2022 Democratic Candidates
3rd Congressional District
Adam Frisch
Adam Frisch is a local businessman and former City Councilman who has been active on the Western Slope for two decades, working to promote renewable energy and green building programs, and help at-risk youth get on their feet. Since the start of the covid pandemic, he’s also added Substitute Teacher to his resume.
Adam’s background in business and his understanding of our economy gives him the experience we need to help more Western and Southern Coloradoans get ahead.
After graduating from the University of Colorado in 1990, Adam worked at one of the very first socially responsible investment firms, helping ensure people count more than profits. Today, Adam runs a residential design and build firm and has been involved in the home health care and RV Park and campground businesses.
Adam has a long record of public service and fiscal responsibility. He chaired the Pitkin County’s financial review committee from 2005 to 2011, and then was elected to Aspen City Council.
State Representative, District 58
Kevin Kuns
For 25 years, Kevin Kuns held leadership roles in the corporate restaurant world, in executive management, overseeing multimillion-dollar operations with large staff and management teams.
In 2001, Kevin started an executive management search firm with no clients or candidates. Over the next 20 years, Pro Management & Associates grew to 5 offices in 5 states, and his company placed over 800 executive managers with Fortune 500 companies.
Kevin and his wife, Bobbie, moved to Montrose in 2014, where they bought a home and put down roots. Their son and his wife are both in the Navy, stationed in San Diego with their 6-year-old granddaughter. Their daughter currently lives in Missoula, Montana and is a structural engineer. Kevin and Bobbie enjoy most outdoor activities, including playing with their dogs and tending to their beautiful property.
I believe that the scope of leadership and organizational experience I’ve gathered in my life has brought me to where I am now. I have worked tirelessly with hundreds of volunteers for the past four years, building a vibrant Democratic Party in Montrose County. More recently, my work for the Colorado Democratic Party has taken me to all four corners of the state as the State Precinct Organizer Program Director, as well as the Regional Field Organizer for southwestern Colorado.
From Olathe to Slick Rock, from Dove Creek to Telluride, and all the towns and rural areas in between, we are a diverse group of people who must unite to have a strong voice in our state government. Together we can and will be heard.
US Senate
Michael Bennet
Throughout his years in the Senate, Michael has built a reputation for listening to Coloradans, letting their needs guide his agenda in Washington, and working with Republicans and Democrats to address Colorado and our nation’s greatest challenges—including child poverty, education, climate change, immigration, health care, and national security.
Driven by an obligation to create an economy that works for everyone, not just the few at the top, Michael has delivered policies like the expanded Child Tax Credit, which kept nearly 4 million children out of poverty in 2021; a once-in-a-generation infrastructure bill which secured funding for Colorado’s roads, bridges, public transportation, and the single largest investment in high speed internet in American history; and a ban on surprise bills following a medical emergency which went into effect in early 2022.
If re-elected in November 2022, Michael plans to continue delivering for Colorado alongside his wife Susan and their three daughters, Caroline, Halina, and Anne, and his dog Pepper and cat Captain Flint.
Governor
Jared Polis
Governor Polis is a hard-working Coloradan who has run successful businesses, delivered better education opportunities for our kids and is now serving as Colorado’s 43rd Governor. Under his leadership, Colorado is working to become one of the most family-friendly states while topping the list of strongest state economies in the country.
Since taking office in 2019, Governor Polis has delivered on the top priorities he committed to tackle for Colordans – lowering the cost of childcare and getting more kids in free, full-day kindergarten, reducing the cost of healthcare, accelerating our fight against climate change and lowering taxes for hard-working families.
As an entrepreneur and businessman, Governor Polis knows what it takes to create jobs and make payroll. By the time he was 30, he’d launched three successful companies, including ProFlowers, one of the world’s leading online flower retailers.
Following the Governor’s business successes, he worked to make sure other Coloradans had the opportunity to pursue their dreams. He co-founded Techstars, a startup accelerator that mentors entrepreneurs, and Patriot Boot Camp, which helps veterans start their own small businesses.
Governor Polis has spent his career fighting for higher-quality schools and education for our kids. He served six years on the Colorado Board of Education, where he worked to raise pay for teachers and reduce class size for students. He also opened schools to support at-risk kids in Colorado.
He has continued that work as Governor, setting Colorado on a path to make the biggest investment in K-12 education in Colorado’s history and making good on his commitment to giving every single one of our youngest students a great start. Today, because of Governor Polis, Colorado offers free universal, full-day kindergarten and, beginning next year, free preschool for every child — saving families thousands of dollars per year.
Governor Polis also served as the U.S. representative for Colorado’s Second Congressional District for a decade. The Center for Effective Lawmaking ranked Polis the most effective member of Colorado’s House delegation due to his success working across the aisle to improve Colorado’s schools, protect public lands, and support startups and small businesses.
As our Governor, Polis has kept Colorado moving forward — delivering on his commitments while leading our communities through challenges and tragedies our state has never seen before. He knows it’s more important than ever to save people money and help all families share in the amazing Colorado way of life. And he knows that Colorado’s best days are still ahead.
Secretary of State
Jena Griswold
In 2018, Jena Griswold was elected as the first Democratic Secretary of State in Colorado in 60 years. She became the first Democratic woman Secretary of State in Colorado’s history. Jena has been able to lead, and work with the legislature to pass, one of the largest democracy reform packages in the nation and the nation’s first bill to protect our elections from insider threats. Griswold has overseen six statewide elections, protected the right to vote, increased election security, and improved voting access across Colorado.
