Phil Weiser and Greg Lopez answer questions at Colorado governor forum; Victor Marx declines
On Aug. 27, Phil Weiser and Greg Lopez took questions at a gubernatorial forum in Colorado Springs. Victor Marx declined the invitation.
Freda Miklin ·
On August 27, Colorado Politics, the El Pomar Foundation, and KOAA News5 sponsored a gubernatorial forum at the Pikes Peak Center for the Performing Arts in Colorado Springs. The three candidates on the November 3 ballot—Democrat Phil Weiser, Republican Victor Marx, and Independent Greg Lopez—were invited. Weiser and Lopez accepted. Marx, whose All Things Possible Ministry is based in Colorado Springs, declined.
The only debate invitation Marx has accepted to date is from the Colorado Chamber of Commerce (CCC). He agreed only after CCC replaced the scheduled moderator, Kyle Clark, with Ed Sealover, a former reporter with the Denver Business Journal who is now employed by CCC as an editor and vice president of strategic initiatives.
Asked how they would address affordability if elected, Lopez said his first step would be to review regulations and fees so that “government doesn’t make life harder” but instead “makes life easier.”
Weiser said, regarding affordability, he would focus on: 1) making starter homes “quicker, easier, and cheaper” to build; 2) expanding primary and preventive health care; and 3) using competition to keep prices down. He cited his success as attorney general in stopping the merger of King Soopers and Safeway as an example of something he did to keep prices down.
Asked how they would balance next year’s budget as federal Medicaid and food-stamp cuts take effect, Lopez pointed to his lieutenant governor, Taylor Romero, who he said has more than 25 years of medical-industry experience. He said Medicaid would be addressed under her guidance. He also criticized the legislature’s Joint Budget Committee for using baseline budgeting rather than zero-based budgeting. As governor, he pledged to question every department, program, and expense by asking whether it works effectively, and puts people over politics.
Weiser said he would listen closely to communities about programs they know well, citing Medicaid as an example; adopt new technology to make government more efficient; and make targeted investments in programs. He noted that in Colorado, 45% of people released from prison return within three years, which he said drives prison costs.
Returning to housing, the moderator noted that Lopez had promised 25,000 starter homes in four years, while Weiser had set a goal of 40,000 owner-occupied units.
Asked how they would achieve those goals, Weiser proposed 1) reducing the cost of and speeding permits for starter homes, especially modular homes, pointing out it currently takes as long to permit starter homes as “mega-mansions;” 2) working with local governments to make starter homes more affordable; 3) and encouraging innovation. He said modular homes are 20% cheaper and 30% faster to build than conventional homes. He also proposed down-payment assistance for teachers and law enforcement professionals on starter homes.
Lopez said he would meet with builders, developers, and local planning departments, drawing on his land-use experience to reduce housing costs through changes such as smaller side-yard setbacks and detached sidewalks. Asked how he would bring new-home prices down to the $235,000 figure he had cited, Lopez pointed to tap and sewer fees, metro districts, HOAs, and special districts as major cost drivers. He argued that developers and builders pass costs to homeowners through metro districts, increasing costs to homebuyers. He also said that the state must ensure it has the workforce needed to build lower-cost homes.
The moderator asked Weiser why the state should have a role in home-rule cities’ zoning decisions, including his proposal to encourage housing near public transit. Weiser said the state should collaborate with local governments, challenge them to lower permitting fees, and create incentives for homes—including transit-oriented housing—that make cities more livable and sustainable.
Lopez pointed to home-rule cities, stating, “I would never take away local control from a jurisdiction.”
The candidates were asked how they would respond, as governor, to a recent report that the Trump administration “appears to have coordinated pressure on Colorado over Tina Peters’ incarceration and the state’s vote-by-mail system, among other things.”
Reading from the copy of the U.S. Constitution he had in his pocket, Weiser said states, not the federal government, “manage the time, place, and manner of elections” and argued that Colorado has the right to run its elections by mail. He said any federal effort to interfere with Colorado’s system would constitute a threat to state sovereignty and vowed not to tolerate lawless behavior.
Lopez also pulled out a copy of the Constitution and said, “State’s rights trump federal laws.” As an unaffiliated candidate, he said he represents the people rather than a party and would “stand tall” against anyone trying to harm Coloradans. Later, asked about an area in which he had recently changed his views, Lopez said, “Something I’ve changed my mind about…is being a Republican, because the two-party system is failing the people of Colorado.”
Asked whether they agreed with Gov. Polis’ recent commutation of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters’ nine-year sentence for crimes tied to abusing her office, Lopez said he supported the decision because an appeals court judge had questioned the sentence’s length. Weiser disagreed, saying Peters had been convicted by a jury and had not taken responsibility for, or repented of, her crimes, adding that the appeals court judge had remanded the case to the original court for resentencing and Polis’ action interfered with that decision.
Asked about their top legislative priority if elected, Weiser named legislative action on data centers, while Lopez proposed reducing the number of bills each lawmaker may introduce from five to two.
When the candidates were asked whether they would support expanding ranked-choice voting, Weiser said, “I am for experimenting with ranked-choice voting at lower levels so we can learn more.” Lopez replied, “The jury is still out on that.”
The print page included a screenshot caption: “Screenshot of Independent candidate for Colorado governor Greg Lopez (left) and Democratic candidate Phil Weiser (right) in Colorado Springs on August 27.”
Print source: The Villager, Vol. 44 No. 42, Sept. 10, 2026, pages 6 and 7. Issuu edition.