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Elliott Hood
Elliott Hood (Democratic Party) is an at-large member of the University of Colorado Board of Regents. He assumed office on January 7, 2025. His current term ends in 2031.
Hood (Democratic Party) ran for election for an at-large seat of the University of Colorado Board of Regents. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Hood completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Elliott Hood earned a degree from University of Colorado Boulder. His career experience includes working as a fifth grade teacher and as a school attorney. Hood serves as the Chair of the Boulder Parks and Recreation Advisory Board.[1]
Elections
2024
See also: Colorado State Board of Regents election, 2024
General election
General election for University of Colorado Board of Regents At-large District
Elliott Hood defeated Eric Rinard, T.J. Cole, and Thomas Reasoner in the general election for University of Colorado Board of Regents At-large District on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Elliott Hood (D)  | 50.5 | 1,478,661 |
 | Eric Rinard (R) | 46.5 | 1,363,271 | |
 | T.J. Cole (Unity Party) | 2.0 | 59,612 | |
| Thomas Reasoner (Approval Voting Party) | 1.0 | 29,232 | ||
| Total votes: 2,930,776 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for University of Colorado Board of Regents At-large District
Elliott Hood defeated Charles Johnson in the Democratic primary for University of Colorado Board of Regents At-large District on June 25, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Elliott Hood | 52.1 | 229,323 |
 | Charles Johnson | 47.9 | 210,556 | |
| Total votes: 439,879 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Luis Licon (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for University of Colorado Board of Regents At-large District
Eric Rinard advanced from the Republican primary for University of Colorado Board of Regents At-large District on June 25, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Eric Rinard | 100.0 | 376,965 |
| Total votes: 376,965 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign finance
Endorsements
To view Hood's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here. Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Hood in this election.
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Elliott Hood completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Hood's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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- I'm committed to keeping CU affordable and accessible. I believe deeply in the promise of higher education and every qualified scholar to have the chance to attend our state’s flagship university system. But soaring tuition, fees, and housing costs price out many from pursuing a college degree. As a Regent, I will strive to control tuition, offer affordable housing for our university community, and expand financial aid. My hope is that no student is denied a CU education due to financial constraints. I'll also advocate for the repeal of TABOR so we can properly fund our public schools.
- I will fight to protect academic freedom at CU so we don’t end up like Florida, Texas, and other states where academic freedom is under assault by politicians who are taking away majors they don’t like, banning equity programs, whitewashing history, and pushing an ideological agenda on our students. I think that is fundamentally wrong and undermines the core purpose of pursuing higher education.
- We need to get guns out of our classrooms. CU permits concealed carry on campus, allowing individuals to bring guns to class. This is unnecessary, unsafe, and disruptive. In fact, classrooms are the last place we should allow guns. Both CU students and faculty, along with state leaders, have advocated for a gun ban on campus. As a Regent, I will be a strong voice for banning concealed carry at CU. The people of this state deserve elected leaders who will fight for common-sense gun control, and I am committed to doing just that.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign website
Hood’s campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
ELLIOTT'S PLATFORM Learn more about what I will fight for as your next CU Regent At-Large Make CU more affordable and accessible A college education can transform lives. We must ensure that every qualified scholar in CO can get a college degree without being burdened with debt. Let’s keep tuition in check, provide more affordable student housing, lower the cost of books, lock in tuition rates starting Freshman year, and build up our endowment and use that money to drive down the cost of tuition. Let’s promote programs that help students bridge to college and persist to graduation, especially for first-generation college students and students from low-income backgrounds. We also need to push for more state funding and fix TABOR so we can better fund higher education in CO, now ranked near the bottom in the nation in higher-ed funding. Ban concealed carry on campus CU permits concealed carry on campus. This is fundamentally wrong. No matter how you feel about guns—whether you are an ardent defender of the 2nd Amendment or think all guns should be banned—we can all reasonably agree that there are certain sensitive places that guns simply do not belong, and campuses and classrooms are among those places. We have the authority under state and federal law to ban conceal carry, and as Regent I will be a voice for doing so. Make CU more sustainable I will push the university to become a more sustainable enterprise. To start, we need address the climate crisis by setting ambitious and measurable targets for reducing our carbon emissions. As CU Regent, I will push the university system to set a goal of net zero emissions by 2050 and eliminating direct emissions by 2040. To accomplish this goal, we will need to invest in clean, renewable energy sources for our buildings, divest from fossil fuel securities, and use our multi-billion procurement power to contract with green businesses. We also need to better conserve water—our planet’s most precious natural resource—and protect our environment. Support collective bargaining for our workers As a former union worker myself, I believe that every employee deserves a voice in the workplace and should have the right to collectively bargain and join a union. Unions help employees obtain fair wages, working conditions, and benefits, including healthcare and retirement plans. Union workers are happier, more invested in their employer's success, and often stay on the job longer. They also can partner with employers to efficiently address concerns or maximize opportunities in the workplace. Some employees at CU are currently unable to collectively bargain and unionize. As regent, I will work to change this policy and support the ability of all CU workers to collectively bargain and unionize. It's the right thing to do for our workers, who are essential to our university's success. Protect academic freedom Academic freedom ensures that students and faculty can pursue knowledge without interference from politicians–a core value of higher education. Yet academic freedom is under assault in states across the country: conservative leaders are banning what can be taught and limiting faculty and student speech in pursuit of a partisan political agenda. As Regent, I will fight for academic freedom and ensure that CU continues to protect this core value of our university system. Promote diversity, equity, and inclusion We must build a more diverse body of students, faculty, and staff and address lingering gaps in recruiting, achievement, and graduation. We also must build a welcoming environment for everyone to share perspectives and learn from differences. That is what DEI is all about. The Regents recently enacted a policy that commits the university system to promoting DEI and directs our campuses to set ambitious and measurable goals for DEI. I celebrate this policy, but now the hard work begins to give it some teeth. As Regent, I will work with our administrators, faculty, and students to make strides in diversity, equity, and inclusion, especially in areas where the data shows we need to do better, such as improving our retention rates for students and faculty of color and increasing geographic diversity among students. Support athletics and our student athletes CU athletics is a big part of the university’s culture, is a huge driver of alumni engagement, and generates revenue for the university. Our student athletes, whether in NCAA or club sports, not only make us proud but also learn important skills like diligence and leadership that will serve them well in career and in life. As Regent, I will be a strong supporter of CU athletics and our student athletes.[2] |
” |
| —Elliott Hood’s campaign website (2024)[3] | ||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
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External links
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Candidate University of Colorado Board of Regents At-large District |
Officeholder University of Colorado Board of Regents At-large District |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ ELLIOTT HOOD FOR CU REGENT, "About," accessed June 20, 2024
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ ELLIOTT HOOD FOR CU REGENT, “Issues,” accessed June 20, 2024
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Lesley Smith (D) |
University of Colorado Board of Regents At-large District 2025-Present |
Succeeded by - |
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State of Colorado Denver (capital) |
|---|---|
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