Colorado House of Representatives District 5 candidate surveys, 2022

Elections in Colorado, 2022

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This article shows responses from candidates in the 2022 election for Colorado House of Representatives District 5 who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.

* Click here to see candidates and election results.
* Click here to see Candidate Connection survey responses.

## Candidates and election results[edit]

#### General election

##### General election for Colorado House of Representatives District 5

Incumbent Alex Valdez defeated Johnnie Johnson and Troy Brekke in the general election for Colorado House of Representatives District 5 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate

Votes

|
|
|

| Alex Valdez (D) |

82.8

| 24,306

| Johnnie Johnson (R) |

15.3

| 4,502

| Troy Brekke (Unity Party) |

1.8

| 539

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Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

| Total votes: 29,347

|
|

= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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## Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses[edit]

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Survey responses from candidates in this race

Click on a candidate's name to visit their Ballotpedia page.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Troy Brekke (Unity)

I have taken the Best Democracy Pledge and am an advocate for Proportional Representation

We must strive to remove emotions from politics and use technology to create Data Driven Legislation

Only when everyone is free to share their experience, knowledge, and story without judgement and with the grace of active listening will we be able to realize the true potential of what we can achieve together

Johnnie Johnson (R)

give the power back to the people, to lower taxes and gas prices.

reduce regulations on small businesses that stop them from generating earnings to hire people in our community.

make the Denver Public Schools more transparent and accountable to the parents.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Troy Brekke (Unity)

1\. Equal Rights for All (LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, Women)

2\. The Environment 3\. Re-funding Public Education 4\. Mental Health 5\. Homelessness & Harm Reduction (changing the culture of drug use as a criminal issue to thinking about it as a mental health issue) 6\. Economic Relief

Johnnie Johnson (R)

make policies where the money follows the student and parents can choose where their child will learn, higher pay to teachers based on merit!

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Troy Brekke (Unity)

Johannes Gutenberg, due to his revelation with the printing press information was able to be distributed much more efficiently, and equally to the poor and rich. Information lost it's status as a luxury for only the rich and his innovations were the cornerstone for all modern communication. I would love to find a new way to better connect accurate information equally to all people in the US.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Troy Brekke (Unity)

I don't want to be a politician. I want to be a leader that helps lift the people up that need the most support.

I am intellectually curious and open to new viewpoints, as well as being able to admit when I am wrong and change my viewpoint with new information. I am well spoken, and can speak to people at many levels whether they are blue collar or the CEO of a fortune 100 company, I am able to adapt my speech and language to match my target audience.

In my professional experience I have had many opportunities to work with companies to understand their business processes by sitting down and working through the processes at the most granular level. I believe this experience will allow me to keep a magnifying glass on the root causes to the issues being legislated on. If the solution appears to be a Band-Aid that will not address the underlying issue I will push to address the root issue before passing legislation.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Troy Brekke (Unity)

The core responsibilities for someone elected to the State House of Representatives are to proactively create spaces for constituents to provide insight into their priorities. Then take that information combine it, analyze it, and use that assessment to drive new policy or introduce amendments to bills that are not serving the people as intended. Additionally, Representatives should serve on research committees to help create proactive solutions to problems facing their constituents.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

Troy Brekke (Unity)

The most profound historical event I can remember would be 9/11. I was 7 years old.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Troy Brekke (Unity)

I began working at my local gymnastics and swim school at 14. My primary responsibilities were to lead classes of children aged 4-10 in afternoon gymnastics programs, summer programs, and assist with general custodial services. I held this job for 3 years.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Troy Brekke (Unity)

"I Know You" \- Michael Minelli (Feat. Krizz Kaliko)

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

Troy Brekke (Unity)

Absolutely! I believe as an elected official it is your responsibility to build strong relationships with all of your colleagues across the aisles. Without good working relationships with others there can't be any progress. We need to overcome our differences, respect our different experiences and priorities and find ways to mesh them all together into innovative solutions.

What process do you favor for redistricting?

Troy Brekke (Unity)

With the amount of data that we collect today, the only way that we should be redistricting is through Big data/Machine learning algorithms that provide data driven decisions. We must take the human emotional factor out of something as important as how we structure our districts.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Troy Brekke (Unity)

Compromise is necessary when working on creating equal and equitable solutions and policies. I think of Compromise as adaptability, not losing priorities. However, in today's world this comes with the caveat that all parties are acting in good faith. If a party is acting in bad faith, then compromise is not necessary and should be shunned.

## See also[edit]

More about these elections:

* Colorado House of Representatives elections, 2022

Select a district below to read responses from candidates in those races:

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