Steve Yurash
Office sought: State representative, Colorado House District 52
Party: Colorado Center Party
Website: coloradocenterparty.org/steve-for-house52
Yurash is running against Democrat Yara Zokaie.
Yurash’s answers are below. Responses have been edited for spelling and to conform to AP style.
Steve Yurash
Current occupation and top 3 most relevant experiences
I retired from 38 years in the computer chip industry, 23 years at Intel Corp., mostly in design for test engineering. I collaborated on teams of all sizes working through complex, contentious, technical situations. My first job in high school was the cleanup boy at the local butcher shop. I have served for nine years on the Larimer County Board of Health and three years on the Fort Collins Electric Board.
What made you want to run for this position?
Public service is important to me, and I cannot sit idly by while our political system is so dysfunctional. The two-party system strongly benefits the extreme elements in both major parties. I created the Colorado Center Party with other like-minded citizens to represent the moderate majority, and now we are a recognized minor party. Ranked choice voting is on the ballot this November, and I support it to fix some of this dysfunction. It will eliminate casting your vote out of fear the evil party might win and allow voters more freedom to choose between multiple candidates and parties.
What’s your top issue in this election? Tell us what actions you would take to address it.
Politics in America is very broken and toxic, where both major parties are dominated by extreme elements. I will be the voice for the moderate majority and bring balance and common sense to the state legislature instead of ideologically driven agendas. Trust in government is at an all-time low because politicians from both sides say one thing on TV and yet we see completely opposite facts in the real world. My opponent has accepted 19 campaign contributions from lobbyists that have too much power at the state capitol for their special interests that ask for money and favors from the government.
What’s your second most important issue in this election?
Property issues are very prominent because citizens in Fort Collins twice defeated land use code changes by the City Council and now the state legislature has usurped local control. We need to claw back local control of growth and housing density to preserve our quality of life. Our property taxes have skyrocketed way too much, and the legislature had to be arm-twisted with two special sessions to give us property tax relief after they tried to trick us with Proposition HH. Voters deserve better representation on property issues.
If you have a third issue, talk about it here.
Illegal immigration of organized crime gangs is a concern. Even Gov. Jared Polis agrees the border is an issue. Several cities are suing over the sanctuary policies that exist in Colorado for criminal migrants because gang members will intimidate potential witnesses to crimes, so we need all possible law enforcement tools. We cannot end cash bail as my opponent wants because we cannot allow criminals to have a revolving door at the jail like San Francisco. I do support reasonable gun controls like red flag laws to keep guns out of the hands of known threats.
How would you approach the responsibilities of your office differently from your opponent(s) if elected?
As a member of the Colorado Center Party, I will have a unique ability to work with both sides of the aisle to find better compromises on tough issues. I will not have party leadership strong-arming me into party-line votes. I have support in Fort Collins from both Democrats and Republicans, because voters are tired of politicians not listening to them. Just ask the volunteers for Preserve Fort Collins about that. I will listen to the concerns of ordinary citizens because I’m not looking to consolidate political power. State Sen. Joann Ginal and former Sen. Steve Johnson are my legislator role models.
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This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Colorado elections 2024: Q&A with Steve Yurash in House District 52
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Publish date : 2024-10-13 02:12:00
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