Station:     KLZ, 560 AM

Show:        Grassroots Radio Colorado

Guests:     Sanchez, Tony 

Link:               http://grrc.podomatic.com/profile?p=1

Date:         June 10, 2013       

Topics:      Senate District 22, Jefferson County, Lakewood, Littleton, Edgewater, HB-1303, SB-213, Election Modernization, Same Day Voter Registration, All Mail-In Ballots, Secretary of State Scott Gessler, School Finance Reform, Gun Safety, Gun Control, Second Amendment, School Choice, Hispanic Community, Asian-American Community, San Francisco, Nancy Pelosi, California, Californication, PERA, Public Employees Retirement Association, PERAsites, Mario Nicolais, Libertarians, Tea Party, Social Conservatives, Mexico, El Salvador, Boulder Police, Summons, Traditional marriage, Religious Liberty, Same Sex Marriage, Affordable Care Act, Obamacare, 18-26 Demographic, Youth vote, Minority Vote, Unemployment, College Republicans, Marxists, Repeal, 2014 Elections, Five-Three-One, Fidel Castro

Click Here for Audio: Part One

Click Here for Audio: Part Two

 

HOST KEN CLARK:  […]I was going to ask him where Senate District 22 was. 

HOST JASON WORLEY:  Okay, go ahead and tell everybody the boundaries of Senate District 22

SENATE CANDIDATE (DIST. 22) TONY SANCHEZ:  Sure.  Senate District 22 is over by – you got 470/Chatfield on the bottom, Simms going up on the left side, Wadsworth going up – and it breaks over to Sheridan on Yale, going straight up, all the way to Colfax and it includes Edgewater.  

WORLEY:  Okay, so basically the –

SANCHEZ:  Lakewood [inaudible]

WORLEY:  –Southwest kind of quadrant of Denver

SANCHEZ:  Correct . 

WORLEY:  Just past.  And you and I met – I’m thinking it was just about two years ago, pretty close.  It was the Liberty on the Rocks Christmas party.

SANCHEZ:  Right.  Yeah.

WORLEY:  And we were talking, because you moved here from San Francisco.

SANCHEZ:  Correct.  The belly of the beast. 

WORLEY:  Yeah, so you – it’s funny because you – and I’m going to jump on this so you don’t have to.  You want to focus on your message.  I’m stunned that your opponent in the primary [Mario Nicolais] would actually jump on that and say it’s something bad.  Because this is somebody who actually saw the crap that happened in California –

SANCHEZ:  Yes, first hand.

WORLEY:  — and came here and said, “I want out! I want to go somewhere better.”  And now you’re running because you see the crap happening here!

SANCHEZ:  Correct.  I’ve seen – I thought I left the nightmare and it’s over here.  And it started the same way we’re seeing it at the last legislative session.  The same exact way.  That’s how it started in California, particularly in San Francisco

WORLEY:  Yeah.  We’ve had you on the air before talking about some of the crazy stuff you saw in San Francisco, that you were right in Nancy Pelosi’s Congressional district.

SANCHEZ:  Yes, and when — Republicans there would meet under the cover of night.  You don’t publicize you’re a Republican there. 

WORLEY:  Like Christians in China? 

SANCHEZ:  [laughs]  Yes! At night and there’s no signs up and then you just sort of sneak in there, somewhere.  That’s exactly how it is over there.

WORLEY:  So, you’re running for Senate District 22.  What’s your platform?  Why are you running?

SANCHEZ:  Well, I understand that people are very discouraged, and, let’s just be honest.  Most people are pretty angry with what they’ve been seeing, and I basically believe in limited government.  [There is] too much government.  The other problem is that there is so many decisions being made without the input from the community level, and I also believe that there is a lack of leadership – principled leadership.  And it’s — I believe that it’s really important to stand for something.  Because if you don’t stand for something, you don’t stand for anything.  So, that’s what has really motivated me. 

