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Steven Paletz
From Ballotpedia
This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.
Steven Paletz (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Colorado House of Representatives to represent District 6. He lost in the Democratic primary on June 30, 2020.
Paletz completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Paletz's professional experience includes working as an attorney. He earned a bachelor's degree from Yeshiva University and a J.D. from University of Houston Law Center.[1]
Elections
2020
See also: Colorado House of Representatives elections, 2020
General election
General election for Colorado House of Representatives District 6
Incumbent Steven Woodrow defeated William McAleb and Jeffrey Crowe in the general election for Colorado House of Representatives District 6 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Steven Woodrow (D)  | 71.9 | 36,302 |
 | William McAleb (R) | 25.2 | 12,711 | |
| Jeffrey Crowe (L) | 3.0 | 1,508 | ||
| Total votes: 50,521 | |||
| = 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 Colorado House of Representatives District 6
Incumbent Steven Woodrow defeated Steven Paletz and Dan Himelspach in the Democratic primary for Colorado House of Representatives District 6 on June 30, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Steven Woodrow | 45.7 | 11,143 |
 | Steven Paletz | 31.0 | 7,560 | |
 | Dan Himelspach | 23.3 | 5,673 | |
| Total votes: 24,376 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Nathan Adams (D)
- Hazel Gibson (D)
- Robert Messman (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Colorado House of Representatives District 6
William McAleb advanced from the Republican primary for Colorado House of Representatives District 6 on June 30, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | William McAleb | 100.0 | 3,944 |
| Total votes: 3,944 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Libertarian convention
Libertarian convention for Colorado House of Representatives District 6
Jeffrey Crowe advanced from the Libertarian convention for Colorado House of Representatives District 6 on April 13, 2020.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | Jeffrey Crowe (L) | |
| ||||
| = 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. | ||||
Endorsements
To view Paletz's endorsements in the 2020 election, please click here.
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Steven Paletz completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Paletz'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 am a 5th generation Coloradan, father, husband and community leader living in the Hilltop neighborhood of Denver. Community involvement is my passion and I spend a great deal of time working hard to improve our community. I currently serve as Secretary of the Cranmer Park/Hilltop Civic Association and am active with multiple non-profits located in HD6. I have previously served as president of a number of neighborhood and civic associations and worked in all three branches of government at both the federal, state, and local levels. I am an attorney and my experience ensuring that all voices are heard and at the table is essential to being an effective legislator. I also co-chaired the transition team for the sheriff of Harris County - the third most populous county in the country - and have the experience necessary to effectively assist and lead on criminal justice reform in Colorado.
- I'm passionate about resolving Colorado's mental health crisis and ensuring that mental illness is treated with the same seriousness as physical illness. Mental illness is a leading cause of homelessness in Denver, and the state's increase in teen suicide was the highest in America. We must do better. As your representative, I will advocate for mental health funding, speak up to decrease stigma, and ensure the most vulnerable amongst us are supported with accessible, high-quality resources.
- Right now, Colorado ranks 42nd out of 50 states in education spending and 50th in competitive teacher salaries. In House District 6 there are thousands of students who deserve an exceptional education. I will work to ensure that all students, regardless of race, socioeconomic status, or background graduate ready for college and the workplace; and that teachers are paid what they deserve, and can afford to live and work near their schools.
- Rollbacks of emission standards and polluter enforcement during the COVID-19 pandemic is just the most recent in a long line of concerning actions taken by the Federal Government that are damaging Colorado's environment. One of my core priorities is protecting our clean air, land and water by leading on a broad series of legislative initiatives that prioritize water-resource allocation, making public transit carbon free, and meeting the goal of 100 percent renewable electricity by 2040.
Reforming the criminal justice system is an area of personal interest to me. Having served as the co-chair of the transition team for the elected sheriff of Harris County, the third most populous county in the Country, I led significant criminal justice reform efforts after a disastrous prior administration that blamed minority communities for officer involved shootings. The recent murder of George Floyd is an important reminder that our work to reform the criminal justice system and address racial injustice is far from complete. We must work together to eliminate the incidents of police brutality that plague our country and reduce the disparate impact of the criminal justice system on racially diverse communities. I will utilize my experience having executed criminal justice reform in an executive setting to once again bring all parties to the table to execute successful criminal justice reform.
Senator Cory Booker. He has been a friend and mentor for many years, and he has the reputation of being "the nicest person in the U.S. Senate." He is able to lead on a myriad of issues, most recently criminal justice reform. He can work within his own party and across party lines to move our country forward. He is also a genuine person who has not allowed the power that he has been given to change who he is. I am proud to have earned his endorsement of my campaign.
