Station:    KNUS, 710 am

Show:       Wake Up! with Randy Corporon

Guests:    Stapleton

Link:        https://omny.fm/shows/wake-up-with-randy-corporon

Date:        June 23, 2018

Topics:     Pro-Life candidate surveys, NRA surveys, PERA reform, Justin Everett,

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COLORADO STATE TREASURER, AND GOP CANDIDATE FOR COLORADO GOVERNOR, WALKER STAPLETON: [64648:04:20] Randy, good morning. I’m up. [It is] Great to be with you.

CORPORON: [64648:04:22] Excellent. And I understand you’re willing to take questions, so 303-696-1971,303-696-1971. On Chuck [Bonniwell] and Julie [Hayden’s] show yesterday, they had Victor Mitchell and Greg Lopez in and on the air, and answered some questions, there. I know you are tied up in a PERA meeting all, day so I really thought it was important–.

STAPLETON: [64648:04:41] A joyous — a joyous PERA meeting! [laughs]

CORPORON: [64648:04:42] Oh, my Lord! You I’ve been in meetings like that. I don’t know exactly what it’s like, when you’re the unwanted outsider digging for and fighting for information. And–.

STAPLETON: [64648:04:50] I’m used to it.

CORPORON: [64648:04:51] Yeah! I mean, judges turn you down. It’s ridiculous that you — the state treasurer! — were not allowed to look at the PERA books.

STAPLETON: [64648:04:58] And wait till they get just Everett, Randy!

CORPORON: [64648:04:59] Oh, it’s going to be awesome! Yeah, I’m excited. I think he’s doing well. Now, yesterday Victor was talking about some new poll that came out, and I looked into it a little bit. It looked like it’s some kind of a marketing Facebook poll. I couldn’t find any way to look at the underlying numbers that claimed he was now in the lead. I looked at Real Clear Politics and some of the other stuff that I use to gauge what’s happening. Seems to me like you are the clear front frontrunner. But you can’t take any chances, can you?

STAPLETON: [64648:05:25] Absolutely not. This is my third statewide election, obviously. When we started in this race with more than a dozen candidates and I was the only person that had run — not once statewide, but twice — and won both times. So, we need to make it three for three. Tuesday will be important. What’s really going to be important though is the next 120 days, and the message of opportunity and the economic future of this state, which is literally at stake in Colorado like never before.

CORPORON: [64648:05:50] Do you have a favorite opponent, assuming that you emerge victorious on Tuesday night — someone that you’d prefer to run against, someone that you think will be more difficult?

STAPLETON: [64648:05:58] Well, I think the differences could not be clearer, and are a really stark in this election. And I think that what we’re seeing is the first competitive Democratic primary since 1974. And the Democratic primaries is having its own civil war of sorts between the far left elements of the party and the more mainstream parts. And both Cary Kennedy and Jared Polis — who I think will finish one-two — are literally running their campaigns to the left of [Governor] Jerry Brown in California. And that should freak out all of Coloradans, as to what the future holds if one of those two is elected.

CORPORON: [64648:06:29] It really does seem like the Democrats are putting all of their marbles on this radical leftist progressive agenda. The election of Donald Trump was so shocking to their conscience, they thought they were going to have at least another four years of Hillary Clinton to keep advancing, and all of that. And all of a sudden, there’s this big roadblock up against the leftist agenda. And I just think they’re mis- understanding, mischaracterizing in Colorado in spite of the multiple citizens that have poured in from California and other liberal places.

STAPLETON: [64648:06:58] Yeah, you know, I think Colorado — actually, I know Colorado is a state that is still fiscally responsible. And that’s why we have — that has been kind of our last line of defense. That’s why we haven’t become California, because California has left its fiscal responsibility at the door more than a decade ago. And we’re seeing the impacts of that, both from an out of control sanctuary city and state policy in California, from a regulation policy, from a tax standpoint. And we do not want to become California without the water. And that’s really what’s at stake this election because the Democrats are promising everything from a single payer healthcare system — Bernie Sanders style health care — that I was the co-chair of, with a former Democratic governor of Colorado to defeat. We defeated it four to one. And Jared Polis is an avid supporter of Bernie Sanders-style healthcare. And I am convinced that it would bankrupt Colorado in less than a year and send businesses fleeing by the dozens, because of the associated payroll and capital gains taxes. Then you take an issue like the the future of the energy industry; I’m for all forms of energy. I’m for solar, I’m for wind, I’m for natural gas, and I’m for oil. But I’m not for subsidizing alternate forms of energy so that hardworking Coloradans see their utility bills go through the roof. And I’m certainly not for signing — like our governor did, a couple of days ago — an executive order so that we’re ceding our regulatory authority to the state of California when it comes to emission standards. It’s just — it’s — it’s — it’s nuts! And it’s beyond the pale, and it will cause economic havoc for all of us in Colorado and for future generations. And I don’t want to see that for my kids, or any Colorado Kids.