WORLEY:  Well, let me—we mentioned this off the air.  You were at a Senate District meeting or a House District meeting in that area.  And you had—there were Republicans complaining about the Libertarians.  And you and I agree on one thing. You know what?  Don’t blame them!  Go out and try and find a better message.  Figure out how to talk to those people, because if the Republican party does not figure out a way to become more ‘freedom-centered’, more ‘liberty-centered’, and more ‘individual citizen-centered’, guess what, we’re going to have Party A and Party 1A.  And that’s it!

SANCHEZ:  Well, if you remember, last year I was also putting a rally together  that brought Libertarians and Tea Partiers, and social conservatives, and the GOP together  at the Capitol, and it really is about bringing coalitions together, and standing with people, as opposed to standing opposed.  And that’s the kind of message I really want to bring to people together. 

CLARK:  Well, Tony, I’ve seen you around.  I go to a lot of events.  You’re always there.  So, tell people about the kind of activism you’ve been involved in, some of the organizations that you’ve helped promote, and give people an idea of your background – why they should be interested in your campaign. 

SANCHEZ:  Well, I’ll tell you a little about my background, my family, and then get into Colorado.  My father’s side is from Mexico.  My mother’s side is from El Salvador.  And, the other part that motivated me and I didn’t mention — was my grandmother, and her love for America.  She went from selling pineapples – and this is in Central America, to – at the market and cleaning floors, and she wanted to come here to America because she wanted freedom.  She wanted the American Dream.  And, you know, she didn’t tell me this story until I was 20 years old in Washington where my aunt was a first lieutenant at the Pentagon.  And I was like, “What?!  This is where we came from?”   And, I mean, it’s not like we were still struggling, but she was telling me this with tears in her eyes.  And she says, “Now I’ve got my grandson taking me to the greatest country.”  And then she’s — it was through her example, her entrepreneurship, her love for working together with other communities.  I mean, she was all about talk – I mean, sorry, all about “do”.  Excuse me.  She was all about “do”, not “talk”.  I mean, she put her words into action, and she — so, that’s something  I really admired in her, and had a profound impact on me, and that’s what I want to see in our communities. 

CLARK:  Well, and that’s one thing that I’m constantly preaching on Grassroots Radio, is that the brilliance of the Constitution, the brilliance of the United State of America is that it matters not into what station of life you were born, in onl– because, no matter what, anybody, anywhere, can become anything if they are willing to work hard enough.  Your family is a perfect example of that.

SANCHEZ:  Yes, and that’s – and then when I came here, you know, as I told a few months – a while back,  I left everything.  Because I saw what was going on here in Colorado.  And I said, “Well, something’s got to be done! This is the most freedom loving state in America.”  And I wanted to raise my family here, and bring everything here.  And I got involved.  I got elected as a state delegate and I got involved with bringing in the Hispanic community, in particular, because I said that was going to be the key, at least at this point, to bring this community in there, but not necessarily compromise our principles.  I thought, “No!  We have a great message of freedom and liberty to extend to this community!”  And I thought, “Well, what better way, at this point, than to run for office, and bring it to people.” 

WORLEY:  What I do – I do have a suggestion for the Republican party.  I know Ryan Call listens and hangs on my every word.  So, I’m sure he’s going to get this message

CLARK:  [laughs]

WORLEY:  Yeah, that’s right.  I still like you as a person, just not necessarily as State Chair.  Here’s what you need to do.  When you talk about getting Hispanic involvement, when you talk about getting Asian-American involvement, you – don’t go out and pander to people!

SANCHEZ:  Exactly!

WORLEY:  What you do is when you’re putting together a platform, when you’re talking about what kind of bills you want to run, why don’t you go out to the Hispanic business owners in the community and say, “Hey, you know what?  We’re having a meeting.  We’d like you to come!” 

SANCHEZ:  Yes.

