March 05, 2009 12:46 AM UTC

Meet John Flerlage

• 8 Comments
• by: Steve Harvey

(More “citizen journalism” from Polsters! – promoted by Colorado Pols)

John Flerlage, one of the two Democratic candidates for Congress from CD-6, joined me this morning on a windy Starbuck’s patio for a cup of coffee and a discussion concerning the issues that confront us, the policies that would best address those issues, and the politics of winning in CD-6. Here are some excerpts from that conversation:

SH: John, tell me why you feel you are qualified to represent CD-6 in the United States Congress.

JF: I’ve worked very hard to prepare myself for this. I served in the Marine Corps for over 22 years, my last few years in the reserves. I’ve worked to get to know the issues of Colorado, local issues…. National issues I was already fairly familiar with. I worked at the grass roots level, the House District level, 28, as a house district officer and precinct committee person, so I know about organizing; I know what it takes at the grass roots level. I worked my way up to becoming an Obama delegate, so I understand the party system of organizing and I understand the issues. I thought long and hard about where I can best serve. I’m not trying to build a political resume. I think I can make the biggest difference in Congress.

SH: What issues do you think are most compelling right now, and what ideas do you have about how to address those issues?

JF: Well, the biggest problem we have right now, in the short term, is the economy, and in the long term, as far as economics goes, it’s balancing the federal budget and reducing our federal deficit. The most compelling issue today, always in the background: Anyone who lives in this area remembers April 20, 1999, and September 11, 2001, local and national tragedies. Safety and security are always number one. But, right now, we need to deal with the economy. I think the stimulus package, along with the other two legs of that, The TARP and stabilization of the housing market, are on the right track. I’m a strong supporter of the president’s moves on the economy, and we’re going to have to give it time. The success of the economy, the success of those programs, are critical….

SH: What kinds of ideas or initiatives do you have in mind personally that you would like to promote or put forward?

JF: In terms of national security, on the national level, I think we need what I call a “fifth branch of service,” a service that may be in the DOD, may be in the State Department, to deal with critical problems overseas, specifically the nation-building types of things. I think the Marine Corps may have been the best police department Felluga ever had, but the Marine Corps shouldn’t be the police department in Felluga. So we need a nation-building cadre that can, for instance, go out and oversee elections in new democracies.

Other initiatives have to do with new energy policies. I think we need a national energy plan. I have an initiative I call “getting government off the grid,” whether it be on the micro-level with schools, or on the macro-level, with large military installations.

I think we need to go back and take the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, most recently known as “No Child Left Behind…,” I think some good things came out of that, accountability, but we need to start over and we need to make sure that those sort of accountability programs are actually educating children. Steps to take along those lines would be longitudinal tracking through the grades; the governor’s P-20 Council, that’s one of their recommendations. We have all of the other recommendations that the P-20 Council has come up with, so I would like to follow up on the education initiatives, and at the federal level, start over with No Child Left Behind.

SH: How do you plan to deal with the conventional wisdom that you’re a long-shot in CD-6, and that Mike Coffman is a shoe-in in 2010?

JF: I think that, in terms of organizing, we have to learn what President Obama’s campaign taught us: Using data systems, computers, internet, you have to reach out to all of the people, and you have to do it early. My campaign is responsible for running a competent, well-run campaign, but I think that the formal party structure needs to be much more active and organized. I know that all of the new house district chairs in this district are very excited and working right now on doing just that. From north to south, through Arapahoe County and Jefferson County, it’s turning blue, more blue all the time; Arapahoe County is in the forefront there. And I think that Douglas County has become much more organized; Highlands Ranch Democrats have only 8 precincts without precinct committee people, which is a remarkable feat. So, those sorts of things are happening. Using data systems, getting the word out, getting my name out, is number one. Building some momentum. And what we’re going to have to get, as everyone knows down here, is a substantial number of unaffiliated votes. I think my background, my involvement in various organizations, being a retired marine and otherwise, will allow me to get a substantial portion of the unaffiliated and even a certain percentage of Republicans to vote for me. I think pragmatic Republicans will vote for me.

SH: What strategy do you have for reaching out to them, getting your name on the grid, on their radar so to speak?

JF: I’ve spent the last few weeks getting to know all of the Democrats in the formal party structure, going to meetings among Democrats, and that’s the first step. Going to unaffiliated voters: it’s a lot of hard work. It’s building a data base, calling people, having volunteers who are familiar with organizations, such as going into homeowners associations, getting in front of unaffiliated people; I have to get out in the community, at the malls, at the corners, on the light-rail system…, like I said, getting out in front of groups like home owners, and apartment complexes, and maybe some of the retired citizens organizations, those unaffiliated groups I have to work hard to get…. And, most of all, getting in front of business groups. I have a list of many businesses I want to get in front of. I want to emphasize here that, as you’ve probably picked up on, I’d love to talk to any businessperson, and show him or her that my programs are best for business in this community.

SH: Is there anything else you’d like to share with the readers of Colorado Pols?

JF: When people go through my priorities on my website, and whenever they hear me talk, they hear me talk about security, rights, prosperity, and quality of life. I really want to make sure people understand what I’m talking about there. I’d talked about security both at the local and the national level. When I talk about rights, though, I’m talking about the right to health care, the right to a quality education, the right to a living wage. Those I consider rights. And, as important, equal rights for everyone, and the right to choose. I want everyone to know where I stand on those issues.

Quality of life is just as important as everything else on here, because it’s the protection of our environment, and the investment in our infrastructure. I consider those priorities to affect everyone in our district.

(note from Steve: Due to the wind blowing on the microphone of the tape recorder, some phrases were inaudible. Some of them very powerful and well-said, but I did not feel able to reconstruct them with perfect accuracy, and so choose not to run the risk of putting words into John’s mouth. My apologies to John for the loss of those statements.)