McCormick has served in the state House since 2021. She is currently the chair of the Agriculture, Water and Natural Resources Committee. She earned a doctorate in veterinary medicine from the University of Florida and has most recently worked as a communications coach at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Colorado State University. She has taught English at Intercambio, a language school in Longmont. She has twin daughters and said her eldest child is non-binary.
She is running unopposed in the Democratic primary.
Why are you running for the state legislature?
I am running for this office to continue the work to represent hard working Coloradans. Having lived in the same community for 30 years, I see the struggle for affordable housing, for transportation options, for childcare and more around Longmont. Also we raised our three kids in this community and I want to do everything in my power to leave them a livable and safe world. I care deeply about protections for the LGBTQ community and others who experience discrimination in our state.
The issue of homelessness played a central role in Boulder’s municipal election in 2023. Yet, homelessness is influenced by factors outside a city’s control, such as the high cost of living and lack of mental health treatment capacity. What would you do at the state level to address homelessness in cities like Boulder?
We have worked hard to address our under-resourced mental health system in the state over the past four years. We have increased funding, supported the creation of more mental health treatment beds, and created a Behavioral Health Administration to work to make the system work better for both providers and patients. I will continue to support systems that send qualified mental health responders to 911 calls when it is more helpful to do so than to send law enforcement alone. We have a great co-responder program here in Longmont, called CORE, that will need continued support.
In the 2023 city election, Boulder elected its mayor using a form of ranked-choice voting. Proponents of this voting method want to extend it to elect candidates for the Boulder City Council. They argue that to do this, state lawmakers must mandate the Colorado Secretary of State to establish new regulations enabling the city and county to conduct elections using a multi-winner form of ranked-choice voting. Would you support such legislation? Why or why not?
In 2021, we did pass a law at the General Assembly, HB21-1071, which required the Secretary of State to establish rules setting the minimum requirements and specifications for a ranked-choice voting system to be eligible to be used by a statutory city or town or a home rule municipality. I voted for that bill.
Earlier this year, lawmakers passed the “just cause” eviction bill, marking a significant legal change in renters’ rights. Some lawmakers want to further these protections by repealing a Colorado law that prohibits cities like Boulder from capping rent increases, a measure they believe would improve housing affordability. What are your thoughts on repealing this law?
The details and modeling of how the repeal of that prohibition would be expected to work on a large scale would be important to know. As legislators, it is critical that we try to look at what the potential unintended consequences could be and take a thoughtful, measured approach to the solutions we consider. Therefore I would want much more information before making a decision on this idea.
Last session, lawmakers introduced a bill that would have required state regulators to stop issuing new oil and gas drilling permits by 2030, in line with global commitments to zero out fossil fuel emissions responsible for global warming by midcentury. Gov. Jared Polis and many Democratic legislators were skeptical of the bill, and it was ultimately voted down in committee. What are your thoughts on restricting oil and gas drilling in Colorado for climate and public health reasons?
The Front Range ozone issue is severe and restricting oil and gas operations and penalizing for pollutants must continue until we see results. I do believe that counties need to keep their voice strong when it comes to oil and gas permitting. I support a county’s authority to restrict drilling through having control over forced pooling of mineral interests which is why I voted for SB24-185, Protections Mineral Interest Owners Forced Pooling. This was a Boulder County priority and I am glad that it passed. We need to do everything in our power to move to a clean energy economy by encouraging electrification of all of our energy needs. Our climate and the future health of our citizens and our planet depend on us continuing to make these changes.