Arapahoe County Democrats have chosen a police reservist to represent a vacant House seat for the legislative session that is set to begin next week.

The Democrats picked Chad Clifford of Centennial for House District 37, which became vacant when former state Rep. Ruby Dickson resigned last month, citing a “sensationalistic and vitriolic” environment in the state House as the reason.

Clifford is a lobbyist and police officer with the Colorado Rangers Shared Law Enforcement Reserve, a state agency whose members serve as “force multipliers” for law enforcement agencies. He also serves in emergency management as a government operations lead for the American Red Cross.

Clifford won on the second ballot, defeating Ashish Vaidya and Kevin Biehl. A fourth candidate, Nathan Wilkes, dropped out.

The district had been represented by Republicans for decades, until the 2018 election, when Tom Sullivan defeated the incumbent, Republican Rep. Cole Wist, for the seat. It’s been held by Democrats ever since. 

The vacancy committee has 49 members, 41 of whom attended Wednesday’s meeting. 

On the first ballot, Vaidya took 20 votes, Clifford secured 19, and Biehl won two. According to the rules, a candidate needs 50% plus one – or 21 votes – to win the seat.

Clifford took 22 votes on the second ballot, while Vaidya received 19. 

Vaidya is a high school and college educator and an active member of the Democratic party. He is a first-generation American son of Indian immigrants whose family has a history in the nonviolent movement of Mahatma Gandhi. 

Biehl is the director of community engagement and strategic partnerships at the Second Chance Center in Aurora.

The three candidates were asked a series of questions, such as what they think are the most significant issues that residents of the district face, how they view local control as it applies to housing, their experience at the state Capitol, and how they have handled disputes with others, a nod to the reasons behind Dickson’s resignation.

Clifford and the person who nominated him – now state Sen. Tom Sullivan of Centennial – spoke about the tensions that have taken center stage at the state House in recent weeks, both hinting at support for a censure of state Rep. Elisabeth Epps, D-Denver, and a vote of “no confidence” in House Speaker Julie McCluskie, D-Dillon. (Sullivan would not have the ability to vote for either, since he’s a member of the Senate.)

Clifford identified affordable housing and the lack of housing stock as the top issue facing HD37 residents. While developers are engaged, they’re not getting the kind of support they need to build projects in the district, Clifford said. He plans to tackle the issue with incentives for builders and by reducing red tape, he said. He also spoke against efforts to diminish local rule.

Vaidya named climate change, housing and education as the top issues for the district. 

He advocated for property tax relief and called for imposing a 1.1% fee on homes valued above $1 million, indexed to rate of inflation. He said he supports full funding for education and eliminating the budget stabilization factor, which is the debt owed to K-12 for more than a decade. He also supports phasing out the sale of vehicles that run on gas and to ensure that electric vehicles are affordable.

Biehl’s top issues include education and reducing gun violence, although he also believes affordable housing is a major need in the district.

On local control, Clifford raised the issue of “construction defects,” which many have identified as a major factor in the state’s lack of condo development.

Vaidya advocated for a 2023 measure vetoed by Gov. Jared Polis that dealt with the right of first refusal for sales of multifamily residential properties to local governments.

Biehl focused on helping homeless people, as well as an analysis of the current housing inventory in the state.

Both Clifford and Vaidya have filed to run for the HD37 seat in the June 25 primary, although they both pledged not to primary other candidates during the forum on Wednesday. 

A Democratic vacancy committee in Adams County will meet on Jan. 18 to select a replacement for former Rep. Said Sharbini, who also resigned last month, citing financial pressures and the toxic environment at the state Capitol.

That would bring to 29 the number of current lawmakers who gained their seats in the legislature through the vacancy process.