Denver, CO

Part one of my blog entry detailing the day I spent with
Debbie Benefield Colorado House of Representatives District 29:

Just a few of the topics I discussed, in detail, with Debbie Benefield were:
youth voter turnouts
public education in Colorado
partisan politics
giving Lobbyists a good name

In no particular order, here are some of the things Debbie described.
I agree with Debbie - and I think that most would - that politics needs to be more about the issues, not who belongs to which party. Debbie Benefield pointed out that most of the bills passed in Colorado are actually bi-partisan, not partisan one party bills, and this was something for our state to be proud of.
Debbie also explained that, despite Lobbyists being portrayed in a negative light by main stream media and entertainment, that they are an integral part of understanding legislation. Our representatives do not understand how every bill will affect every industry, every business, every sector, or every person - no one does, thats a lot of information! The main job of a Lobbyist, then, is to inform how the particular bill will affect different areas. An example Debbie used was myself, as a college student. I understand what is happening and how college students feel at my campus better than the elected representatives do; what is important to note is that the representatives want to know how my fellow students feel and this is where lobbyists come into play. In fact, you could say that I was a volunteer lobbyist for the day, lobbying on education in Colorado.
Education: In Debbie Benefield’s words,
“Public schools are the foundation. To make a great nation, you must educate the entire nation. Public schools accept anybody, no matter what, every child. This is something we have above other nations who do not educate everyone.”
We also discussed the disconnect found in youth voter turnouts. Many youth are registered to vote, but getting them to the polls is something else. There is a dramatic decline from the amount of youth registered to those who actually vote. This could be, in part, explained by youth not yet understanding the system, so the politicians do not talk to them, and in turn the youth become distant from the system and aren’t motivated to participate.
My conversation with Debbie Benefield was enjoyable and informative. I learned so much about our government in just one day, and I hope this blog entry has helped readers to do so as well.
A great opportunity for others to participate in Colorado government and to meet with our Colorado House of Representatives District 29 Debbie Benefield will be this summer. Debbie is planning to host a Community Meeting, or forum, to discover what people want with education. She describes it as ‘have a conversation’ with the citizens to learn of their ideas of where our education system needs to go. This blog will keep readers informed on when and where the meeting will take place, or visit Debbie Benefield’s website at:
ttp://www.debbiebenefield.org/