislation to allow this tax exemption portability.

Efforts to increase housing supply, a standard market principle, will help manage the cost of homes. The Common Sense Institute states there is a nearly 30,000-unit housing deficit in the Pikes Peak region alone. Combined with high interest rates and household incomes not keeping pace, housing access has really been harmed. More than 6,000 housing permits per year will be needed between El Paso County, Colorado Springs, and the other municipalities for several years to meet housing demands. So there is more to do. Land use and housing codes could also be improved to make the regulatory process more efficient, less costly, and less time-consuming.

Thank you again for this opportunity to respond to your survey. I look forward to serving the residents of District 12 as their next Senator.