ALAMOSA — During the six years he has been in office, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser has made multiple trips to the San Luis Valley, some in connection with his assigned oversight of a former district attorney who ultimately resigned from office and others connected to current litigation he was spearheading that was of special relevance to Valley concerns, such as suing opioid manufacturers and stopping the merger of Kroger and Albertson’s. But, while in the Valley, Weiser’s also addressed other issues that may not yet have their roots in the courtroom but have clear impact on Coloradans’ quality of life. 

His stand on those issues are now even more front and center than they have been in the past as, last week, he announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for Colorado governor.  

Earlier this week, the Valley Courier spoke with Phil Weiser, the candidate, to get better insight into what actions he will take should he be successful in his bid to be Colorado’s next chief executive officer.  

When asked about challenges currently facing the state, he ticked off a number of issues, starting with a crisis in the lack of affordable housing, impacting the ability of many Coloradans to not just buy homes but to buy homes near to where they work.  

Always one to pair identification of problems with actions toward a solution, he referenced the Colorado Partnership for Education and Rural Revitalization (COPERR) program, a grant program born in the AG’s Office of Community Engagement designed to both revitalize rural housing and support construction training programs at community colleges in Southern Colorado.  

Trinidad State University was one of the colleges that received funding to develop skilled trades programs that address labor shortages and increase the availability of viable and affordable housing in this part of the state.  

Weiser also brought up recent action against corporate landlords taken by his office. As one of a bi-partisan coalition of states in partnership with the Department of Justice, Colorado’s AG Office is suing six of the nation’s largest landlords for participating in pricing schemes that harmed renters. 

He identified challenges in health care – especially related to availability and access in rural areas – and childcare, briefly commending plans for the Boys and Girls Clubs of the San Luis Valley to break ground on the new early childhood learning center in Alamosa. 

Weiser also recognizes significant challenges in protecting land, air and water, not the least of which is the devastating impact of wildfires.  When asked how he would work with a federal government under President-elect Donald Trump -- whose past and now proposed policies have been categorically opposed to environmental protections -- Weiser was undaunted, referencing, as AG, Colorado joining other states in suing the EPA  under Trump for its rollback of methane regulations. In a second, separate lawsuit, Weiser sought to stop the Trump Administration from dismantling key parts of the Clean Water Act, removing  important protections for Colorado’s streams and wetlands. 

Citing those times he took the federal government to court, Weiser said, if the federal government is not going to support environmental safeguards, “the states can do these things themselves.” 

Public safety is also a priority, he said, briefly mentioning the “painful lesson taught by Alonzo Payne” when he was district attorney in the Valley. It’s crucial to have effective law enforcement, he said, and for law enforcement to have a clear presence along with “smart” public safety addressing the needs of the community. 

As he has discussed in person with Valley residents before, Weiser sees a crisis in youth mental health. “Our youth are more isolated and more disconnected in their relationships with others than at any time,” he said. 

Describing Colorado’s lawsuit against JUUL Labs Inc. as a “playbook in dealing with a crisis,” Weiser sees importance in creating hope in the lives of youth as one significant way to battle the current crisis, focusing on training young people for jobs – good jobs that pay good salaries, including in technical areas that do not require four-year degrees. 

That led into a discussion of Weiser’s vision for a Volunteer Youth Services program, an 18-month program similar to AmeriCorps but “scaled up” and offered across the state. He sees communities in need of the resources such a program could provide and spoke of the profound positive impact serving others can have on an individual’s life.  

The opioid crisis was also on his list of challenges, not a surprise given the extent of his work holding opioid manufacturers accountable for their actions. “This crisis started in the boardroom,” he says. 

Weiser discussed the $800 million settlement that was returned to the states, emphasizing the decision made byh his office to empower communities to use the funding as they felt was most effective. As he has before, he praised the actions of Commissioner Lori Laske for her role in devoting opioid settlement funds to opening the Hope in the Valley treatment center.  

The demand for illegal drugs, he says, is connected to the need for people to be more in relationships with others. It also highlights the need for education, increased awareness and impactful messages such as “one pill can kill.” 

Pathways to recovery are also crucial, he says. 

On the supply side of the illegal drug crisis, Weiser discussed the importance of “doing the best we can with interdiction” while recognizing that “dealers are using social media” to sell drugs, which requires a legal response when sales are being made.  

When asked to respond to Facebook founder and chairman of its parent company Meta Foundation Mark Zuckerberg’s recent decision to remove fact checkers from Facebook, Weiser answered with a question. 

“How do you know what information is true? We [older generations] grew up with editors who fact checked for us what was true and what wasn’t. We don’t have that anymore. We have to be preparing people to be citizens. We have to teach people to be able to discern the truth. And with AI, it’s just going to get worse. All of us have to be careful.” 

In wrapping up the conversation, Weiser described his agenda as “robust”, adding that he was equally committed to listening to the people.  

“I want to go to the communities and hear what people have to say – that hasn’t happened before. This is a collaborative effort that I want to be bi-partisan. Any way that I can collaborate, I will do that.”