Article Contributed on: 9/5/2006 12:42:34 PM
Name:
Linda Constantine
Position: Democratic Candidate for House District 45
Family: Husband
Ed Allwein
What I do: Currently a marketing consultant in high tech industry. Previously with Hewlett Packard/Compaq Computer Corporation. Positions include: director, CRM and sales tools - IT; director e-commerce; director, product marketing
Favorite place in Douglas County to hang out: The entire county is beautiful. Whether out shopping or hiking, the mountain views are majestic. I love sitting out on the deck and enjoying the mountain views and evening sunsets.
What I like most about living here: The people, the landscape, the weather and the culture.
My interests and hobbies: Ballet, yoga, hiking and travel.
My favorite thing to cook: Thanksgiving dinner
People who inspired me: My grandparents and parents inspired me to get a good education and with hard work you can achieve your dreams. I have always admired my teachers that could instill their love of a subject into all of us to explore and learn more.
How I have contributed to the community:I'm running as a citizen candidate to continue and build upon the accomplishments of the 2006 state legislative session.
What are the biggest issues facing Douglas County now: The issues impacting Colorado are impacting the residents of Douglas County. Douglas County has a water issue, most of our water in the county comes from aquifers which we are depleting. We need to ensure that our community has a plan that includes continued water availability for our future needs. The plan needs to include conservation, development of surface water sources, as well as smart development of our communities.
What are the biggest issues facing the state right now: High-quality public education and affordable higher education - We are spending below the national average per child for education. One in five do not graduate from high school in Colorado and only 39 percent of Colorado high school graduates continue on to college. We are living in a very competitive global economy and I'm very concerned about the shrinking middle class. Companies will locate in areas that provide a well educated work force.
Affordable health care for Colorado residents - Colorado ranked 50th (last) for child immunizations.More than750,000 Coloradans do not have health insurance today, 169,000 of those are children. People that lack affordable health care don't seek lower cost preventative treatment in doctors' offices. Rather, they often wait until their condition becomes so critical that they end up seeking emergency treatment in expensive emergency rooms and hospitals.
Health care costs impede business formation and growth. Other governments, with which the U.S. competes, pay health care costs nationally, which puts their manufacturers at a cost advantage compared to U.S. companies. We need to develop immunization programs to ensure children can be vaccinated and purchase health care plans and prescription drugs through a federal or statewide program to drive down health care costs and ensure health care access to our residents.
Energy costs and Renewable Energy - Fossil fuels are a limited resource and we are quickly depleting the supply that took millions of years to create. Our current usage rate is not sustainable under any foreseeable circumstance. World demand for energy has increased and supply is constrained, driving prices up. The burning of fossil fuels is contributing to global warming which could cause all sorts of problems for us. With our oil purchases, our dollars directly subsidize countries that are unstable and/or unfriendly to the U.S. It is our obligation to protect and preserve resources for future generations.
Colorado has an excellent opportunity to take the leadership role in the development and implementation of renewable energy. We have an excellent source of solar, wind and bioenergy. NREL (National Renewable Energy Labs) is located here in Colorado. Development of renewable energy will not only help resolve our energy requirements, we have the ability to attract renewable energy industries that could provide good paying jobs to Coloradans.
Click
here for more candidate profiles.