CORPORON: [64648:08:28] [His] website is StapletonforColorado.com. We’re talking to State Treasurer [and] gubernatorial candidate, Walker Stapleton. And you know, it’s going to be great to have you on and start drawing those distinctions against the Democrat if you emerge victorious Tuesday night in the Colorado State primary. Right now, you’ve got to sort your way through the other three competitors that you’re running [against]. And you mentioned sanctuary city. And there was some buzz –kind of brief buzz, on 710 [KNUS] over the last couple of days, where I guess Tom Tancredo came on and said something about, you know, “Walker’s not calling me back.” I had dinner with Tom earlier in the week, and he said he was meeting with you the next day. Did that meeting occur?

STAPLETON: [64648:09:03] Absolutely. I’ve been in touch with — Tom has has been in touch with our campaign throughout. And as Tom said at the at the State Assembly, the only reason that he endorsed our candidacy was his belief — which is a true belief — that I am committed to stopping sanctuary cities and stopping Colorado from becoming a sanctuary state. And that’s going to be another huge distinction in this election, Randy, because it is a part of the Democratic Party platform to turn Colorado into a sanctuary state. And I think that with all this stuff with immigration stuff that’s going on at the border. And obviously, nobody — as I’ve said repeatedly — wants to see families separated, but it is an entirely different situation, and it is entirely wrong to conflate what’s going on at the border with somebody who illegally enters this country, commits a felony, and is treated with more rights and protections than a law-abiding U.S. citizen, which to me is unconscionable.

CORPORON: [64648:09:55] Well, I have said publicly that I will be endorsing and voting for you on Tuesday. I unaffiliated so I could get both ballots and see if the strategy — if it made sense, strategically, to go ahead and vote for the least electable Democrat — if that was determinable, or the Republicans that you want to support in this primary. What is your –.

STAPLETON: [64648:10:15] You know what’s amazing is that Cary Kennedy — I have defeated her once, and I would take her on again. But the amount of money that Jared Polis has spent just to win a contested race on the Democratic side is just jaw dropping. I mean, the guy has spent twelve-and-a-half million dollars, which is of his own personal wealth, which is more money than was spent by Republicans, Democrats and all outside groups in the last election for governor, just to win a primary. And so the spending on their side is going to be at meteoric levels heading into the fall and they are literally going to try and buy this election and ruin this state in the process.

CORPORON: [64648:10:50] Yeah, I think there’s no doubt about it, and it seems pretty clear cut to me after watching the Democrat debates, looking at the numbers, looking at Real Clear Politics, that Polis will win that primary. And so, my vote can be best utilized to help Justin Everett, help Walker Stapleton — the people that I think have the most likely chance of winning and can do good things for Colorado. Now, You –.

STAPLETON: [64648:11:09] Absolutely! I mean, this is — I can’t wait to talk about everything from affordable housing, to fixing our infrastructure challenges, to actually properly fixing the health care exchange which is totally unsustainable, and all the big issues of the day. Because if we want to have the Colorado that all of us collectively want to have for future generations, we’re going to need a governor who is willing to be proactive in solving our economic challenges, not reactive, not a consensus-driven leader, but somebody who’s actually willing to roll up their sleeves and fix some of our longstanding economic challenges. And that’s what’s — that, I think, is what Colorado desperately needs. And that is something that I am excited to be able to do as the next governor of the state.

CORPORON: [64648:11:49] When I was promoting this show — Twitter, other social media, e-mails, texts, you know, people always write and say, you know, “Ask the tough questions!” They don’t actually tell you what the tough questions are, but just, you know, “Hit him with some tough questions,” which got me thinking. What is the question — perhaps one of the tougher questions that you get asked, maybe [the question that] you’re least comfortable answering but you know it’s important for people to know, since you’re the one who’s getting bombarded with these questions day after day after day?

