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Colorado State House District 56 / Cámara de Representantes

The State House of Representatives is made up of 65 members who are elected by voters in their district for a two-year term. They are limited to serving four consecutive terms in office, but after a two-year break, they are eligible to run again. Every two years, all 65 seats are open for election. The legislative branch of the Colorado state government is composed of the State House and the State Senate. Their legislative authority and responsibilities include passing bills related to public policy matters, approving state budget spending, raising and lowering taxes, and voting to uphold gubernatorial vetoes. Scroll for Spanish Translation. La Cámara de Representantes del Estado está compuesta por 65 miembros que son elegidos por los votantes de su distrito para un mandato de dos años. Están limitados a servir cuatro períodos consecutivos en el cargo, pero después de una pausa de dos años, son elegibles para postularse nuevamente. Cada dos años se convocan elecciones para los 65 escaños. El poder legislativo del gobierno del estado de Colorado está compuesto por la Cámara de Representantes y el Senado. Su autoridad y responsabilidades legislativas incluyen la aprobación de proyectos de ley relacionados con asuntos de política pública, la aprobación del gasto del presupuesto estatal, la subida y bajada de impuestos y la votación para mantener los vetos del gobernador.

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  • Candidate picture

    Alessandra A Navetta
    (Dem)

  • Candidate picture

    Chris Richardson
    (Rep)

Biographical Information

What is the top issue(s) facing constituents in your district and what legislation would you champion to address it?

What would you do to reduce household expenses?

What role should the state government have in enforcing federal immigration laws? Please explain.

What legislation or action would you support to improve Colorado's energy production?

What is your stance on access to abortion and reproductive health care?

What is your opinion of the current integrity of elections?

