My parents and grandparents raised me to have the highest hopes for our country. My dad was a public servant in Washington D.C. and a college president, and my mom was a school librarian and an immigrant to this country. She and her parents miraculously survived the Holocaust and settled in America to rebuild their shattered lives.<\/p>\n
My parents\u2019 childhoods could not have been more different, but their families taught them we have a responsibility to build opportunity for one another and for our country\u2019s future. My wife Susan and I share those values, and they have informed her work as an environmental and land use lawyer and mine as a school superintendent and Colorado’s U.S. Senator. Now I hope to carry on that fight as the next governor of Colorado<\/a>.<\/p>\n U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet jumps into governor’s race, saying he wants “to forge a better politics”<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \/*! This file is auto-generated *\/!function(d,l){“use strict”;l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&”undefined”!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll(‘iframe[data-secret=”‘+t.secret+'”]’),o=l.querySelectorAll(‘blockquote[data-secret=”‘+t.secret+'”]’),c=new RegExp(“^https?:$”,”i”),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display="none";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):"link"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute("src")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener("message",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute("data-secret"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+="#?secret="+t,e.setAttribute("data-secret",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:"ready",secret:t},"*")},!1)))}(window,document);<\/p>\n I have worked alongside Coloradans to provide more opportunities in this state. Together, we led the fight to expand the Child Tax Credit<\/a>, which cut taxes for 96% of Colorado families and reduced our nation\u2019s childhood poverty rate by half. We pushed to end surprise hospital bills, limit seniors\u2019 prescription drug costs, and provide high-speed internet to every household. In the last four years, we brought $12 billion in federal funds to every corner of Colorado to upgrade our infrastructure, produce clean energy, and modernize our water systems. Along the way, we protected many of our treasured landscapes, including Camp Hale, Chimney Rock, Brown\u2019s Canyon<\/a>, and Camp Amache<\/a>.<\/p>\n Unlike most Coloradans, President Donald Trump does not believe we have a shared responsibility. He has aimed a wrecking ball at our democracy, asking not \u201cWhat can I do for my country?\u201d but, instead, \u201cWhat is in it for me?\u201d His economic policies will make our country even less fair and his rhetoric is intended to divide us so he remains in charge. No president\u2019s values have been more at war with what our parents taught us and their hopes for our country.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, it is getting harder to live in Colorado. Housing, groceries, and child care cost too much. Health care and mental health care aren\u2019t available to everyone. Our schools and small businesses are struggling.<\/p>\n Our best solutions to these challenges will not come from the broken politics practiced in Washington. They will come from us \u2013 and that\u2019s why I am running for governor.<\/p>\n Colorado already is a model of leadership for our country. We have passed a robust Child Tax Credit; offered free, full-day kindergarten to Colorado\u2019s families; and fought climate change. But too many Coloradans cannot afford a middle-class life. Those of us who are parents worry that our kids will never be able to raise their own families here.<\/p>\n Colorado\u2019s challenges are not unique. They are shared by people living all over America and result from unfair, trickle-down economic decisions our country has pursued since the 1980s. In Colorado and across the country, we need to strengthen our middle class and build an economy that works better for everyone.<\/p>\n\n