We can all agree that, at the end of the day, we want to feel safe in our beautiful state. As a mother of four, one of whom is a young woman just starting out on her own, I cannot say that is the case right now.

In order to feel safe, I need to believe our elected officials see crime as more than an election year problem. Crime has been rising in our state for years. By now, you have probably seen the horrible crime statistics: number one in the nation in auto thefts; number one in property crime from 2011 to 2020, as well as significant increases in murders and assaults.

Fighting crime has never been a priority for Gov. Jared Polis. A few days ago, he held a press conference to announce his election year safety plan. He was surrounded by far-left legislators, but conspicuously absent were our state’s three largest law enforcement groups. As the daughter of a police officer, I was appalled to see the media stunt continue after the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police, the Colorado Fraternal Order of Police, and the County Sheriffs of Colorado told the governor they were not coming.

Those three key organizations have not endorsed Polis’ “Comprehensive Public Safety Plan of Action” because they do not feel it is, in fact, comprehensive. In their letter to Polis, these groups said his policy shift prioritizes offenders “over victims and public safety.” 

Polis himself calls this $113 million over two years “a first step.” Baby steps won’t keep us safe from a homicide rate that surged to a 25 year high in 2020. We need big, bold action that holds criminals accountable. There are aspects of the plan that I support. I will never argue against recruiting and retaining cops. Like I said, I was raised by a police officer. Community outreach and youth prevention are important too, but they must come after immediate action to stop crime now and keep criminals in jail.

Any parent raising kids in Colorado wants to know that crime is not a long-term problem. We want to keep our kids safe now, not solely look to prevent crimes years down the road or rehabilitate offenders in years to come. We have the fourth-worst recidivism rate in the nation -something needs to be done now!

At this press conference, Polis showed that he will never accept responsibility for the role his failed, far-left policies have played in the rise of crime in our state. When asked if any of his own policies could be to blame for the crime wave, he arrogantly responded that he would “leave it to sociologists to figure that out.” You don’t need to be a socialist to determine that the answer is yes!

In another sign of Polis’ out-of-touch leadership, he also refused to take responsibility for the thousands of deaths his 2019 law reducing the penalty for fentanyl possession had caused. Polis can get angry at a rare, tough press question, but people are dying, and a law he signed making the possession of enough fentanyl to kill thousands of people a misdemeanor is still on the books.

We should also realize that crime costs not only in emotional pain but also in dollars. In 2020, our state saw $27 billion in crime-related costs. That’s about $5,000 per Coloradan. Those numbers do not help our soaring cost of living – another problem Polis is only taking baby steps to address.

I will be a law-and-order governor. I challenge Gov. Polis to fire his parole board and public safety officer. That’s something I’ll do on my first day in office.

I will enforce truth in sentencing so that criminals actually pay the price for committing crimes. I will reform bail so that repeat offenders are not out on the streets years earlier than they should be. I will support our law enforcement community and make providing resources for training and recruiting a priority every year, not just in election years. I will not unnecessarily insert myself into the judicial process. And I will not take advice from celebrities like Kim Kardashian.

I am a mom on a mission to ensure that Colorado is a safe place to raise a family. I have been blessed to live the American Dream, and I want that same opportunity for all our kids.

Heidi Ganahl is a Republican candidate for governor of Colorado. She was elected in 2016 as an at-large member on the University of Colorado Board of Regents.