Article Contributed on: 10/14/2008 12:22:09 PM
Shelly Tokerud is running for District 44 and answered a questionnaire for YourHub.com. To read all of the candidate questionnaires,
click here.
Name: Shelly Tokerud
Seat you are seeking: House District 44 Representative
Age: 54 -
Mike May and I discovered I am six months older than he is! lol!
Family: Married to
Dave Akers (retired from Hewlett Packard and embarking on a new career in construction mgt.)- two daughters;
Anna, 12 , and
Lexi, 9. Anna was diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes when she was nine and manages it beautifully! Anna is an athlete at heart and loves gymnastics, rock climbing, math and theater. Lexi, our little China girl, loves horses, math, p.e., and art. AND...we have three cats - Sophie, Rosie, and April as well as one little "JackChaCha" - Skippy, who is part Jack Russell and Chihuahua.
Occupation: Business Marketing Consultant
Hometown: Parker
Your Website: www.Tokerud.org
Favorite local place to hang out: Lifetime Fitness (...as in... I try to hang out there often!)
What do you like most about living here? The people - everyone DOES have a story!
Interests & Hobbies: Kids, Art, Marketing, & Travelling ...when you have little ones they ARE your primary focus!
Favorite TV show: "House"
Favorite Website: Craigslist - oh, the treasures you can find!
People who inspire you and how: Our soldiers and our veterans - they love our country so much that they are willing to die for it/us. It is critical that we care for them upon their return - in ways that are above and beyond - not just the basics. We are not doing a very good job - we need to do much, much better.
How have you contributed to the community: Our campaign is a "Community Service/Political" Campaign. Fifty percent of the money you donate to our/my campaign goes directly to the purchase of Child I.D. kits which include fingerprinting, DNA kits, photos, medical information, etc. (Also included are websites to see where sexual offenders live and work - within a ten-mile radius of where we live there are 64 offenders!)
Why am I doing this? Because it is the right thing to do! This is a statement about who I am - I am a person who cannot "do" a typical campaign because campaigns are typically about political parties - however, I AM a person who can do a community service while campaigning about issues. This campaign is actually fun!
Past community contributions: Active in school volunteering, past president of our homeowner's association, and proud that we are bringing Ponderosa Hills into the 21st century!
Biggest issues facing our constituency now: Economy, energy crisis and foreclosures. In the 70's Colorado's economy was primarily based on oil & gas and communications; now Colorado has a very diverse portfolio of industries giving us an advantage and less risk of a recession impact than our neighboring states have. Colorado attracts only the best and most talented new workers, who will thrive with the right leadership in the State Legislature.
Colorado has the distinct advantage with our great resources and weather to attract industry - our challenge is to bring industries and high-technology companies here that will keep us ahead of the curve...that will make us leaders in green technologies by using our highly educated and motivated workforce, thereby ensuring our continued growth and prosperity. We have the talent and the resources- let's bring it on!
Although foreclosures have been high, our residual property values remain strong as people relocate to Colorado, seeking a better life and career for themselves and their families. Growth is key to our future as a state, and demands the right leadership to continue to attract this new talent to Colorado