My name is Greg Lopez, and I am running for governor as an unaffiliated candidate because I believe Colorado needs a government focused less on political parties and more on solving the problems affecting our daily lives. 

I come from humble beginnings. My parents and grandparents worked in the fields. I learned that nothing is guaranteed, hard work matters, and families should have the opportunity to build a better life for the next generation. 

I served our country in the United States Air Force. I became mayor of Parker at 27 and helped lead a rapidly growing community through many of the same challenges communities across Colorado face today: growth, infrastructure, economic development and maintaining quality of life. 

I later served as Colorado Director of the U.S. Small Business Administration, led the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, served on the E-470 board, own a small business and represented Colorado’s 4th Congressional District in Congress. Those experiences taught me something important: good ideas do not belong exclusively to Republicans, Democrats or Independents. Good ideas are simply good ideas. That is why I chose a different path in this election.

Colorado doesn’t need a governor whose first question is, “What does my party want?” The first question should be: What is best for the people of Colorado? My governing principles are simple: People Over Politics. Do No Harm. Do What Works.

If elected, I will focus on three priorities.

First, make Colorado affordable again.

Working families should not have to leave Colorado because they can no longer afford to live here. Housing, insurance, property taxes, utilities, health care and groceries are consuming too much of family budgets. In our mountain communities, the housing challenge is particularly serious. Teachers, firefighters, nurses, law enforcement officers and hospitality workers should have a reasonable opportunity to live in the communities they serve.

I want Colorado to build starter homes. Homes that are 1,100 square feet and cost $235,000. Reduce unnecessary regulatory costs and fees, and work with local governments and the private sector to expand workforce housing. But I don’t believe Denver should dictate the same solution to every community. Mountain towns, rural Colorado and the Front Range face different challenges. Local communities need flexibility to determine what works for them.

Second, protect Colorado’s water and rural communities.

Water is Colorado’s lifeblood. The next governor will face enormously important decisions involving the Colorado River. My position is straightforward: Colorado must protect its water rights while recognizing that we cannot allocate water that nature does not provide. I will defend

Colorado’s water rights and insist that decisions involving the Colorado River be based on sound science, actual hydrology and respect for agriculture. We cannot solve our water challenges by sacrificing the farmers, ranchers and rural communities that help feed our state and nation.

The same principle applies to wildlife management. On wolves, I will stop additional translocations. Ranchers deserve transparency, effective management and fair compensation when livestock are lost.

Finally, Colorado must get its financial house in order. 

Government cannot continually spend beyond sustainable revenues and then ask families and businesses to make up the difference. We need to examine programs, eliminate waste and duplication, protect essential services and demand measurable results from taxpayer dollars.

I am not running to govern Colorado from the political left. I am not running to govern Colorado from the political right. I am running to move Colorado forward. And that’s why I’m offering Colorado a different path.

Now ask yourself one question: Are you better off today than you were eight years ago?

Is housing more affordable? Is your insurance cheaper? Are your groceries cheaper? Do you feel safer? Do you have more confidence in your government? If your answer is no, why would you vote for more of the same?

The other candidates represent one political party. I represent a different way of governing. 

As an unaffiliated candidate, I answer to you — not a political party. We don’t have to agree on everything to work together. Colorado doesn’t need more political warfare. We need problem solvers. That is the kind of governor I intend to be.

Greg Lopez is an unaffiliated candidate running for Colorado governor in the Nov. 3 midterm election. Lopez previously served as the Republican U.S. representative for Colorado’s 4th Congressional District from 2024 to 2025.