Welcome to the latest installment of our new series, “Other Hats,” where we explore what Colorado’s state lawmakers do for a living when the legislature is not in session. 

Rep. Carlos Barron, R-Fort Lupton, is the general manager for his father’s business, which contracts with oil and gas operators and transportation companies. Barron’s family also owns a body shop in Fort Lupton — “we do a little bit of everything, and that’s how we stay in business,” he said. 

Barron and his wife are also landlords, owning two properties in Fort Lupton. 

Barron was born in Salamanca, Mexico, and moved to Fort Lupton when he was a year old. His first foray into politics was on the Fort Lupton City Council in 2021. In 2024, he was elected to his first term in the state legislature.

Note: Some responses have been edited for clarity.

Colorado Politics: How did you get involved in the family business? 

Carlos Barron: My father has his own company, J and F Services, here in Fort Lupton. He’s been in business for about 25 years by himself. Before that, he was working with his brother for five years, and before that, he was actually working with his other brother, who started the oil business here in Fort Lupton with Barron’s Oilfield Service, and all of the brothers worked for him.

Eventually, they all decided to go their separate ways and build their own companies, so my dad started a company with his brother, my uncle Frank. They called it J and F because my dad’s name is Jesus but we call him Jesse, so Jesse and Frank. When they separated, it became Jesse and Family, and that’s when my brothers and I got involved. We worked from the ground-up — in the summer and on the weekends during school, I’d be working with my dad either at the shop or on location, and then I started working on one of my dad’s crews and eventually ran my own crew. Then I became a field manager for all of the crews that were out in the oil field, and then finally I became a general manager, which is what I’m doing now. 

CP: What did your coworkers think when you decided to run for office?

Barron: My parents have always been supportive of me, and employees are excited for me and also supportive, so there were never any negative thoughts about me running for office. I got into office for the first time on City Council about four years ago, and they were all excited. City Council is a good step forward, and I wanted to help my community, and that was one of those things that I really enjoyed and everybody was supportive of it.

CP: What skills have you gained from your job that you’ve been able to bring with you to the Capitol?

Barron: The most important skill that I’m bringing to the Capitol is business knowledge. I understand business, I understand how a balance sheet works, I understand exactly how to run a business and when it’s a bad idea to invest in a certain area of your business or not to invest. When I see legislation coming through, right away my mind goes to the business side: how is this going to affect business owners and corporations in my state and my district? 

Since I’m also a landlord, all of this anti-landlord legislation coming through really hits me, because it’s going to affect me. I can argue against those bills from that mindset and tell people that the bill is not gonna do what they think it is, it’s actually gonna do the exact opposite — it’s going to force me to raise the rent and do exactly the opposite of what they want it to do.

CP: How does your job impact the legislation you introduce and your positions on certain issues?

Barron: When I see legislation that’s gonna affect my industry or my job, that’s where my mindset is. This past session, oil and gas wasn’t really a discussion, so I haven’t been able to use that experience, which is a good thing, but at the same time I’m like, ‘I’m ready to do this.’

I’m on the Energy Committee in the House; energy has been my strong suit because of my oil and gas experience, but I don’t know very much about wind or solar. I always research when those bills come forward and make sure that they’re going to be cost-effective. I’m not against wind or solar at all; I’m for all types of energy, as long as it makes sense and as long as it’s sustainable. Right now, the most sustainable energy we have is oil and gas — wind and solar are great, but it’s not a sustainable energy source where everybody can use it the way we’re using energy right now, especially with all this AI technology coming through in Colorado; that’s going to use a lot of energy, and wind and solar are not going to be enough to sustain that.

CP: How do you balance your jobs with your legislative duties?

Barron: Thank God I have my family and this is a family business, so my family can pick up the slack I leave behind while I’m doing my legislative work. I still help them over the phone, doing little things here and there, but they usually run the company when I’m in session. I have good people behind me, good family members that support me and what I’m doing, so we can continue to run the business the way it’s supposed to be run.