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A reader asks:

I am wondering just how do you plan to change the size of govt in Colorado? I am afraid it is not as easy as it sounds. It seems you are ready to side with the “party of no” on all issues and no legislator can single handedly change the size of state govt. As you know state govt is fluid and progress (not in the political sense…), policies are built up and shaped each session. Wouldn’t it make you an “activist” if you just went in there and proposed bills that strike policies and laws that our elected reps have worked on all these years? I do understand where that scenario is applicable though. On your web page I feel like all you do is spout the same old retoric that most Republicans do using your buzz words and trendy topics of the day for your party. This I think is more suitable on the national scene where nothing is done right anyway. Give the voters some meat and potatoes about the issues you intend to address if elected to office in November. The US Constitution is not the “end all be all” at the state level as you well know.

Are you going to vote with the US Constitution, the GOP, or the people in your district? Relative to your website I can not tell.

Thank you for your time, I am a conservative independent voter and am undecided on my vote for state rep.this fall. A response would most definately help me and mine make a better decision as to who I should support on the campaign trail this summer.

I truly appreciate the reader’s questions, despite the few subtle digs of the “When did you stop beating your wife?” variety.

I will actively fight the growth in the size of government. If that makes me an “activist,” I’m OK with that. Where I’m not a fan of activism is in the judiciary and its interpretation of laws that the “activists” over in the legislature pass. On a similar note, I don’t think I have to choose whether to “vote with the US Constitution, the GOP, or the people in [my] district . . . .” When I am elected, I will take an oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution and the Colorado Constitution, so I will have no choice about whether I can follow them. My word is important to me, and I will not break my oath, even if the Republicans (or the Democrats, for that matter) want me to.

At the same time, I fully grasp the importance of listening to my neighbors in District 61 and learning what our priorities are and should be. So far, the anecdotal feedback I’ve received is that people are most interested in jobs, lower taxes, less regulation, economic recovery (by which I mean jobs), and water conservation and rights protection. Please send along your feedback to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address); the more I hear directly from you, the better I’ll be able to represent you.

Finally, on the “meat and potatoes” bit: If there are details that I have not addressed (and I concede that there are) on how I plan to help bring about recovery in Colorado and accomplish other important goals, I encourage all readers to ask specific questions so that I can answer them specifically. My plan is to roll out details as the campaign progresses, but I’m happy to get to things in the order that readers ask them and more on your schedule than on mine.

Thanks again to all those that take the time to ask questions or provide feedback. That’s what makes a republic work!