WORLEY:  The guy who runs the rec center in a Hispanic part of town.  “Hey, what could be done better to help kids in this area?”  And we don’t mean spending money.  We mean, is there something we could do to just improve things in the community? 

SANCHEZ:  And that’s what I’ve done in Senate District 22.  I’ve gone to the non-profits.  I’ve gone to the religious organizations, you name it.  Wherever there was a community.  Before I made my decision, I went to these groups and – to hear what they had to say, to hear what their concerns were.  And this was a point of seeing what I can do for them.  And I think you’re right.  I mean, the GOP is doing the best it can do, but I think–  myself, individually,– I am going to do whatever I can do, because like I said, there are people who are very discouraged.  They are very upset.  And it’s going to require standing for something.   And I’m just going to have to do what I can. 

WORLEY:  Tony, you’re a very charitable person. 

SANCHEZ:  [laughs]

 WORLEY:  The Republican party is not doing the best it can do.  The Republican party is still campaigning like its 1992.  The Republican party has to move forward.  They actually have get innovative.  They have to go outside the box.  I could use 19,000 business phrases to explain why we’re getting our – you know I almost used a bad word – why we’re getting our butts handed to us on a regular basis.  

SANCHEZ:  Correct. 

WORLEY:  Yeah,  1982.  Yeah, better.  This is a – and it’s not – it is a changing demographic.  And I was listening – I don’t know if you ever have a chance to listen to [Sirius Radio conservative talk host] Andrew Wilkow.  One of the things he’s talking about is the College Republicans came out with this, “Here’s the things that are going on, and here’s why we’re losing.”  And it isn’t that you have to pander to people.  It’s that you have to change the way you talk about the things.  You have to actually inform people.  You –.  One of the saddest things out there is that people 18-26 have an opinIon on everything, but it’s how they feel.  I could give a crap about what you feel.�
What I want to know is what you know.  And do you know what you’re talking about, because if you don’t we should sit down and have a serious conversation.  So that maybe you will know what’s actually going on.  I mean, 18 to 26, they love Obama.  What’s the unemployment rate for people 18 to 26, right now? 

SANCHEZ:  It’s ridiculous!

WORLEY:  Yeah!  What’s the unemployment rate in the Hispanic community for kids 18 to 26?

SANCHEZ:  Right.  It’s – it’s –

WORLEY:  Unimaginable!

SANCHEZ:  It’s unimagineable.  And it’s a community that is suffering in a big way.  And like you said, we need to take this message and be genuine, and be honest.  And instead of saying what we don’t stand for, saying what we do stand for.  Be the party of, “We can do this.  This is what we can do.”  There’s — sometimes people say, “I remember –.“  And this is just an interjection but one time, somebody said, “The Republican party used to do a lot of great things, and it doesn’t do it anymore.” And– well, I think we have to really look at who we are now, as opposed to not hyphenated Americans, but Americans.

WORLEY:  That’s good

[commercial break]

WORLEY:  […]  Well, let’s talk with our guest here.  We have Tony Sanchez, who is running for Colorado Senate District 22.  You can find him on his website “tonyforcolorado.org”

SANCHEZ:  [correcting the host] No.  Dot-com.  Dot-com

WORLEY:  Nope!  I’m actually on dot-org, for some reason.

CLARK:  It’s actually on “tonyforcolorado.org”

SANCHEZ:  Either or.  You’ll find it either way.

WORLEY:  Sweet!  You got both.  No, smart man!  Get them both. 

CLARK:  So, I wanted to talk to you  about this past [legislative] session.  Because as you know, I spend a lot of time down there.  And you know, it was really unsettling.  And I know how hard people have to work to work to get  elected to the Senate, or the House, whichever the case may be.  You know, these people really put their heart and soul into this.  And 2014 hopefully will be a year that we can start repealing these things.  So, I’m going to put you on the spot a little bit, Tony, and I’m going to ask you, “What would be your number one priority as far as legislation that you would like to see either enacted or repealed?”  Go!

