A look at the two candidates for State House District 44:
Democrat Shelly Tokerud, 54, defeated rival Ovieh Agahro in the
August primary to make her second run at political office.
Tokerud lost her 2006 race for the Senate District 30 seat to
Sen. Ted Harvey.
Now, the married mother of two daughters has fresh ideas to
offer the constituents of State House District 44, a seat held by
her opponent, Mike May, since 2002.
Tokerud is running on a platform that focuses on protecting
private property rights, limiting environmental impacts, promoting
innovation in schools, assisting the families of victims of violent
crimes and ensuring the safety of children.
Tokerud, who has lived in Parker since 1992 with the exception
of a five-year stay in Brussels, Belgium, has directed half of her
campaign donations to purchasing child identification kits.
Tokerud, a marketing consultant, said she relies on thorough
research to make important decisions.
She has been taught by Harvey McKay, John Nesbitt and Warren
Benes, among others. Tokerud says her lack of political experience
might be an asset because she would come into office with the
mindset of an ordinary resident.
She plans to pioneer bills restricting eminent domain powers to
help protect property owners, and wants to co-sponsor a measure
headed by Rep. Paul Weissman, D-Louisville, that would redirect
money used to prosecute death penalty cases toward assembling a
Colorado Bureau of Investigation cold case team to provide answers
to the families of murder victims.
Rep. Mike May, R-Parker, has spent six years as representative
of House district 44 and was selected as House minority leader in
2006.
The 54-year-old, a former certified public accountant who now
owns and operates hotels in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah, has lived
in Parker for 22 years.
May was instrumental in passing the Colorado Clean Indoor Air
Act in 2006, which banned smoking in workplaces, restaurants and
bars statewide.
He also pioneered a bill that requires graduated drivers
licenses for all new drivers, which has resulted in a 60 percent
drop in teen fatalities in Colorado.
If re-elected, May said he intends to focus on budgetary issues
because of reckless spending in recent years.
He warned the House last April that a budget crisis was
imminent, and now plans to repair the damage that was done.
“It requires balancing all the needs of Colorado with the needs
of the taxpayers using limited revenues,” May said. “My background
in finance is helpful in that.”
May, a former Parker town councilmember, is term limited and
wants to spend his last two years in office following through on
projects he has helped direct. Last year, May co-sponsored a bill
that would have added a toll lane to Interstate 70 in the
mountains.
The legislation never passed through the House, but he intends
to resurrect an effort to ease the traffic congestions on the
heavily used highway.
May also wants to lead a bipartisan charge to invest more money
in the state’s infrastructure, and higher education.
— Incumbent May faces newcomer Tokerud— Tokerud focuses on
education, property rights— May to head road, budget efforts
