Centennial State News

Heidi Ganahl has had quite enough, thank you. Ganahl has witnessed more than enough decisions that she says made Colorado “a hot mess” desperately in need of cool heads to prevail.

And she thinks a majority of Colorado voters agree with her. Ganahl, the Republican candidate for governor, said as she neared the end of her six-year term on the Colorado Board of Regents, she decided to challenge Gov. Jared Polis. She defeated Greg Lopez in the Republican primary in June and will face Gov. Polis in the Nov. 8 general election.

“I still am the only statewide elected Republican in Colorado. So I got a lot of questions about what I wanted to do and if I might want to run for bigger office,” she told Centennial State News. “And I just love my state so much. I love Colorado, and I thought governor is the right position for me. And it's a tough lift because I'm running against an incumbent who is very, very wealthy. But we've been building a movement the last year and doing most of the work on the ground since he has so much money to tackle the airwaves. So I think a lot of the work that we've done to lay the path to win this is there.”

Ganahl has experience in both the public and private sectors. She serves on the University of Colorado Board of Regents, overseeing a budget of $5 billion and more than 30,000 employees. She has also served as the chair of the finance committee, the audit committee, the search committee for the new CU president, and has headed campus initiatives regarding free speech and the cost of college.

Inspired by her passion for pets, Ganahl founded the largest pet care franchise in the world, Camp Bow Wow, as well as its sister charity, the Bow Wow Buddies Foundation. The foundation rehomed more than 10,000 dogs and raised more than $1 million for animal health causes during Ganahl's tenure. Ganahl also built SheFactor, which is a community that aims to inspire young women to pursue lives they love. Fortune magazine named her one of its 10 Most Promising Entrepreneurs.

Education has been an important issue to Ganahl, and it’s one reason she entered the race for governor. Colorado’s kids are in need of assistance in regards to reading ability.

In the fall of the 2021-2022 school year, 46% of K-3 students in Denver were reading at grade level, a decrease from 56% in the fall of 2020, according to iStation literacy test scores, Chalkbeat reported. Only about a third of black and Hispanic K-3 students in Denver were reading at grade level last fall.

“This is something I believe we should be pretty concerned about,” said Jessica Martin, the Denver school district’s executive director of assessment, reporting, and data, according to Chalkbeat.

Martin said that although teaching students to read can be challenging, “It’s even harder to catch up a student who is several years behind. And in this particular year, that percentage is now about a third of our students.” District officials pointed to pandemic restrictions and school closures as contributing factors for students' lower competency scores.

Around 40% of Colorado ninth graders exhibit grade-level competency in math, a decrease from pre-pandemic numbers, CBS reported in August. Out of students in all districts across the state in grades 3-8, 43.2% exhibit grade-level proficiency in English Language Arts, and 31.5% exhibit grade-level proficiency in math.

Ganahl said the answer is returning local control of the schools.

“It's all about giving power back to parents,” she said. “We need choice and competition in the schools.”

Ganahl said she can do something about this issue when she is sworn in as governor.

“Even if I don't win back the Legislature along with me, there are some key things I can do around the budget since I sign off on that and also through some governor initiative funds to encourage charter schools, to encourage school choice,” she said. “So I want to make sure the funding follows the families. And if we need to create education savings accounts or specific tax credits, I will make sure the parents can have access to the dollars so that if they need to switch their kids’ schools, they can do that or if they need to homeschool them or under a micro school or charter school, private school, religious school, whatever it takes.”

The spiking crime rate was another factor in Ganahl’s decision to challenge Polis.

“Absolutely. It's one of the top issues I hear about,” she said. “And I don't know if you have the Nextdoor app, but most of us do in the suburbs. And it's just going off constantly, like with our autos getting stolen, you know, people breaking into houses. It's crazy. It's like the Wild, Wild West right now here in Colorado.”

Ganahl said Polis and Colorado Democrats played an unwitting role in this by making auto theft less of a crime.

