Colorado state Senate District 17: Matt Jones (D)

State Senate

District 17

Matt Jones

Charlie Plagainos

Ken Bray

State Senate District 17, which includes Superior, Louisville, Lafayette and Longmont, has three candidates: Democrat Matt Jones, Republican Charlie Plagainos and Libertarian Ken Bray. Jones is a legislator who has served in the Colorado statehouse since 2010, in addition to a term from 1987 to 1993. Plagainos is retired, having previously worked as a janitor at the Masonic Lodge on Pine Street and Broadway. Plagianos was a Democrat until the Bill Clinton years, he says, when he became a Libertarian. He has been a Republican for the past 10 years, he says.

Jones’ priorities are green jobs and growing the economy, improving education and protecting the environment.

Plagainos’ first priority if elected would be to pass mandatory sentences for convicted pedophiles.

Plagainos says that the state doesn’t need career politicians like Jones in the statehouse, and fresh blood would be good for Colorado. While we see the wisdom in that belief, Plagainos’ permissive views on fracking and his lack of experience in politics trump his good intentions. We think Jones is the best choice for District 17.

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