Matt Gray, candidate for House District 33

Party: Democrat

City: Broomfield

Profession: Attorney

Contact: matt@matthewgray.us, Twitter: @matthewogray Facebook: www.facebook.com/grayforcolorado

www.matthewgray.us

What makes you the best choice for this office?

I have been proud to represent this community for the past two years and during that time passed more bipartisan legislation to help Coloradans than any other new representative. I supported new investment in transportation and public education and I passed the only bill to increase protections for homeowners near oil and gas development. There's more work to do for long-term solutions in all these areas and I look forward to making it happen.

What can the Legislature do to ease the strain of rising housing prices on Colorado residents?

The high cost of housing is being felt all over, which is why I co-sponsored historic construction defects reform to help lower housing costs. The truth is, thousands of people keep moving here and if we don't find places for them to live, prices will keep going up. The best thing the legislature can do is adequately fund transportation so that new homes don't create even more traffic headaches for people who live here.

What can be done to ensure the state's transportation system will be able to accommodate continued population growth?

We need new, sustainable, dedicated funding for transportation in our state. The purchasing power of the gas tax has been gutted since 1992, and as a result, we're billions of dollars behind in investing in transportation. That translates into time wasted in traffic for the people in Broomfield, Superior and Erie. I've proudly voted for increased transportation funding every year at the legislature, and I'll keep doing so until we solve the problem.

What two issues demand more attention in the upcoming Legislative session than they received in the previous one, and why?

For my district, the biggest issue that the State has failed to address is oil and gas development in residential areas. While I passed the only bill to increase protections for homeowners, my bill that would have done more was killed in the Senate. I look forward to continuing work in this area. The other critical issue we need to address is adequately funding public education and paying our teachers what they deserve.

If elected, what must you accomplish in order for you to consider your term a success?

To consider a term a success, I need to have listened to my community. I need to have worked as hard as I could to solve problems and actively make lives better for the people of Colorado. And I need to have done all that while still being the best husband and father that I can be. It's not easy, but when it works, it's very rewarding.