LISA YOUNG: Joining me today on KVNF is Alex Kelloff, the Democratic candidate for Colorado Congressional District 3. We are here at Fuel Coffee in Delta for a meet and greet. Alex, thank you for talking with KVNF today.
ALEX KELLOFF: Thanks a lot, Lisa. I appreciate the time.
YOUNG: Let's talk a little bit about your personal history and why you've decided to run for this seat.
KELLOFF: Sure. So my father's side of the family settled in Trinidad in the eighteen nineties. So the family really goes back generations. They moved out across the San Luis Valley over the nineteen hundreds, where primarily small business people with restaurants, grocery stores, hotels, etc. My mom went to high school in Grand Junction, so I spent my formative years coming out to the district all the time. And I really feel that my values were rooted in the values of the district. And I believe this is a consequential time in American history, and I felt that I needed to get involved. I've never been involved in politics, and so when I made the decision to get involved, I chose this as the way I was going to get involved to run for Congress in our third district.
YOUNG: In what ways do you differ from last year's elections Democratic candidate Adam Frisch?
KELLOFF: I think as I just noted, my history is in the district going back generations of small business people. I really felt like I grew up with those values and so really running in this seat focused on the issues that are important to the people here: the economy, cost of living, etc., and just really rooted in those values.
YOUNG: In an earlier interview with the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, you referenced the “Abundance agenda.” What is that and what do you think it's important to the National Democratic Party to adopt it?
KELLOFF: I think really what I'm focused on is, as I said, the economy, what affects people daily, good jobs, cost of living, ensuring that people have a living wage, that they can afford to put food on the table, and a roof over their head (and) can afford healthcare. care. Those are really the things that I'm focused on. And of course, also protecting our public lands and water resources, ensuring that those are protected and that they're also administered here locally, not by bureaucrats in Washington.
YOUNG: Can you address Congressman Jeff Hurd's Productive Public Lands Act and why you oppose it?
KELLOFF: Well, I would say that again, just harkening back to the theme I just mentioned, I believe that our public lands and public resources should be managed locally by those that know the resources best and shouldn't be dictated from Washington coming in, you know unelected bureaucrats, nameless, faceless bureaucrats that are reaching in to manage our resources here and dictate how we should manage as resources.
YOUNG: Which of the Trump Administration's recent actions do you think hurt CD3 the most?
KELLOFF: Certainly the ‘big ugly bill' would disproportionately hit our district and our constituents here. I very much worry about the cutbacks to rural health, Medicare, Medicaid, veterans benefits. And I really worry about the rural hospitals that are at risk in our district in particular, I think we have five out of the six rural hospitals that are really at risk from those cutbacks.
YOUNG: You may have already mentioned this, but let's just go over it again. What are your top priorities for the district?
KELLOFF: Sure. Really the things that affect people and their everyday lives. So again, being able to put food on the table, roofs over people's heads, not having to worry about if they can afford health care when they need it, good jobs so that we provide a future for our children growing up, that they have jobs that can support a living wage and also the protection of our public lands and resources. Water is critical in this district in particular, and obviously most of us, almost all of us live here because of the beautiful lands that surround us. Outdoor recreation is a major factor in this district, and we need to protect these things.
YOUNG: You've said that the Democratic Party is at a crossroads and may have steered too far left. Can you say more about that?
KELLOFF: Well, I think we need to focus particularly on this district. What matters to people in their everyday lives? That's what I'm very much focused on. That's what I'm running on. You know, I think I understand the district, given the values that I grew up with, that stem back generations. As I said, when my family settled here in the eighteen nineties. So it's really the things that people care about day to day here in the district.
YOUNG: Where can folks go if they want to get more information and support your campaign?
KELLOFF: Sure. alexkelloff.com, that’s our website
