Victor Marx is the Republican candidate running for Colorado governor in the Nov. 3 midterm election. The Steamboat Pilot & Today asked each candidate five questions about some of the key issues facing the Western Slope.

Question 1: Colorado’s High Country has a severe housing crisis that is pushing out working locals, yet much of the housing legislation that has been passed in recent years has been focused on Front Range communities. As governor, what efforts would you take to bring down costs and increase access to housing in the High Country? 

Marx: I’ve sat with teachers, nurses and ranchers on the Western Slope who can’t afford to live where they work. That’s heartbreaking, and it’s a failure of Denver politicians who write housing policy like our mountain communities don’t exist.

Here’s the truth: the High Country housing crisis is a regulatory crisis. I’ll cut the red tape driving up construction costs, end the unfunded mandates forcing counties to raise local taxes and give mountain communities the flexibility to build workforce housing their way, not the Front Range way.

I’ll also make sure Western Slope voices are in the room when housing legislation gets written, not added as an afterthought after Denver gets everything it wants.

Colorado doesn’t end at Interstate 25. Under my administration, neither will our solutions. Working families deserve to stay in the communities they built.

Question 2: Rural resort areas navigate a delicate balance between the tourism industry and the need for long-term housing for locals. Do you support legislation to tax and/or limit vacant homes and short-term rentals? Please provide a “yes” or “no” answer to this question before expanding on your reasoning. 

Marx: No, but let me explain, because this deserves a straight answer.

I don’t believe the state should be in the business of punishing property owners with new taxes or heavy-handed limits on how they use what they’ve earned. That’s government overreach.

But I absolutely understand the frustration. Locals are being priced out of their own communities, and that’s a real problem that demands real solutions.

The answer isn’t taxing people more; it’s removing the barriers that make building workforce housing so expensive and slow. Streamline permitting, cut regulatory red tape, end unfunded mandates on counties and give local communities, not Denver bureaucrats, the tools to create attainable housing that fits their needs.

Local governments should have flexibility here. But a new state tax on property owners isn’t the conservative solution, it’s just another government squeeze. We can do better. 

Question 3: The fight over the future of the Colorado River is likely to spill into the next governor’s administration. What do you believe is the best path forward for Colorado’s water security, and how will you work to protect residents’ critical water rights?

Marx: The Colorado River fight isn’t coming, it’s already here, and Colorado needs a governor who will show up swinging, not negotiating away Western Slope water behind closed doors.

My position is clear: no transfer of Western Slope water to Front Range interests. I’ll fight to expand state investment in water storage and conservation infrastructure, modernize our aging systems and make sure Colorado is negotiating from a position of strength in any interstate compact discussions.

I’ll also stop the progressive war on farmers and ranchers who depend on these water rights to survive. They built this state. Their rights will be protected under my administration.

Water policy in Colorado for too long has been made by people who’ve never touched a ditch or seen a well. That changes on day one. 

Question 4: Wolf reintroduction remains a contentious issue in Colorado with lawmakers bringing concerns about program cost, transparency, management and impacts on the Western Slope. What actions, if any, would you support to alter the wolf reintroduction program and why?

Marx: Colorado’s wolf reintroduction was an ideological decision, not a scientific one. Activists and lobbyists pushed it through, and Western Slope ranchers are paying the price. That’s a failure, plain and simple, and it deserves real action, not more excuses.

As governor, I’ll clean house on the boards and commissions making these decisions. No more activists with an agenda. No more lobbyists working for special interests. I’ll appoint real scientists, real outdoorsmen and women, people who actually understand this land and the people who work it.

Immediately: Ranchers who’ve lost livestock deserve fast, fair compensation and this program needs serious reform based on honest data, not ideology.

Colorado’s wildlife policy should serve all Coloradans, including the ranchers and farmers who’ve been ignored for too long. 

Question 5: Colorado continues to face a structural deficit in its state budget, and this year the legislature was forced to cut spending on Medicaid, affordable housing and other key programs. As governor, how would you put the state on a more sustainable spending path while protecting programs and services that Coloradans rely on?

Marx: Colorado doesn’t have a revenue problem; it has a spending problem. A $47 billion budget that keeps growing while families struggle to make ends meet isn’t leadership, it’s negligence.

As governor, I’ll use the veto pen. I’ll do line-item review on everything. If it doesn’t benefit Coloradans directly, it’s out. No sacred cows, no backroom deals.

Here’s the thing, though: When you cut wasteful bureaucracy and bloated administrative spending first, you protect the programs people actually depend on. Medicaid, roads, public safety. Those aren’t on the chopping block. The layers of government overhead that nobody can even explain? That’s where we start.

I’ve run a lean nonprofit for years. I know how to stretch a dollar and deliver results without waste.

Colorado families balance their budgets every month. Their state government should do the same. It’s that simple.  

Ballots for the Nov. 3 Colorado midterm were mailed to voters starting Friday, Oct. 2. To check your voter registration status, visit GoVoteColorado.gov.