An elected official must always recognize that they are not in this office for themselves, but for all of their constituents, regardless of their political affiliation. An elected official must be open, honest and empathize with their constituents and any other Coloradan they may work with. An elected official must always conduct themselves with integrity and recognize that the state funds they are allocating are not their own, but the tax dollars of the individuals they are chosen to represent.
I am a person of honesty and integrity who always works hard to empathize with those that I am listening to or working with. I have the ability to bring people together through careful listening and thoughtful negotiation. I also have the patience and fortitude to stand firm when addressing an issue that is important to my constituents and the thoughtfulness to know when to relent. I am proud of having worked in a political setting as the co-chair of the transition team for the Sheriff of the third most populous county in the country and have executed criminal justice reform in a bureaucratic setting; I have also prioritized public service and community leadership throughout my entire career.
Our state's greatest challenges include addressing the economic ramifications of COVID-19 and addressing our mental health crisis. The latter demands that we address the highest increase of adolescent suicide of any state in the country. Additionally, we must address our climate crisis, which includes moving towards renewable energy sources and protecting and preserving our land, air and water.
Absolutely. I believe that all aspects of politics are built on relationships. In order to be a successful legislator, you don't just need the right ideas, but you must also build relationships characterized by trust, integrity and honesty. Moving legislation forward is not a solo process, but one that requires the utilization of positive and strong relationships with other legislators from both parties in order to ensure your success on behalf of your district.
Redistricting must be a non-partisan process that is conducted outside of the political sphere. Colorado established an independent redistricting commission in 2018, and I look forward to seeing the results of the first major redistricting process since this ballot measure was adopted.
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.
See also
2020 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on June 22, 2020
Current members of the Colorado House of Representatives
Leadership
Speaker of the House:Julie McCluskie
Majority Leader:Monica Duran
Representatives
District 1
Javier Mabrey (D)
District 2
Steven Woodrow (D)
District 3
Meg Froelich (D)
District 4
Cecelia Espenoza (D)
District 5
Alex Valdez (D)
District 6
Sean Camacho (D)
District 7
Jennifer Bacon (D)
District 8
District 9
Emily Sirota (D)
District 10
Junie Joseph (D)
District 11
Karen McCormick (D)
District 12
Kyle Brown (D)
District 13
Julie McCluskie (D)
District 14
Rose Pugliese (R)
District 15
Scott Bottoms (R)
District 16
Rebecca Keltie (R)
District 17
Regina English (D)
District 18
Amy Paschal (D)
District 19
Dan Woog (R)
District 20
Jarvis Caldwell (R)
District 21
Mary Bradfield (R)
District 22
Kenneth DeGraaf (R)
District 23
Monica Duran (D)
District 24
Lisa Feret (D)
District 25
Tammy Story (D)
District 26
Meghan Lukens (D)
District 27
Brianna Titone (D)
District 28
Sheila Lieder (D)
District 29
Shannon Bird (D)
District 30
Rebekah Stewart (D)
District 31
Jacque Phillips (D)
District 32
Manny Rutinel (D)
District 33
District 34
Jenny Willford (D)
District 35
Lorena Garcia (D)
District 36
Michael Carter (D)
District 37
Chad Clifford (D)
District 38
Gretchen Rydin (D)
District 39
Brandi Bradley (R)
District 40
Naquetta Ricks (D)
District 41
Jamie Jackson (D)
District 42
Mandy Lindsay (D)
District 43
Robert Marshall (D)
District 44
Anthony Hartsook (R)
District 45
Max Brooks (R)
District 46
Tisha Mauro (D)
District 47
Ty Winter (R)
District 48
Carlos Barron (R)
District 49
Lesley Smith (D)
District 50
Ryan Gonzalez (R)
District 51
Ron Weinberg (R)
District 52
Yara Zokaie (D)
District 53
District 54
Matt Soper (R)
District 55
Rick Taggart (R)
District 56
Chris Richardson (R)
District 57
District 58
Larry Suckla (R)
District 59
Katie Stewart (D)
District 60
Stephanie Luck (R)
District 61
Eliza Hamrick (D)
District 62
Matthew Martinez (D)
District 63
Dusty Johnson (R)
District 64
Vacant
District 65
Lori Sander (R)
Democratic Party (43)
Republican Party (21)
Vacancies (1)
