Better Schools, Education First
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While some people say there are many important issues, there is none bigger than education. From class size, to school materials, to basic reading programs, if we help  our children through education it will reflect in all other areas of their life.  We need schools to be funded adequately.   Our local School District 70 that serves Pueblo West is funded at the very lowest per pupil level.  This must be rectified. There is no reason to punish fast growing Pueblo West schools when the need for adequate funding is there today. We need smaller class sizes to ensure students get the attention they need to excel in school. 
We need to have children at an early age (preschool and kindergarten) properly prepared for school. In 1999, I proposed legislation that would extend the kindergarten day. We need families to get involved. The likelihood of a child's success is greatly influenced by how much a family is involved in his/her education. Finally, We need to continue to attract skilled teachers. 

Health Care Access - Auto Insurance
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We have found ourselves with ever higher costs for provision of health insurance premiums and with the challenge of paying for our high auto insurance costs.  During the 2004 session of the Legislature, I committed to join my colleagues in seeking some long term remedies.  For instance, I campaigned a "Pay at the Pump" concept to allow all motorists to get their major liability covered through a system which collects 3.5 cents per gallon allocated to your insurance carrier.  Its intent was to alleviate the growing problem with more than 30 percent of our  Colorado drivers being uninsured, and answers the critical need we have to fix the "no-fault" approach.

    In the critical area of health care premiums, we must make sure Pueblo and other rural cities are not separated from the larger Metro areas when insurance companies want to do business in our state.  By separating us, Pueblo County and surrounding communities pay much higher rates for health plans.  We also need to re-visit the prescription drug practices, and we must help our senior citizens gain savings from generic drugs whenever possible.

Water Management
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Colorado has just experienced one of the worst droughts in our state's history.  Our way of life may forever be changed unless we work to bring water management strategies to bear. We have demands on our water resources from growing suburbs like Aurora and Colorado Springs, and many farmer's water rights are being sought to fill those needs.  My hope is that we can keep our water in the Arkansas Valley, yet also give those agricultural interests who want to cash out their rights the ability to sell these rights to local water conservancy groups.

We need a greater effort to conserve our precious water.  I will be a strong proponent for the study of new initiatives statewide to increase our storage capacity and to repair and maintain our current water storage facilities.

Jobs and Economic Development
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 Good jobs are the keystone for building family and community. Pueblo's region has had its shares of economic ups-and-downs, but our quality of life, location and eager worker base is attracting some great new firms and proposals.  Soon we will have a major cleanup of the Pueblo Depot commence, with the promise of $1-billion plus in expenditures over the next ten years.  Also pipe diagnostic company EUPEC, cement maker GCC and hospital support company HPC are all new firms looking to make Pueblo their home. As your state senator I pledge to work with the entire community to grow our job base, and to especially improve our programs at Colorado State University/Pueblo and Pueblo Community College to increase skills that are needed for higher wages.

Dignity for Senior Citizens
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Abel was blessed to help his father in the final six years of his life, helping him with an apartment, aiding in his medical and health care issues. Abel saw first hand how difficult it was for his dad to acquire affordable prescription medications, to balance his checkbook and to remain an active, independent part of the community. Through his work to give clear priority to senior issues, Abel has earned a rating of 100 from the Colorado Senior Lobby.  He will continue to fight for affordable health care premiums, programs to enhance Older American quality of life, and hold the line of taxes and fees for all of us.