The San Miguel Basin Forum asked both Adam Frisch and Jeff Hurd, racing for a seat in Colorado Congress District 3, four questions, based on recent survey results that revealed some of the most important issues to the West End. In this week’s edition, Frisch responds.
Forum: What does democracy and good government mean to you? It’s something those in the West End have shared as their biggest concern in a recent survey.
Frisch: Having a strong democracy is important, and the best way to achieve it is by ensuring that people trust the decisions being made are for the right reasons, which is why I’ll focus on ensuring decisions that impact communities in CD3, like Nucla and Naturita, are locally driven. Denver and DC have left communities like these behind; the last thing the West End needs is to lose its voice at our own table.
We also need to restore confidence in our elected officials and curb the influence of corporate money and special interests on our politics. If I am elected, I will support three measures to promote transparency and good governance, and restore confidence in our government:
1) Banning corporate money. Because there is simply too much money — especially corporate dollars and dark money — in politics, and it’s a big part of why everything feels so broken. I refuse to take corporate PAC (political action committee) money. I’ll fight to shine a light on dark money and will push to clean up our campaign finance system, so our politics work for everyday families, not special interests.
2) Banning stock trading by members of Congress while in office. Nobody should be allowed to profit off the inside knowledge and connections they’ve made serving our country. Banning stock trading will fight corruption and restore confidence in our leaders.
3) Term limits for Congress, because too many members of Congress hold their seats for decades, which minimizes the number of new ideas and fresh faces leading our country. Term limits will help ensure Congress stays more responsive to the people they represent.
Forum: Those in the West End of Montrose County are also worried about the economy and cost of living. What would you say to those in the West End with these concerns?
Frisch: I would share with them that I understand their frustrations, and that I want to support communities all over Colorado District 3 (CD3). Everything costs more these days, whether it’s gas and diesel for our cars and trucks, or food for our families. All the while, politicians from both parties spend way too much government money, and corporations price-gouge hardworking Coloradans. I am proud not to take any corporate money, because I believe CD3 needs an independent voice, and it’s hard to be independent when corporate special interests helped you get elected.
The next thing I would say to people in the West End is that the way to start making it better is by supporting local industries that create good-paying jobs and grow local communities right here in CD3. We need to both support the legacy industries that have been here for generations, while nurturing the emerging industries that are going to fuel job growth for years to come. Those conversations must be driven by the people who live and work here. Local control is not just a quip. In Congress, I’ll slash unnecessary government spending and regulations, work to get our national debt under control, and cut taxes that harm small businesses. We need to stop policies that chip away at the value of a day’s work, and make it easier to earn a living.
Forum: My readership has commented on the drama and the noise politics. Do you also see this/feel this? ... Or have a plan to work on this?
Frisch: One of the main reasons I decided to run is to break through the “Anger-tainment Industry” which is driving us apart, and is why the government has consistently failed to address the challenges in our lives. I am not on Team Democrat or Team Republican, but Team CD3. Neither party has a monopoly on good ideas, and both parties have plenty of bad ones. After driving over 65,000 miles across our district, I can confirm most people view themselves as rural Coloradans — not Republicans or Democrats — who want both parties to stop fighting and start working together to help make everyone’s lives better.
My first stop, once elected, is to join the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, made up of an equal number of members from both parties, to focus on issues that deserve and need bipartisan solutions. I won’t be a “yes-man” for either party. I’ll work across the aisle and forge connections with serious people on both sides, so we can turn the temperature down and start addressing the real challenges that face communities like the ones in CD3.
Forum: How will you connect with constituents on the Western Slope, or even a small place like the West End — Nucla, Naturita, Norwood and the outlying regions?
Frisch: People govern how they campaign, and I show up and will continue to show up. I put an enormous emphasis on spending time in the district. I will continue to connect with the West End by showing up over and over again. Since starting campaigning in CD3, I have driven over 65,000 miles across our district visiting communities across Western and Southern Colorado, and I’ve spent a lot of days in the West End. It’s those insights — the conversations I’ve had, the business owners I’ve met with, the local institutions I’ve toured — that make me best suited to take the concerns of people living here in CD3 and address them in Congress. I’ll work to make sure that the voices of the forgotten parts of our state — the rural areas left behind by Denver and DC — are heard, and I’ll fight to address the challenges that come with living in rural communities.
Editor's note: Part 2, with Jeff Hurd, runs next week.