STAPLETON: [64648:12:15] Well, I will say that I think it’s funny. This is an interesting business because the higher you climb on the ladder, the more dirt gets kicked in your face. And so people ask me all the time, “Well, how does it feel to be — we think you’re in the lead. You’re the you’re the front runner. You’re going to win this thing. How does it feel?” And I want to tell them it feels like I’m in a gristmill, sucking grain. That’s how it feels. Because –through my nostrils, through my mouth, and everywhere else — because you’re kind of taking shots in all directions. And as you know, there’s — this is the time when kind of all the ads get played out. And there’s ads saying, you know, “Stapleton is too close to Trump!” Then, there are ads saying, you know, “Stapleton is a second cousin to the Bushes! He’s, you know, part of the Never Trump Network, which is what [Victor] Mitchell is putting forward even though Mitchell didn’t even vote for Trump and was in the state legislature, you know, when I wasn’t even in politics. So, there’s just all sorts of different things coming at you. And in most places in the world, most real life pursuits like business or medicine, if that was happening, you’d say, you know, “So-and-so is getting beaten up!” But in politics, I think it’s a mark of success.

CORPORON: [64648:13:21] Yeah, that’s a great point. Do you consider Mitchell to be the most risky challenger for you?

STAPLETON: [64648:13:26] Well, I do, because he spent more than five million dollars of his money in order to try and win the primary. I mean, that is a staggering amount of money. That is more money than Beaupréz and Hickenlooper together spent — by far, by a factor of two or three — in the last election cycle. And so, — and that’s the second highest amount of money that — that has been spent, after Jared Polis. And so, he has been running ads — most of them negative, against me — over the last two weeks. I hope that they’re not going to be enough. I think that we have done a great job of getting some great grassroots support, and support from county commissioners, and the head of the Colorado Sheriffs Association, and the head of the Denver Police Union, and some people that I’m really proud are supporting our candidacy. And I think that’s going to end up carrying the day. But I want to — after next Tuesday, I really want to focus everybody’s attention on the fact that — next Tuesday is great, I certainly hope and plan to be the standard bearer for the Republican Party — but what really is going to matter is the next 120 days and getting everybody on deck, everybody motivated, everybody out to vote for the economic future of Colorado that we all want to see.

CORPORON: [64648:14:27] You know, you and I were together at the TAPS event last week. [it was the] First time I’d ever been. I know you’ve been there a bunch of times.

STAPLETON: [64648:14:33] [it was] Awesome!

CORPORON: [64648:14:33] We weren’t at the same table. And I really appreciated, during downtime, you came around, sat down. You and I got to talk for — I don’t know, gosh!– a good half-hour or so, you know, face to face, eye to eye. You seem entirely genuine to me, entirely legitimate in the positions that you are staking out. I haven’t — you know, we haven’t gotten to know each other well over your two terms as treasurer. We’ve worked on stopping tax increases and the different tools that we use, so I run into you, from time to time. But what is your driving purpose in becoming Colorado governor, especially when you think about the way people try and tie you to the Bush dynasty?

STAPLETON: [64648:15:02] Yeah. My driving force is my kids. I mean, I have — I’m about to — when I get off the phone with you, I’m taking my 10-year-old to a baseball tournament that he’s that he’s playing in. I got to watch him play last night, which is incredibly special for me because I love that. And that’s what has been the biggest sacrifice of running for governor, is having a 10-year-old a 6-year-old and a 4-year-old and not being able to do all their sports on the weekends or ballet recitals. That is the sacrifice of doing this. But I am consistently motivated to try and be successful in this race for governor because this race is about the future of our kids, and our children, and the Colorado that we want to have for future generations — not just for my kids, but for all of Colorado’s kids. And that is what is at stake in this election. Do we want a future in our state where our kids are burdened with debt, where they have less opportunity for free choice when it comes to education, less opportunity for free choice when it comes to health care. These are the issues that are going to define the future. And my kids are motivating for me to go out on the campaign trail every single day and make the point of what is at stake in this election.

CORPORON: [64648:16:07] We are supposed to be talking with Dr. Sebastian Gorka in about ten minutes, so we’ve only got about four or five minutes left with Walker Stapleton. There are people on the line with questions. We’ll get to them in just one second. Keep the questions short, and the answers short, too, so we can move as quickly as we can. I know Tom Tancredo has endorsed you. Ken Buck has endorsed you. You mentioned district attorneys and sheriffs groups, the sheriff — or the police union guy from Denver, I forget his name —

STAPLETON: [64648:16:32] Nick Rogers.

CORPORON: [64648:16:33] Nick Rogers [is a] very impressive guy. Anybody else that people like me and my audience — you know, the Tea Party crowd, the constitutional conservative table-pounders — would be interested in that are backing your campaign?

