Jan Hejtmanek (pronounced “Hetmanek”) has lived in El Paso County for more than 10 years. She has a degree in business management and has held management positions in retail, finance and insurance. Hejtmanek, her husband and their two children live in Colorado Springs. Web site: www.janhejtmanek.com.NFH: Why did you decide to run for political office?Hejtmanek: I had no intention of going into politics, but we have problems that are being completely ignored. I am concerned that the middle class is being eroded as more people drift into poverty, while the wealthiest are getting huge tax breaks and becoming wealthier. I want to bring us back toward the middle. I am a fiscally conservative moderate. I support gun rights and capital punishment. I see the two parties being driven further and further apart by issues designed to divide us. I want to promote a positive, bi-partisan environment.NFH: What is the most important issue for District 20?Hejtmanek: Water. When I started my campaign, I had no idea of the well problems faced by Black Forest, Monument and eastern county residents. People on wells are spending thousands of dollars to drill deeper because developers are building 10 houses on five-acre parcels that were meant for one house.I want to re-examine the grandfathered water distribution laws. I want the 14 states that depend on Colorado water to find alternative sources. What about desalinization and reclamation? Why aren’t we watering golf courses with gray water? Why do we allow covenants that require people to water Kentucky blue grass lawns?We’re taking water from aquifers whose sustainability is questionable. We know rain water doesn’t replenish the aquifers, and there is no way to know how long those aquifers will last, especially with the growth we’ve had. Also, western slope cities want to keep more of their water, so we can’t rely on them forever. We have to come up with a viable, long-term water plan.NFH: What is your position on the “Super Slab?”Hejtmanek: It’s a land grab. If elected, I will work hard with other toll road opponents to change our eminent domain laws so this and other projects no longer threaten the property rights of our citizens.NFH: Do you think “No Child Left Behind” has worked well in District 20?Hejtmanek: I think it stinks. I’ve seen my kids so disrupted by taking three weeks out of their school year to take the CSAP. That’s a huge amount of time to take away from instruction. Why is it that students can take the SAT, which is accepted by all colleges and universities as proof of preparation in just four hours, and yet it takes three weeks to take the CSAP? Also, it’s not right to mandate testing and not fund it.NFH: What’s your position on the November ballot amendments and referenda?Hejtmanek: I support Amendment 38. Citizens must be able to connect with their government, and the petition process is an important way to do that. This is supposed to be a government of the people and for the people, and if our ability to affect our own government is undermined, we’re going to have a lot more apathy than we have right now.I do not support Amendment 39, which requires 65 percent of operational expenditures be for classroom instruction. Every school district is unique, and we cannot mandate how they spend their money, especially in areas like District 2 and 11 that have a lot of families where transportation and hot meals make all the difference and would have to be cut if Amendment 39 passes.NFH: Do you think Colorado should move ahead of the federal government on CO2 emissions and climate change?Hejtmanek: Absolutely. We should look at climate change as an opportunity to support small businesses in their efforts to develop alternative sources of energy. We need to promote small business through more tax breaks and incentives. The new ethanol plant in Greeley created 35 jobs. Colorado could lead the rest of our country in creating viable energy alternatives, instead of just letting oil companies strip mine the western slope for shale.NFH: Do you have any opinions on campaign reform?Hejtmanek: I would really like to see Colorado go the way of Oregon, Maine, and Arizona, and have public financing of campaigns. Some volunteers on my campaign lived in Arizona when that state changed to public financing, and they said the difference was like day and night. It immediately had an impact on the quality of their elections and on the quality of the people who are elected. With public financing, retired people who otherwise could not afford to run can step up and say, “Yes, I’ll run.”