“So if you steal a car that's worth less than $2,000, it's a misdemeanor. Well, the poorest in our society have those cars. And when you steal their car, you steal their livelihood,” she said. “So that's been a huge issue. And then finally catch-and-release. They are insistent upon keeping people out of jail. And one of our biggest issues here in Colorado is repeat offenders. We have the fourth-highest recidivism rate in the country, which means that repeat offenders are doing most of the crime here in Colorado.”

Murder in Colorado has increased by 47% between 2019 and 2021, and violent crimes including aggravated assault, sexual assault, and robbery have increased by 17% in that same time period, CPR News reported in March. Property crime has risen by 20% and motor vehicle thefts have increased by 86%. Overall crime in Colorado increased the 4th most out of any state between 2019 and 2020, behind only Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Utah.

“Colorado, historically, has been a remarkably safe state, well below the national averages … we can’t say that anymore,” Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen said, as reported by CPR News. “I study this crime data on a daily basis and we have significant challenges. Until we come together and are even willing to admit we have a problem, I’m not sure how we’ll be able to get this fixed.” 

Pazen expressed doubt that the spike in crime is related to the pandemic. 

“Please tell me how a virus makes people commit more crimes, makes people steal more cars, increases the number of shootings we have?” he said, as reported by CPR News. “The state of Colorado has emerged from many of the mandates earlier than other states, yet the last four months have been remarkably high for homicides.” 

Pazen called on state lawmakers to reevaluate recent laws that lessen penalties for crimes including auto theft and drug possession.

Residents in the country illegally are another issue that divides the candidates.

Gov. Polis signed HB 1124 into law in 2019, making Colorado an official sanctuary state, the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) reported. The law bans state and local law enforcement from honoring immigration detainers, as well as requests from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to hold criminal aliens who are already in custody for up to 48 hours without a judicial warrant.

HB 1124 also complicates cooperation between ICE and law enforcement officials on federal immigration initiatives, and probation officers are restricting from sharing information about illegal aliens under their supervision with ICE. The open-borders lobby praised Polis for "keeping his promise," with the Colorado Immigrants Right Coalition stating that the bill will help those in the country illegally "feel safe" and have the same rights as American citizens.

In a statement, ICE expressed its displeasure.

“By signing Colorado’s HB 1124, the state has codified a dangerous policy that deliberately obstructs our country’s lawful immigration system, protects serious criminal alien offenders, and undermines public safety,” the agency states.

Ganahl favors canceling the sanctuary state status and providing law enforcement and ICE agents the tools and resources to do their jobs. That’s the path to reducing the ever-increasing number of people living in the country without legal permission.

Drug use and abuse has alarmed Colorado residents, Ganahl said. She hears about very day when talking with voters.

Colorado experienced the second-highest increase in fentanyl deaths in the country between 2019 and 2021, Axios Denver reported, citing a Feb. 2022 report from the nonprofit Families Against Fentanyl. Fentanyl overdose deaths in the state rose from 5 in 2000 to 540 in 2020 to around 800 in 2021.

In 2019, Polis signed HB 19-1263 into law, making possession of up to 4 grams of fentanyl a misdemeanor.

Law enforcement officers and local officials spoke out against the bill, with Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers saying at a news conference in January of this year, "Legislators are on a different planet. They don't see what law enforcement is going through on a day-to-day basis."

In an interview with KRDO, 4th Judicial District Attorney Michael Allen said there is obvious confusion about drugs and their impact on our state and its residents.

"Marijuana is not the same thing as fentanyl, but yet fentanyl is being treated the same way as marijuana, methamphetamine, cocaine, all these different drugs — and not all of them have the same effect on people as fentanyl does,” Allen said, as quoted by KRDO.

In 2021 in El Paso County, fentanyl led to more overdose deaths than methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin.

In the wake of that pushback, Polis signed HB 22-1326 into law in May, changing the criminal penalties related to fentanyl once again to make possession of more than one gram of the synthetic opiate a felony.