SANCHEZ:  Well, number one would be any of those 2^nd amendment bills.  I tell you, we need to be quite clear on the second amendment.  That’s number one.  I would say that no– no law – none – all that!  Get rid of it all!  I stand pretty strongly on that. 

WORLEY:   Well, I’m looking – I’m looking at your positions.  You like school choice. 

SANCHEZ:  Yes.  School choice, too, that would be another onE, in particularly for Jeffco because that’s a message that is resounding, particularly in the Hispanic community.  Seventy-five percent approve of it there in Jeffco.  And that’s going to be an issue that I think I’m going to –
WORLEY:  Somebody better let Leslie Dalkemper know that, and Cindy Stevenson, because they don’t –

SANCHEZ:  That’s another issue I’m going to be championing, for sure.  And religious liberty, as well.  That’s something I think is important to keep in mind with the Affordable Care Act, and – oops, sorry! 

CLARK:  No.  I got a question! You said “religious liberty.”  What the hell is religious liberty got to do with civil unions?  You don’t have religious liberty anymore in the state of Colorado!  You are a second class citizen if you have religious beliefs.  You are!  You are second class. 

SANCHEZ:  Well, you see, you’ve got to st— like I said, you’ve got to – we’ve got to think of other – when we – and I always sum this up when I say that issue.  I say, “You can’t make – if you – you can’t make things fair for one group if it’s not fair for everybody.”  And I myself, been par— I stand for – although I stand for traditional marriage, this is not about this community and that community.  This is really about, “Are some laws – due to — are we going to allow other organizations or businesses to be able to be free, if that—or have their own conscience?  And I think it plays out there.  It also plays out in the Affordable Care Act, as well.   And that’s a big issue for a lot of people in that com– in the community.  And it’s an issue for me as well.  And it needs to bring up.

CLARK:  And so, when you bring up the Affordable Care Act, we have these wonderful things we call the Healthcare Exchanges in the state of Colorado.  Are you familiar with those? 

SANCHEZ:  A little bit, but not so much, no.  But like I said, you got– I believe in being consistent in as far as standing up for liberty and making sure we can express ourselves, believe who we are. 

WORLEY:  Well one of the things, I think, in your district, and yes, I’m becoming suddenly, campaign advisor. But one of the things in your district that you’re going to be able to hit and you’ll have plenty of opportunity, is this anywhere from 800 million to 2.1 billion dollar tax increase that the Dem – and by the way, and I would make this very clear to everyone you talk to, that the Democrats and Hickenlooper are running on the ballot this year.  There’s nobody – nobody else is running that!  There’s nobody else!  It’s – it’s —

SANCHEZ:  It’s out of control!  It is completely out of control, and like I said in my press release, it’s a lack of sanity.  You see, what happened here is what we saw in California.  And this is the first taste of California that Colorado has seen.  And that’s why it really upsets me, because what they did in California–.  There were a couple of things that brought what we’re seeing now.  They started passing legislation.  And then they say, “Pa—Ram it through, and sue, and deal with it later.”  That was how they– the tactic of the Left in California and how they – so, and the other way – well, anyway.  Go ahead. 

WORLEY:  No, well I won’t disagree with you, because the whole reason they started ramming these tax increases through in California was, “Huh, the retirement programs for public workers in California.  We all heard the stories of all these different municipal districts that gave –

CLARK:  But Jason, we don’t have that problem here!

WORLEY:  Exactly!  What was that one guy making something like $480,000 [in] retirement!  How do you let that happen?  Well, guess what.  I believe the top paid people in PERA are making somewhere in the $200,000 range.  Now, I’m sorry, but if you’ve made two hundred, $250,000 in your career as a public employee, first of all, slap yourself, because you should—that’s as lucky as you can possibly get.  But then to retire, and think that you’re going to be able to get 80% of that, and the state taxpayers are going to foot the bill, while your sitting back drinking a mai-tai and smoking a cigar?  No!  That’s not how it works.  You could retire on a fair retirement fund, which hopefully you contributed to yourself.  But for them to run this bill,– and it is, it is the Democrats and the Public Employees Retirement Association – the PERA-sites—they are trying to suck off everybody in Colorado, in the Hispanic community, everybody in Lakewood.  It doesn’t matter what community it is.  It doesn’t matter! 

