I have the experience to use those tools. Nine years as a 911 dispatcher and Communications Training Officer at Colorado Springs PD. Marine Corps Sergeant. I will not let past failures of veteran support systems be an excuse for inaction any longer.
Veterans Care That Holds the Line
Veterans have sworn oaths to protect our country knowing it could cost them their health, and ultimately their life. We owe it to them to sustainably insulate veterans community living centers around the state from turbulent budget bickering in Washington.
Complete the Framework for Dispatchers
Colorado law already classifies 911 dispatchers as first responders. The benefits framework hasn't caught up. Full PERA hazardous duty classification and workers' compensation parity statewide — the same protections law enforcement, fire, and EMS already receive. This isn't asking for more. It's asking for what the law already promised.
Stop the Front Range Pay Drain
Rural law enforcement, fire, EMS, and 911 agencies in SD4 train their people, then watch them leave for Front Range pay. A statewide rural first responder compensation floor, with state supplemental funding to close the gap, would keep trained personnel where they're needed and stop Front Range departments from poaching the talent SD4 invested in.