Election 2020: Meet Holly Herson, democratic candidate for House District 48

Sep 16

By Kelly Ragan

Holly Herson is a democratic candidate running for House District 48. She’s running against republican candidate Tonya Van Beber.

Republican Stephen Humphrey currently holds the seat.

House District 48 includes swaths of Greeley and several surrounding cities. You can take a look at the map for yourself here.

The General Assembly is made up of 100 members – 35 of those are senators and 65 of those are representatives. Senators serve four-year terms. Representatives serve two-year terms.

All members of the General Assembly can serve for up to eight consecutive years in their chambers.

Representatives work to craft and pass bills in the House.

The NoCo Optimist sent a questionnaire out to local candidates who will appear on the Weld County ballot. We will publish them as candidates respond. Answers have been lightly edited for clarity.

Why did you decide to run for office?

I have always been political, but when my father died by suicide in 2009, I really decided to double down and make a difference. I became very active in local and state politics, went back to school for two degrees in political science, and when my wife and I purchased our home in Milliken, in my beloved home, Weld County, and I heard from folks that there was not someone to run for this seat, I decided that it was the right time. The prior Representative is term-limited, and the hateful legislation that he proposed during the time he was in office does not reflect the constituency of this district. I knew that I could be a voice for everyone in HD 48, and not the special interests and fringe networks that have been the only groups represented for the past eight years.

(A note from the NoCo Optimist: Humphrey sponsored HB20-1272, the Colorado Natural Marriage and Adoption Act, which would have allowed children to be adopted only by heterosexual couples. The bill has been postponed indefinitely. To learn more about what bills he sponsored in 2020, go here.)

What issues are most important to you?

First and foremost, as a healthcare worker and someone who has worked on and followed healthcare legislation since the early 2000s, access to affordable, quality, accessible healthcare and mental healthcare as wellness are my number one priorities. People, especially in rural Colorado, lack access to medical care, particularly specialized medical care. Rural Colorado has a disproportionately larger aging population than urban and suburban areas, and those folks require more specialized healthcare.

This brings me to infrastructure. In order to have medical facilities, there must be high-speed broadband internet and good quality infrastructure. My second most important goal is to bring this basi and necessary infrastructure to rural Weld County. This is not only important for health care, but also for our schools. COVID has unearthed the inequities within our communities. There are children who are unable to do their schoolwork because of a lack of access to quality high-speed internet. The lack of infrastructure is also unfortunately not allowing Weld County to stay competitive in attracting high-paying jobs to our communities. We have not had the representation in the Colorado Legislature to fight for our people, and I will gladly be the one to step up and do it. We need someone to fight for diversification of our economy so that we do not fall behind. I am passionate about a just transition in our energy industry. I do not want to see people lose jobs because of a change in the way we produce energy in this country. We need to act now so that we do not fall behind.

I am also very passionate about education. I believe that it is the great equalizer in our society. From Pre-K through trade school or university, I believe that access to quality education is what allows people in our state and our country to do great things. This is how diversification of our economy will take place; it will take place with partnerships for re-training and additional training to keep folks competitive as jobs change and evolve.

If elected, what are the top three things you’d like to accomplish?

A plan to expand broadband access to rural Weld County and connect the infrastructure already in place throughout northern Colorado. This will take partnering with state and local agencies, and a strong voice at the Capitol to advocate for it. This will create the ability to attract jobs and healthcare to our communities.

I want to work with unions and put pressure on business-sector lobbyists to attract high-paying jobs to our communities. Jobs in manufacturing, agriculture packing and processing, and green-energy sector jobs are what will boost our economy. I believe that we need to grow, package, and distribute our food locally, and agriculture is the heart and soul of Weld County. My father worked for GW Sugar when he came to Colorado in the 70s, made good wages and had great benefits. Many folks retired from these industries with pensions and benefits. I am sure that we can bring our food production home and bring good jobs here again with the right leadership.

I will gladly be a co-sponsor for Representative Dafna Michaelson Jenet's bill she ran last session regarding mental health care. It would allow for a mental health wellness checkup to be covered like an annual physical with your private or public health insurance in Colorado.

(A note from the NoCo Optimist: Dafna Michaelson Jenet is a Democrat representing District 30, which is in Adams County. In June 2020, Michaelson Jenet sponsored HB20-1086, titled Insurance Coverage Mental Health Wellness Exam. The bill was postponed indefinitely. To learn more about what bills she’s sponsored this year, click here.)

I would sponsor legislation that would change the requirements for entering data into a patient's secure medical record to ensure that patient's medical data is entered accurately and correctly. I would sponsor legislation that would prevent insurance companies from "playing doctor" and deciding what treatments and medications a patient should have based on cost alone, and not effectiveness or doctor's recommendation.

How do you plan to do so?

I would fight to appropriate funds in the Colorado State Budget to include more funding for rural broadband, particularly in areas that are growing quickly, such as Weld County.

I would be on committees, like the Appropriations Committee, the Health and Insurance Committee, The Rural Affairs and Agriculture Committee, so that I could have a say in the way legislation and funds are set out in ways that impact folks in Weld County.

I would also sponsor and co-sponsor bills that are in line with my values as a small-town resident, a mother and a healthcare worker in Colorado.

What relevant, previous experience do you have?

I have worked in healthcare directly with patients, in policy, and in billing for the past 17 years. I have a unique perspective on how policy impacts providers, insurance companies and patients. I went back to school to study political science and public policy, and took an internship with a Colorado State Senator in 2017 and worked specifically on healthcare policy in Colorado, particularly on the legislation that gave us Free-Standing Emergency Departments in Colorado, which is particularly important for access in rural Colorado.

What skills, training, resources, and expertise do you feel you have to offer?

I have years of experience working in healthcare policy and an education that centers specifically around public policy. I have friends and colleagues in Larimer and Weld County government that I have known and worked with for years. As a daughter of a suicide victim, as a mother, as someone who has tens of thousands of dollars in student debt even after paying off tens of thousands of dollars, as someone who is not offered health insurance through employment and relies on the marketplace to buy health insurance for my family, as a mother, and as a member of the LGBTQ community, I have lived experience that other lawmakers do not have. I have worked full-time since I was 16 years old to make a positive change in my own life, I was never handed anything. I am ready to work hard for people like me, who work hard every day for what they have.

What would you most like voters to know about you?

I would like voters to know that I am not a politician, this is my first time running for public office. I am a hard-working woman in her 30s who has fought and toiled for everything she has accomplished. I give my all in everything that I do, and I will give my all for the people in House District 48. I believe in Representative Government, and I believe that the primary job a legislator is to listen to their constituents. I will always act in the best interest of the constituents of House District 48, because I believe in the Democratic process and that it is people who know best, and not some disconnected career politician.

Kelly Ragan