The decisions that Coloradans make on November 8, 2022, will determine the fate of not just the state but also the nation. Considering what is currently happening in the U.S. Senate, there can be no greater motivation to take who you vote for as the representative of the state more seriously. For me, that’ll be Joe O’Dea and no one else.
Many people have asked me, why vote for someone who spent the last three decades of his life building a company instead of an individual with a long political history?
My answer is always this; we can’t keep making the same mistakes and expecting that things will magically or miraculously get better. We’ve been at the mercy of Incumbent Senator Michael Bennet for twelve years now and (almost impossibly) things are even worse now than they were when Senator Salazar was around.
For me, the difference between Joe O’Dea and Michael Bennet runs much deeper than just their political party affiliations. It’s in their very makeup.
O’Dea is the adoptive son of a police officer who decided to forgo a formal education and work with his hands to build himself. Today, he runs a big construction company that helps more than 300 Colorado families put food on the table. He’s a testament to how far grit and hard work can take you in America.
On the other hand, we have Bennet, the son of a U.S. diplomat. He was raised in the best neighborhoods, went to St. Albans School., one the best private schools in the country, and culminated it all with a Yaw Law School degree. His life to date has been spent cruising on Easy Street. Little wonder that the state is the colossal mess that it is today. You can hardly expect much more from someone who has no idea what it's like to be you and doesn’t care to empathize unless it’s voting season.
Am I being partial? Perhaps. But the records speak for themselves.
While the incumbent senator will likely use the pandemic as justification for the high crime rate in the state, the bitter truth is that the rate of property theft, auto theft, and violent crimes have been rising since the year he took office. But wait, there’s more great news. The number of fatal fentanyl overdoses has increased dramatically in the state too. So much so that Colorado boasts one of the highest opioid overdose death rates in the entire country right now.
In the employment sector, Colorado is lagging behind several other states when it comes to recovering the jobs that were lost during the pandemic and the good senator doesn’t seem inclined to help the process along at all. To compound an already difficult situation, the state is riddled with so many unnecessary regulations that those who do have jobs experience great difficulty executing as they should.
As O’Dea succinctly put it, “We don’t have a voice in the Senate that’s talking about what’s good for Colorado and what’s going on in Colorado. That’s why I jumped into this race. I want to be the voice for working Americans, small businesses, employers, (and) employees. I’m talking about the people who are producing, the ones who contribute. Nobody’s talking about them.”
The small business owner doesn’t present himself as a messiah figure. However, his common sense approach to dealing with the crippling issues that threaten us in the state makes him more than fit for this role.
To me, we’re at a simple crossroads now. We can choose to stick with the rich guy who doesn’t know what it means to grow calluses from putting food on the table or we can side with someone who won’t take party affiliations over the plight of the people 98% of the time.
But just as we’re responsible for the choice, we’re also responsible for its consequences.
I’m casting my lot with the political newcomer who has seen things from my side of the fence and is willing to put in a conscious effort to make life better for the little guy.
What’ll your choice be?
