<\/p>\n
DENVER \u2013 Three candidates flying under the radar in Colorado\u2019s gubernatorial race this year hope to shake up the two-party system with a revolutionary wave.<\/p>\n
One candidate, unaffiliated Mike Dunafon, believes he can win the race come November. Green Party candidate Harry Hempy and Libertarian Matt Hess acknowledge the uphill battle but hope to at least convince a few more voters to buck mainstream politics.<\/p>\n
\u201cI still am convinced that I want to do the right thing for the right reasons, and I will adhere to my principles,\u201d said Hess, a Roxborough system administrator. \u201cI want to take that into the highest office possible where I can have the most impact.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI would not owe my election to anybody,\u201d said Hempy, a Jamestown retired computer scientist who left the Democratic Party more than a year ago. \u201cI think it sets a stage for the next election cycle to start out with acknowledgment of candidates other than Democrats or Republicans.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to win,\u201d said Dunafon, an entrepreneur and mayor of Glendale. \u201cIt\u2019s going to change the face of politics. This is the American Spring.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before any of these candidates celebrate, they will need to defeat Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, who is facing an aggressive challenge by Republican Bob Beauprez, a former congressman.<\/p>\n
Also running is perennial unaffiliated candidate Paul Fiorino.<\/p>\n
On several of the issues, the three alternative candidates agree, including the legalization of marijuana.<\/p>\n
Dunafon has made it a centerpiece of his campaign, releasing a video with hip-hop star Wyclef Jean that attacks Hickenlooper for a youth anti-marijuana campaign that utilizes human-size rat cages and tells children not to be a lab rat.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a big issue because the marijuana situation is one of the greatest travesties ever perpetrated on this country. It is the new Jim Crow,\u201d Dunafon said, likening the disproportionate number of minorities sitting behind bars to segregation.<\/p>\n
For Hess, the legalization issue is about liberty.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just don\u2019t like being a criminal,\u201d Hempy laughed. \u201cI\u2019m happy to pay fair taxes to buy a commercial product that doesn\u2019t make me a criminal anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hempy disagreed with his fellow alternative candidates on gun control. He supported a package of bills in 2013 that banned high-capacity ammunition magazines and mandated universal background checks. But he is skeptical that it will have any positive impact.<\/p>\n
Dunafon and Hess were more critical of Hickenlooper for signing the bills.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe cronies told him to do it. \u2026\u201d Dunafon said. \u201cTo destroy our Second Amendment rights.\u201d<\/p>\n
All three candidates oppose the death penalty. But they believe Hickenlooper should have been more decisive in deciding what to do with convicted killer Nathan Dunlap. The governor granted Dunlap a temporary reprieve from execution.<\/p>\n
Even though Dunafon opposes the death penalty, he said he would have signed Dunlap\u2019s execution because the law is on the books, and a jury decided. Hempy and Hess would have commuted the sentence to life in prison without parole.<\/p>\n
On the economy, Dunafon would like to get government out of the way. He pointed out that as mayor, he and the City Council eliminated at least one archaic law from the books each week.<\/p>\n
Hess said government is the greatest impediment to economic stability.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe best thing any representative can do about the economy is stop trying to use government to improve it,\u201d Hess said.<\/p>\n
Hempy, however, believes government plays an important role in economic development. One solution he has is to raise the minimum wage.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe put more money in the hands of low-income people and unemployed people, so that our local businesses will have customers,\u201d Hempy said.<\/p>\n
All three candidates support local control over gas and oil rules and regulations, as well as education. Hess would go as far as to ask voters to abolish the state board of education.<\/p>\n
Political affiliation: Unaffiliated
\n Key issues: Local control as it relates to fracking and education; prison reform; empowering the cannabis and hemp industries
\n Occupation: Mayor of Glendale; entrepreneur
\n Family: Wife, Debbie Matthews; four children
\n Residence: Glendale
\n Favorite U.S. President: Thomas Jefferson<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Political affiliation: Green Party
\n Key issues: Higher wages; clean, renewable energy; multi-party government
\n Occupation: Retired computer scientist
\n Family: Wife, Sally; five children
\n Residence: Jamestown
\n Favorite U.S. President: George Washington<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Political affiliation: Libertarian
\n Key issues: Reduction in taxation; reducing regulatory burdens on businesses; putting government on the sidelines
\n Occupation: System administrator
\n Family: Wife, Michelle; three children
\n Residence: Roxborough
\n Favorite U.S. President: Does not have one<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
spirits try to shake up Colorado\u2019s gubernatorial race<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":117134,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5736,5735],"tags":[266],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-117133","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","category-news","tag-election"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117133","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=117133"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117133\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/117134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=117133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=117133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=117133"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=117133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}