STAPLETON: [64648:16:42] Well, my pal Chad Day, who is the head of the Colorado Sheriffs Association has been a great friend and supporter. We didn’t go — this is not really an election of, you know, “Hey! I got this endorsement and that!” But the endorsements that are really meaningful to me are the county commissioners. And we have 60 of them — more than 60, now — from more than half the major counties in Colorado because it is those folks that deal with the frustration of what’s going on in the gold dome and the disconnect and the law enforcement. Because law enforcement and public safety is going to be an issue in this election.

CORPORON: [64648:17:05] Yeah, no doubt about it. Let’s try and squeeze in at least a question or two. Dean has been waiting the longest. Dean in Lakewood, welcome to the show!

CALLER DEAN FROM LAKEWOOD: [64648:17:12] Hi, there! Mr. Stapleton, I’m sure you know, the average price of a house in Denver now has gone over — well over — $500,000. The average price for an apartment in the metro area is over $1,600! I see this as a crisis for young people and students. Exactly how is this good for Colorado?

STAPLETON: [64648:17:33] Great question. Before I ever ran for office I ran a publicly traded real estate company. So I have a background in real estate. And this is, in essence, a supply and demand issue. We have not fixed this from a supply side. And the reason we haven’t fixed it, is that the legislature has not put forward meaningful reform of construction defects litigation. And what that means is that residential development has been chilled, because if you’re building a condo unit of — you know, whatever — thirty-five condos, chances are that somebody is going to find a wire that’s misplaced in the bathroom. And the trial lawyers have made tens of millions of dollars in Colorado over lawsuits on construction defects. This requires leadership from the governor’s office and we need to meaningfully fix construction defects. And the only way we fix it is having a right to cure over a 90 or 120 day period for developers. And we need leadership from the governor’s office in order to bring that to bear. But I absolutely agree that this is a crisis. It’s getting to be more of a crisis. And it’s a particularly a crisis for young people who are moving to Colorado that have to plunk down 75 grand in order to buy a house. And if you can’t afford to do that as a downpayment, you’re paying close to 50 percent of your take-home salary in rent! It’s totally unsustainable!

CORPORON: [64648:18:45] And these are going to be great debates in the general election, if you emerge as the nominee In the minute we have left, let’s talk about a couple of primary decision issues that people have to come up with. I’ve heard — I heard Victor Mitchell yesterday say he’s got an A+ rating with the NRA.

STAPLETON: [64648:19:01] [laughs] That is easily verified as false, as you and I both know!

CORPORON: [64648:19:04] Well, yeah, and I –. He says it’s from when he was a legislator for a couple of years. So, that was — what?– that was a decade ago?

STAPLETON: [64648:19:09] Right.

CORPORON: [64648:19:09] And he said that it’s because he didn’t want to fill out any of these surveys. And so I got a copy of the NRA survey, [and] went through — I don’t know — ten of the questions, last week on the show. Do you shy away from filling out pro-life surveys, or NRA surveys? And if not, why not.

STAPLETON: [64648:19:23] No, absolutely not. It’s a matter of –. First of all, my belief about life is because of my faith. And I’m a person of faith. I believe. I take my kids to church every Sunday. It’s an integral part of who I am, as a person. And I’m also a defender of the Second Amendment, and the values that go along with that. And conflating the millions of legal, law-abiding gun owners with the monsters that carry out these heinous acts against our kids or against fellow Americans is absolutely wrong. And, I mean, it’s as simple as that for me, Randy!

CORPORON: [64648:19:58] Yeah, it really is kind of a cleanm clear-cut answer. Well that’s it. That’s all the time we’ve got. I’m glad you gpt a chance to —

STAPLETON: [64648:20:06] I appreciate you — I just want to make a little little announcement, and that is, Tuesday night, we are having what I hope will be a celebratory evening as we pass the primary at least portion of the race. And it’s going to be Tuesday night, 7:00 o’clock, at the Doubletree on Orchard and I-25, when the polls close. And we got some we got some great music, and hopefully great people there. And [we] would love for anybody — any of your listeners, including you — to come out.

CORPORON: [64648:20:32] [That] Sounds great! And I’ll be doing a full week for Chuck and Julie. If you emerge [from the primary], maybe we can talk about the battle against the Democrat nominee, here, in a couple of weeks.

STAPLETON: [64648:20:41] Awesome! Thank you, Randy! [I] appreciate you!

CORPORON: [64648:20:42] You bet. God bless you. Take care, and good, good luck! All right, that’s it. It’s 8:21 [a.m.]. I’m Randy Corporon. When we come back, we are scheduled to be joined — looks like he’s finally done on Fox TV — with former presidential adviser to President Donald J Trump, Dr Sebastian Gorka. He’s next. Stay with us. 710, KNUS.