Colorado Politics: How did you transition from journalism to finance?

Paul Lundeen: To return to small businesses, which is essentially what I did after my career in journalism, was a logical thing. My degree from NYU is in journalism, but I also read history and I also read economics. The way they’re structured at NYU, you get the major but you don’t get minors in all the other things. I would’ve had a minor in economics, a minor in history, a little bit of a broader background with regard to economics and things of that nature academically.

CP: What will you focus on as minority leader?

PL: The people of Colorado have been crying out for policy responses to address a couple of the big crises that they have in their life. Our caucus has been talking about these matters, not because we like them, but because the people of Colorado have been saying, “Hey, life is unaffordable. We’ve got a massive housing shortage and we’ve got communities and streets that are unsafe.”

The people are asking for a response to those issues. And so we as a caucus will continue to work on those issues. Now, it is our hope that the Democratic Party, which ran an election on issues other than those issues will pivot back to those issues and we can find some common sense solutions.

CP: Will you be able to continue working on school choice issues, which has been your passion for a very long time?

PL: I absolutely will. It is my intention not only to fulfill the role of minority leader, but I’m going to remain on the Education Committee, as well.

I believe that education, public education specifically, because it has such broad reach, is one of the most important leverage points for individuals, especially those who come from challenging circumstances.

If an individual wants to have a dramatically different or better life than their parents had, education can be the key to unlocking that. As a society, an educated population is incredibly beneficial. When people understand and have knowledge and ultimately seek wisdom, we as a society benefit.

And so education is key for individuals and key for us as a society. So, I will always lean into education because I believe that’s one of the limited number of things that state government actually should be doing and a much much, better job of it.

CP: What role do you see the Senate GOP caucus playing in this 2023 session, given that you’ve got an 11-member disadvantage?

PL: There’s 12 of us and 23 of them. The role I believe we will play is to continue to sound the alarm about the crisis of affordability in Colorado, and we will seek commonsensical and sustainable solutions to that set of problems. And we will continue to sound on the alarm about unsafe neighborhoods and communities, and we will continue to offer commonsensical and sustainable solutions to those matters as well.

CP: Where do you see the caucus ideologically? 

PL: Commonsensical and problem-solving. We’ve got an additional county commissioner come to join us (Sen.-elect Byron Pelton of Sterling); a couple of members who come over from the House, such as Sen.-elect Mark Baisley, who has experience in private industry and technology.

CP: Talk about your relationship with Senate Majority Leader Moreno, Senate President Fenberg and the governor.

PL: You get to my age in life and hopefully you’ve gained a little bit of wisdom along the way. I believe that relationships are important and they are permanent. They are something that we carry forward with us. Therefore, it provides incredible opportunity.

Years ago, I read a book, by Stephen Covey (The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People). One of the habits was seek first to understand and then to be understood.

I have always been eager to listen to all perspectives, and then it’s my job to bring my perspective into that conversation. You don’t just show up and advocate, you show up and you learn and then you dialogue about how to solve problems. I have always been eager to hear the perspectives of others.

When you listen carefully, you can find threads of opportunities for progress.

CP: How would you describe your leadership style?

PL: My success in leadership is distributing authority. My successes in business, I have been blessed to work with great teams and to give those team members as much authority as they want to take.

I seek to apply those same principles in a leadership capacity in politics. I’m blessed to have a caucus with 11 other members who are all natural-born leaders. So giving them authority is a logical and obvious thing to do.

CP: Who do you most admire from the other side of the aisle and from your side of the aisle and why?

PL: I admire individuals who are clear about their principles and who listen to people who are interacting around their principles and then are willing to stand with the courage of their convictions. So, I admire the members of the Democratic caucus who have been willing to break with their caucus when their caucus was demanding policy actions that just didn’t make common sense to them.

CP: C’mon, name names!

PL: I admire, quite frankly, Sen. Rachel Zenzinger, Sen. Joanne Ginal for their willingness to stand for their principles even when it wasn’t popular with their caucus. I admire Sen. Jeff Bridges for being able to stand in the middle of sometimes challenging conversations and cause everyone to listen to other individuals. I admire the leadership styles of Moreno and Fenberg.

I admire every member of my caucus. They have worked diligently to be elected in order to serve the people. I am grateful and, and I can run down the list of names, but you already have the list of names. I perceive every member of my caucus to be what I would describe as a servant leader. Many of them are stepping away from lucrative other professions in order to serve the people. I admire their willingness to step in and, as an act of service, seek to lead.