Ganahl said some fentanyl is being packaged in such a way that kids find it appealing is truly alarming.

“They're actually called rainbow pills and they're made to look very pretty, like rainbow-ish. And they're just not taking any of this seriously. And it's just devastating our communities and our kids,” she said. “And a lot of people don't understand how dangerous it is or how what a big deal it is. I think we've got to also help with the southern border of our country and take that very seriously because of their open border policies, which Jared Polis supports. The drugs are flowing right into Colorado and a lot of drug dealers see Colorado is kind of the capital of drug use in the country because of our lax policies.

“So we need a governor with a strong spine that will stand up to the drug dealers, the cartels, and make sure that law enforcement and ICE agents have what they need to make sure to keep it out.”

Was legalizing marijuana a mistake? Did it lead to some of the problems?

“I'm not against the legalization of marijuana, but we've got to make sure that if you sell drugs to a kid, you go to jail. It has to be that serious. High-potency marijuana is becoming a terrible thing for families to deal with, whether it's dabbing or butter or wax, all the forms that they can use. Kids can get hold of high-potency marijuana, which is causing psychosis in kids. It's causing schizophrenia in one out of 20 young people. It’s very, very serious.”

She is not a fan of the Green New Deal policies that Polis has pursued in transportation, including canceling several road improvement projects. Ganahl said she will change back to maintaining the roads Colorado drivers depend on.

“They do not want people driving in their cars. It's very deliberate,” Ganahl said. “And it's such a spread out state. People just really need to need a vehicle to get around, you know, especially with colder weather. It's just not an option to walk or ride a bike.”

Ganahl, who is pro-life with exceptions for rape, incest and the health of the mother, said she supports the Supreme Court decision to end abortion as a constitutional right.

“I think putting it back to the states is the right thing. Even (the late, liberal Justice) Ruth Bader Ginsberg said it was the right thing to do,” she said. “So I believe that's the right course.”

Polis issued a press release calling the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v Wade "alarming" and touted Colorado as an abortion haven.

“Because of my administration and Democratic leadership in the Legislature, Coloradans don’t have to worry because our rights are still protected today despite the unfortunate reality that the U.S. Supreme Court just rolled those freedoms back for millions of Americans in other states," he said. "In Colorado, we will continue to choose freedom and we stand against government control over our bodies. State leadership matters now more than ever and in Colorado we will not retreat to an archaic era where the powerful few controlled the freedoms over our bodies and health decisions."

Polis signed the "Reproductive Health Equity Act" into law in April, cementing the legality of abortion in Colorado. The bill asserts that Colorado women have a right to undergo an abortion, and that embryos and fetuses do not have any rights. The law prohibits state and local public entities from enacting any restrictions on abortions.

Ganahl wants to allow voters to decide.

“I don't believe Jared Polis and the Democrats are in touch with the people of Colorado,” she said. “So what I'd like to do is put it back to the people of Colorado as a vote to see if we can push back late-term abortion.”

The candidates met in their first debate on Sept. 28. They discussed and debated public safety, energy policy, water rights, and state government’s role in these and other issues. Two more debates are planned.

Ganahl has been endorsed by a multitude of community leaders, elected officials, and law enforcement officers. Her endorsers include former Gov. Bill Owens; former Sen. Hank Brown; Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers; Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams; Maralee Mclean, the executive director of Moms Fight Back; Colorado state Sen. Cleave Simpson and many other prominent Coloradans.

Ganahl said she is busy working every waking moment — and thrilled by the opportunity.

“Yeah, it's been a little crazy, but all good stuff, things are ramping up, which is exactly what we need,” she said. “So I'm not complaining at all. I love every minute. I want to be on the front lines of this battle for our country and for Colorado.

“So I'm visiting voters constantly, all day long on the ground. This is going to be a hand-to-hand combat fight with Jared Polis and his millions of dollars,” Ganahl said. “But we've got great volunteers, a lot of momentum. We've got many, many coalitions. And I truly believe it's a special moment in time where we can take Colorado back.”