Democrats at the Capitol this year have made improving the lives of rural Coloradans a priority. Many Coloradans will find that a welcome change.

Democratic Legislative leaders are all from the greater Denver-Boulder area and the Democratic caucus is  generally viewed as being packed with representatives of urban and suburban constituencies. The urban-rural political divide — and the lopsided population numbers and resource allocation associated with it — has long been a source of friction in the state, perhaps coming to a head in 2013 when Weld County commissioners, citing a lack of representation, led a move among mostly northeastern rural counties to secede from the state.

The announcement from Democratic leaders that they would cast their attentions over the mountains and across the plains makes for good politics in an election year and will likely draw few complaints from Republican legislators and county officials.

Senate Minority Leader Sen. Lucia Guzman, D-Denver, seems to be spearheading the effort. She toured the state last summer to get a better feel for what’s happening beyond the “Denver metroplex,” as she calls it. She told The Colorado Statesman that she is a rural person at heart, growing up in a small Texas town 60 miles outside of Houston. She said rural concerns sometimes just aren’t articulated in a way that urban lawmakers can understand.

“For instance, when I was down in Pueblo… I met some of the families that raise crops and so forth and one of the big issues is water and how fearful they are of (efforts) to develop this metroplex,” Guzman said.

“But people here are like let’s do this, let’s (pass a construction defects bill) because the urban areas need to develop.”

But development isn’t always a positive word outside the city, Guzman said.

“Look at how much time that has taken up in all of our caucuses. Construction defects. But (rural Coloradans) are saying, ‘Will our family be able to carry on the family tradition of farming?’”

What do rural lawmakers think?

The Statesman is running a series of Q&A interviews over the next weeks with rural lawmakers to find out. First up is Rep. Millie Hamner, D-Dillon, the chairwoman of the powerful Joint Budget Committee.

How is the Legislature addressing the concerns of rural Colorado?

This past session alone we passed legislation to encourage economic development in rural areas that are struggling. We provided administrative flexibility and an additional $10 million in funding for rural school districts. We created incentives for physicians to move into rural areas to increase access to quality health care in our communities, and we promoted a bill to boost agricultural development, which unfortunately failed in the Senate.

The Speaker (Dickey Lee Hullinghorst, D-Gunbarrel) appointed Rep. Dave Young, D-Greeley, and me, both legislators from rural Colorado, to the Joint Budget Committee, specifically citing our Western Slope and Northern Colorado perspectives as one of the key reasons to do so.

Senate Minority Leader Guzman said earlier this week that a lot of rural Coloradans’ voices aren’t heard at the Capitol because most lawmakers come from the Denver metro area. Do you ever find it difficult to bring issues from your district to the table for discussion?

No. Rural Colorado has many strong advocates on both sides of the aisle, and we are all working together to advocate for beneficial policies for all of Colorado.

Democrats have been citing a bill that, if passed, will bring broadband Internet service to rural areas. Is that something that would foster economic growth in the areas you represent?

As Chair of the Joint Budget Committee, fiscal realities are always at the top of my mind – but there is no time like the present to start planning to ensure we have equal access to the Internet throughout the state. High-speed Internet access is incredibly important in rural areas – our communities, our small businesses, and our local economies overall depend upon it. The people of Paonia should have Internet that is just as fast as the people of Denver, and whatever steps we can take to partner with private industry and local communities to speed up the deployment of high-speed Internet to all four corners of the state will be key.

What’s on the top of your wish list in terms of measures that could really help out your district? And why?

We need to address traffic and safety on I-70 if we’re going to be able to continue moving goods, services and people to and from the Western Slope. Our tourism industry depends on people being able to get to the mountains. Our Delta County growers need to be able to get their products to market. If I-70 is clogged by traffic and blocked by accidents, there are huge economic impacts on our community and it’s a key issue we need to address.

However, our budget realities are extremely restrictive. The economy is doing much better than it has been in recent years, and yet we’re facing budget cuts in key areas. We need to look at a compromise for the time being to be able to continue funding critical education and transportation infrastructure needs. But we will also need a solution to our long-term budget problems. These short-term solutions will only take us so far. At some point, we will come up against a wall and will have nowhere left to turn.

– Kara@coloradostatesman.com