Mission Statement

John Kennedy said, "One person can make a difference and every person should try." In general, my mission is to make a difference. My goal is to improve overall citizen services while reducing the overall Cost of Government. I will advance policies and programs to use technology and innovation to deliver State government services improving the citizen's experience with State government while reducing the overall cost of government. My mission is to make Colorado the leader in the provision of cost effective, citizen services. I will provide the thought leadership to take Colorado forward to a better tomorrow.

Core Values

As I travel around the district, I have had a chance to meet and talk to a lot of people. Often people will ask about how I stand on one issue or another. They want to try to get a measure of me as a person and understand how I will serve them as Senator. I am always happy to discuss issues but I also explain that the issues I will face as a Senator will change. However, the core values with which I will approach these changing issues will not change. So let me tell you a little bit about my core values.

Respect for the Individual

First and foremost is Respect for the Individual. There are several attributes to this. Respect for the individual means respect for the workers who are the backbone of our society. The workers who go to work everyday to provide for their families, educate their children, support their senior parents, and contribute the overall well being of our state.

I respect the right of workers to freely decide without fear of retribution that they want to bargain collectively and be represented by a union. Unions have made a significant difference in the growth of this nation. Their accomplishments need to be respected and protected.

Respect for the individual also includes respect for our educators. Education is the key to success. Other cultures value and honor the role of teachers. In the US, however, our teachers have to fight for safe work environments and a living wage. We live in a global economy. Our children must be prepared for the world they face today and the world the will be facing tomorrow. The competition for quality jobs requires a quality education. Our kids need to be ready to compete for the high skilled jobs of tomorrow not only with California and Texas but also with India and China. Teachers are key to our kids success and yet we make them fight for a living wage.

Respect for the individual also includes respect for seniors. As I mentioned in my biography, I lived and worked in Japan. In the Japanese culture, senior citizens are honored and revered. Sadly, in the US, we do not value our seniors as we should. We allow our seniors to struggle to survive. We force our seniors into retirement when many would rather continue working and then in retirement we neglect them. Our culture glorifies youth and denies our seniors the respect they have earned. I will work to give our seniors the respect they deserve, to honor their contributions, and to support programs and policies to enable them to continue to contribute in what ever capacity they desire. I will support programs which allow seniors to live full healthy lives with dignity.

Respect for the individual also includes respect for a woman’s right to choose what is best for her health and her personal situation in live. Government has no business in this area. I would like to see abortion be rare where we have programs to help women seek alternatives. Ultimately, however, respect for the individual means I respect a woman’s right to make a very private choice without government interference.

Stewardship

Another core value is Stewardship. I believe we must leave behind a better world than what we inherited from our parents. Stewardship includes caring for the environment, providing our youth a quality education, and not leaving our kids a pile of debt. Somehow we have lost this core value in America. Being good stewards means we can not just close our eyes and hope that somehow it will all get better.

Look at the environment. We are fouling our air and water and we have wasted eight years as our global climate crisis has gotten worse before our very eyes. Look at education. Our kids are not getting the education they need to be able to excel in the global economy. Look at out national debt. We have racked up so much debt that our children and grandchildren will be burdened to pay beyond their ability. Instead of being able to be good stewards for their children, they will be trying to pay off our debts. They will rightfully blame us for our failures to address these problems in our time instead of passing the burdens to them. As your Senator, I will work to restore a sense of stewardship.

Integrity

Another core value is integrity. You can trust me to work ethically for the best interests of the citizens of Colorado. I will be open and honest with you. I will take positions not because it is in my best interests but because it is in the best interests of the people of Colorado. I will do my best to keep you informed and give your concerns a voice in the State Senate and when I make a mistake or when I am wrong about something, I will be honest with you, I will learn from my mistakes and I will work to make sure they do not happen again.

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Paid for by the Committee to Elect Joseph Alsup
Last modified: 05/11/08