Jena grew up in a working-class family in rural Colorado and was the first person in her family to attend a four-year college and then law school. She knows first-hand how important it is for every vote to count and for every Coloradan’s voice to be heard, regardless of zip code, color of skin, or income. She is fighting to protect our right to vote, improve elections, and ensure every voter can have their voice heard, Democrat, Republican, and Unaffiliated voter, alike.
Before assuming office, Jena practiced anti-corruption law and business law, and ran a small business. She also served as the Director of the Colorado Governor’s DC Office, where she helped bring back hundreds of millions of relief dollars to help the Colorado communities hit by the 2013 flood.
Jena holds a B.A. in Politics and Spanish Literature from Whitman College and a J.D from University of Pennsylvania Law School. Griswold is fluent in Spanish and a graduate of Estes Park High School in Estes Park, Colorado. In 2006, Griswold was awarded the Watson Fellowship, and in 2009, the Penn Law International Human Rights Fellowship.
Colorado Treasurer
Dave Young
Dave is a native Coloradan who never thought that he would run for public office. He started his career as an educator, teaching math, science, and technology at Heath Junior High in Greeley for 24 years. He then went on to teach at CU Denver for another decade, and worked in the private tech sector for about 4 years.
While Dave loved being an educator, he became interested in running for public office because of the challenges his sister faces as a person with disabilities. He knew he couldn’t stand idly by as his sister and others like her continued to struggle accessing essential services. In 2011, he decided to run for office.
That year, Dave was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives. He served on House Public Health Care and Human Services, Education, Health, Insurance and Environment, Transportation, and Appropriations committees where he worked across party lines to pass influential legislation.
In 2014, Dave was appointed to the powerful Joint Budget Committee (JBC). For four years, he worked with a split party JBC to develop a balanced budget for the State of Colorado. In 2018, Dave ran for State Treasurer and won.
Dave was sworn in as State Treasurer in 2019 where he was tasked with managing state funds in one of the most challenging and unprecedented times in Colorado’s history — the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dave worked with Governor Polis and the state legislature to ensure that Colorado’s small businesses could remain open during the apex of the pandemic. He played a pivotal role in establishing the CLIMBER small business loan program. CLIMBER allocates $250 million to Colorado’s small businesses at below-market interest rates. He continues to work closely with Governor Polis and the state legislature to ensure that the hardworking people of Colorado have the resources they need to build back better.
Dave is married to State Representative Mary Young, Ph.D. Mary has been a special education teacher, a special education coordinator, and a school psychologist. Dave’s sister lives in Pueblo.
Attorney General
Phil Weiser
Phil has dedicated his life to the law, justice, and public service. He has held roles as an attorney protecting consumers, as a senior official at the Department of Justice, and as an educator training future lawyers. As Dean of the University of Colorado Law School, and founder of the Silicon Flatirons Center for Law, Technology, and Entrepreneurship and co-chair of the Colorado Innovation Council, Phil collaborated with Coloradans from across the state and gained a deep understanding of pressing issues—from broadband access to health care to predatory student debt companies to water rights and agricultural interests—that allow him to protect Coloradans as Attorney General.
Phil served as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the U.S. Department of Justice and as Senior Advisor for Technology and Innovation in the White House’s National Economic Council. He also served on President Obama’s Transition Team overseeing the Federal Trade Commission, and served in the U.S. Department of Justice as Senior Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division, advising on telecommunications matters.
Upon graduating from law school, Phil served as a law clerk to Justices Byron R. White and Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the United States Supreme Court and to Judge David Ebel at the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver. All three served as role models and continue to inspire Phil’s work in public service.
The son and grandson of Holocaust survivors, Phil is inspired by his family’s story of survival and resilience and weaves their lesson of hope into working toward a better future.
This background drives his desire to stand up for what is right and fuels his commitment to ensuring opportunity for all Coloradans. Phil lives in Denver with his wife, Dr. Heidi Wald, and their two children.
State Board of Education, At-Large
Kathy Plomer
My name is Kathy Plomer and I am running for the Colorado State Board of Education (At-Large) to make Colorado the best place in the country for our students to receive a world-class public education that prepares them for the workforce, and to be a champion for future generations of students in every corner of our state.
These are difficult times in our democracy, but I have spent my life both professionally and as a school leader listening, bringing people together and solving problems. My family taught me early on the value of hard work, serving others, and community. My mom is a role model for me when it comes to volunteer community service.
I have worked in the public health field for 30 years in a variety of roles – I was an HIV/AIDS educator when the disease was just becoming known, I championed early detection of breast cancer as part of my work in cancer research, and I successfully fought to keep big tobacco off school grounds. My most recent job was assisting COVID impacted people with resources to address challenges like, access to food, healthcare, and housing.
My husband, Jeff, and I have three kids who are products of a Colorado public education. They went on to attend Colorado State University and the University of Denver. I know firsthand what it means to engage parents and community members. As a parent, I served as president of my local Parent Teacher Organization and on the District Accountability Committee. As a district leader, I ensured a district budget of over $450 million operated with transparency and accountability.
As a member of the Board of Directors of the Colorado Association of School Boards and President of the Adams 12 Board of Education, I brought together people of various backgrounds to ensure all children – no matter their zip code, receive an excellent education. We can make Colorado the national leader for public education. It takes all of us working together.