Submitted Biography I am a resident of Elizabeth Colorado which is in Elbert County. I am a mother and grandmother. I am retired. My professional life was spent as a nurse and attorney. I have worked as a nursing instructor, psychiatric nurse and NICU nurse. As an attorney, I specialized in medical malpractice. I was born in Italy. My parents immigrated to Canada after the Second World War. I was educated in Canada and moved to the United States upon university graduation, with my husband who is an American. My undergraduate degree is a BScN in Nursing Education. I obtained my law degree at the University of Detroit. I have raised three sons and have eight grandchildren. I live in a semi rural area and have two horses and a dog. I enjoy nature. My other hobbies include needlework and watercolor painting. I am an avid reader and try to keep my body and mind active .
Website / Sitio Web http://vote4navetta.com
Campaign Phone (303)990-0882
Campaign Email navetta4hd56@gmail.com
In a rural environment such as House District 56, among the issues that need to be addressed are: 1. Access to affordable quality healthcare 2. Poor or lack of internet connectivity 3. Access to affordable post-secondary education. There are other issues that need to be addressed and once elected, I hope to meet with my constituents to determine their needs.
In a nation based on capitalism, government has a limited role in controlling private enterprise. Corporations must make a profit to survive, and provide employment for our citizens. However, corporate greed is another matter and our government must have a means of investigating price gouging and imposing penalties for doing so. I would support any legal means of preventing and punishing price manipulation that excessively increase prices on goods that are needed by households.
There must be legal immigration. Our country needs workers but immigration must occur in an organized fashion. We must distinguish between asylum seekers and economic immigrants. Asylum seekers who have a legitimate claim must be processed and admitted in a timely manner if their lives are at risk. That implies a well organized system of processing applications. As to the immigrants who are seeking entry for a better life, the issue becomes more complicated. Perhaps a partial solution would be to engage businesses who seek workers in the process. They could serve as sponsors for workers and be responsible for them during the time they are in the US. This could then lead to legal immigrant status followed by citizenship. There should be a process whereby applicants for admission may do do so from their country of origin through a consulate. It is a complex issue but progress must be made to address this problem.
Clean energy is the future . While there are wind farms in Colorado there is currently a moratorium on solar farms which must be ended. The sun energy in Colorado must be utilized. While Coloradans fear the end of the fossil fuel industry, that will not be the case until clean energy becomes more easily and cheaply available. There will be time for those in the fossil fuel industry to prepare for jobs in clean energy. The fossil fuel industry is nimble enough to figure out how to make clean energy profitable.
I believe that Roe v. Wade addressed the abortion issue. It balanced the rights of the unborn with those of the mother. In overturning Roe and leaving the issue to the states, there has resulted a hodgepodge of laws that are confusing for patients and doctors. There should be national codification of a consistent law. The decision to have an abortion should be left to a patient, her doctor, and her God.
Having served as an election judge I was impressed with how well ballots are processed and how difficult it would be to change a vote. However that is not to say that cheating is impossible. Sophisticated computer experts may have the expertise to change votes once a paper ballot is entered into the voting machine. To date it appears that audits have not found this to be the case but we must be diligent and report irregularities.
Submitted Biography I am uniquely qualified to represent the citizens of HD56. Raised in western Massachusetts, I received a ROTC scholarship, studied mechanical engineering, and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Army Infantry from the University of Pennsylvania. I have commanded at every level from platoon to brigade, in peacetime and in combat deployments and culminated my 23-year career, as a Brigade Commander at Fort Carson, Colorado. Prior to retirement, my family and I moved to our present home in Elbert County where I am active in many local political, civic, veteran, and agricultural organizations. I have served as an elected school board member and am now in my second term as a county commissioner. I currently serve on the state’s property tax commission representing eastern Colorado and am the Chairman of the Eastern Colorado Council of Local Governments and previously served on the Statewide Transportation Advisory Committee. My life is devoted to public service.
Website / Sitio Web http://www.Richardson-HD56.com
Campaign Phone 7208000320
Campaign Email Chris@Richardson-HD56.com
Campaign Twitter Handle @RichardsonHD56
As a first term legislator, I am currently in listening mode. The top issues I hear from my future constituents are: (1) the high cost of living, (2) crime, (3) access to care, and (4) Denver solutions that don't work for rural problems. With over 700 bills introduced in the last session and over 500 becoming law, I feel that most of the General Assembly’s work is currently trying to fix issues broken by previous legislation and I think its time to slow down and ensure the impacts of all new bills are understood before passage is considered. The focus of my efforts will be to provide a government that: • secures the rights and freedoms of all Coloradans, • stays out our citizens lives, businesses, and family matters, and • seeks always to reduce the burden on taxpayers.
Addressing the high cost of living requires efforts at the federal, state, and local levels. The ever-rising national debt and the printing of dollars has resulted in inflation that has driven up the cost of everything. While the state cannot directly impact this, we can lobby our congressional delegation to address this. National and state-level energy policies have further increased the cost to heat homes and fuel the trucks that move raw materials and finished products, as well as our foods to market. State legislators have minor impact on federal policy but can influence state decisions that have hurt our oil and gas industry, a major well-paying employer. Housing costs – driven higher by inflation and energy costs – are also driven upward by regulation and a legal environment that limits the availability of townhomes and other affordable housing. Deregulation can be addressed at state and local levels. Finally, taxes should be reduced and state spending lowered.
Uncontrolled illegal immigration is having a significant negative impact on our state. Legislation that barred local law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration authorities and several large metro area cities declaring “sanctuary” status have combined to draw an influx of illegal aliens to our state. Within my own County, I draft the Resolution unanimously adopted on Feb 14, 2024 that formally established Elbert County as county that did not accept illegal aliens and would not provide sanctuary (based on our limited human services capabilities and public health concerns). While I recognize that many people who entered our country illegally are seeking a better life for themselves and their families, state statute must be amended to direct, not bar, the cooperation of state and local law enforcement agencies with federal immigration authorities. Further, state funding for any local agencies that do not cooperate with federal agencies should be withheld.
While continuing to promote alternative energy, traditional oil and gas production must continue. Our state has the strongest environmental protections in the world. Colorado production reduces the need for drilling elsewhere and ensures a cleaner global environment. The industry now contributes over $31 billion to Colorado’s economy and employs over 230,000 I support an “all of the above” policy –this includes considering nuclear power as a baseload supplier and including hydroelectric in the definition of renewable. I understand bills supporting this have failed. They should be reintroduced. While wind and solar technology has advanced tremendously, they aren’t as reliable as some claim nor is it clear that they are economically feasible without significant subsidy. Without battery storage to accompany solar and wind, other sources are needed. Before legislative direction to adopt even more renewable energy production, there should be assurance we are not rushing to failure.
Our constitution ensures that all are entitled to (1) equal protection under the law, and that (2) they cannot be deprived of their rights without due process of law. Based on these two principles, the protection of the lives of the unborn is clearly an issue for governments which are formed to protect the rights of individuals. Those who cannot defend or claim their rights deserve protection. Unwanted pregnancies do happen, and I grieve for every woman that has made the difficult decision to abort a child and for all children lost because of these decisions. Those that provide alternatives to abortion should receive support. Abortion should not be looked at a means of birth control but should be available for those that are victims of rape or incest, or when the life of the mother is at risk with counseling provided to ensure that any irreversible decision be an informed one and thoughtfully made. If we are to err, we should err on the side of protecting life.
Continuous improvements should be sought. Every valid vote cast counted accurately, and in an auditable manner, should be the only accepted standard for elections. Safeguards are required to ensure invalid votes are not cast. The current system lacks adequate safeguards – statute should be changed to eliminate the wholesale mailing of ballots to all registered voters. The voter rolls need to be validated. No automatic registration should take place, or “intent to reside” – same day registration should be allowed. Voting is a privilege and should be treated as such. If ballots are mailed, it should be requested by the verified voter. Auditable paper ballots need to be maintained. The current system of “sampling” races that are directed by the Secretary of State needs to end. Ideally, elections would take place with in-person voting and ID verification on election day only (with minimal exceptions for those who cannot be present – overseas/military/homebound/hospitalized, etc).