SANCHEZ:  Yeah.  You’re right.  It doesn’t matter!  No, we’re all paying the bill.

WORLEY:  They are going to pay the bill.  They’re going to pay the freight and education isn’t going to get better. 

SANCHEZ:  And it’s not over.  And so,  right now, it’s really hard to say what we’ll be talking about, what we’ll be dealing with a year from now.  So, there’s a lot of other issues that we’ll probably be touching upon as we go along.  And we need people there, who are really vigilant, and make sure that they are aware.  Put the community and the taxpayer first. 

CLARK:  Well, you know, it is very interesting.  2014 is going to be a curious year for the state of Colorado.  And I use the term “curious” because it is my belief that we basically have one more shot.  We have got one more shot to stop the Californication of Colorado.  We really do!  And 2014 is it.  Now, we’ve got some major issues in front of us.  We’ve got some major stumbling blocks.  That does not mean we can’t pull this off.  And what I’m talking about specifically is that Same-Day Voter bill with all the mail-in ballots.  So, yeah! Tony, you’re already rolling your eyes! 

SANCHEZ:  Yes.

CLARK:  But we’ve got a shot, and we have to pull this thing back.  And I don’t know where the hell Gessler is.  I don’t know why he isn’t filing a suit to stop this.  I don’t know why he isn’t standing up at the Capitol just letting people know that he will not enforce that law.  That’s what I think he should do.  But, if we can pull back 2014, it’s going to take you, Tony.  It’s going to take everybody that’s in there running for re-election, we’ve got to knock off a ton of Democrats – Marxists, if you will.  We’ve got to do it!

SANCHEZ:  That’s right.

WORLEY:  It’s not a ton!  Five, three, and one. 

CLARK:  Five three and one, well—

WORLEY:  It ain’t that hard.  Five –

WORLEY:  Five, three, and one. 

CLARK:  Five members of the House, three members of the Senate, one governor.  That’s what we have to do.  We’ve got them targeted, we know the races that we have to win.  But we absolutely have to win those races. 

SANCHEZ:  Correct.  And one thing you were saying that made me think about this, back when Bush was president, Fidel Castro said something, “You know, I never got a good night’s sleep while he was president.”  And now I feel like we’re the other way around, where good people are worried about their future.  And that’s something wrong, nowadays. 

CLARK:  Well, I haven’t had a good night’s sleep since this wing nut was elected!

SANCHEZ:  Exactly.  And this is why we have to do something about this now, and be quite vocal about where we stand, and quite clear.  And on my website you can see where I stand on the issues at ‘tonyforcolorado.com’.  And I’m quite transparent, and that’s all I’ve got to say. 

WORLEY:  Tony, I want to jump a little bit, because you’re going to be a local candidate.  I’m going to hit you guys with a story, and we’ll discuss it in the next segment, and I’m throwing you a curve ball but I know you so I’m not too worried about it.  This comes out of the Boulder Daily Camera today. 

CLARK:  Are you sure you want to read that?

WORLEY:  I want to read this because I’m—I think this is a great example of government over-reach.  [Reads article about Boulder police officer entering a woman’s apartment which she left unlocked and left a card on her countertop.  Officer claimed ‘probable cause’ (concern for the woman’s safety) as justification for his entering the sliding glass door onto her deck, through the kitchen and into the living area.]  Liar!  I’m sorry, liar! 

[In the following segment, the hosts and Tony Sanchez continue to discuss the Daily Camera story about the police officer entering an apartment through an unlocked dog. ]