Colorado House District 52: Incumbent Kipp challenged by GOP hopeful Vicino

This fall, voters in Colorado House District 52 will decide if they want to be represented at the state level by incumbent representative Cathy Kipp or Deborah “Dee Dee” Vicino.

Kipp, a Democrat who has served in the legislature since 2019, has focused her time at the Capitol largely on bills to improve public education, mitigate the impacts of climate change on Colorado and increase housing affordability. She became a state representative after serving on the Poudre School District Board of Education for seven years, with one stint as president.

Vicino, a Republican who has never held public office, ran for the Thompson School District Board of Education in 2021 (she lost by about 3,000 votes).

Vicino said after her school board bid, she didn’t plan on running for office again, but after being approached by the Republican party and serving as house chair for the district — meaning she was looking for someone else to run — she decided it was the right time to run “as an act of service.”

District 52 covers the area of Fort Collins roughly from Carpenter Road to Mulberry Street on the east side of town and from Carpenter to Horsetooth Road on the west side.

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Both candidates prioritize public education, but in different ways

If reelected, Kipp told the Coloradoan she hopes to continue to advocate for better public education. Last session, Kipp supported at least five education bills, ranging from a bill to improve the teacher workforce to one that improved privacy protections for educators.

Looking forward, she wants to find ways to specifically address the learning loss that accompanied COVID-19.

Vicino also wants to prioritize public education, if elected, and is focusing more on the parental rights element of it. She wants to ensure that parents “have the freedom to choose how and where their children are educated” and that students are receiving a quality education.

Vicino also wants to address learning loss.

“We took a huge hit in academics over COVID, and our kids and Poudre have not bounced back,” Vicino said. “ … We are not back to pre-pandemic levels, and I would really like to see a stronger focus on academics and getting our kids not just to where they were before the pandemic, but even better than where they were before the pandemic.”

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Other priorities: Kipp casts a wide net; Vicino looks to address crime, small business success

In addition to education, Kipp said she hopes to support actions to mitigate the impacts of climate change. She also mentioned improving access to behavioral and mental health for Coloradans and addressing the continuing fentanyl and opioid crisis.

That said, she recognizes that her priorities change the longer she serves.

In response to the high increase of the cost of living in Fort Collins, Kipp said she shifted to supporting affordable housing and passed bills to help people living in both mobile homes and tiny homes as alternative housing options.

“I always tell everybody who I legislate for I am a mile wide and about an inch deep, so there's lots of stuff I care about,” she said. “I've done bills on consumer protection, I've done some affordable housing, education, I've done behavioral health, I mean, you get to tackle a lot of different areas.”

Last session, Kipp served on the House Education, Finance, and Appropriations committees.

Vicino told the Coloradoan that her priorities other than education are keeping small businesses operating free from government overreach, allowing Coloradans to live free from "unnecessary taxes, fees and unnecessary regulations” and addressing crime.

She sees the state’s response to crime as a strong example of what she wants to change about the legislature: She doesn’t believe issues, or their solutions, are being looked at from all angles.

“The laws that we passed (around crime) were very well-intentioned, to give people a chance and to give them a break and to help people get mental health services and get drug rehabilitation services,” she said.

“Unfortunately, (there are) unanticipated consequences … and it's just resulted in revolving doors of criminals, very little consequences, very little repercussions, and we need to really crack down and protect our quality of life here in Colorado, protect our citizens and prosecute criminals.”

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Candidates stand with their parties on major issues

With regard to current political topics, Kipp stands predominantly with her party.

She voted in favor of the state’s Reproductive Health Equity Act last session — which secured women’s right to abortions in Colorado, hopes to enforce things like background checks and waiting periods for guns to address growing fears of gun violence, and wants to address inflation and affordability by finding as many areas as the legislature can to save Coloradans money.

“We've done a bunch of things that were like little things to save people a little bit on fees here and there … Trying to figure out ways for people to be able to live their lives in a way that is sustainable and feasible,” Kipp said about the legislature’s work on addressing inflation.

“Even some of the climate change stuff we do, it helps reduce costs because if you are able to get something that's more energy efficient then you have lower energy costs. There's so many little things.”

Similarly, Vicino stands strong with the Republican party on major issues.

With regard to abortion, she told the Coloradoan that she wishes the issue would’ve been taken to constituents and said she’d like to see more of a focus on pregnancy prevention and adoption. She thinks the state needs to better enforce its already “stringent” gun laws and place a greater focus on warning signs for mass shootings. And she thinks the state should address inflation by spending its money more strategically.

“We need to rein in those unnecessary taxes, rein in those unnecessary fees and put more money in the pockets of people so that they can get through this difficult time and their quality of life is preserved and protected,” she said.

Want to know more about the candidates?

Kipp has raised $54,025.79 to Vicino’s $28,022.50, according to campaign finance records as of the Sept. 19 filing date.

Kipps’ largest donors have been the Colorado Professional Fire Fighters Small Donor Fund ($3,000), Colorado Medical Society Small Donor Committee ($2,500) and the Poudre Education Association ($1,000).

Kipp has been endorsed by the Colorado Education Association, Fort Collins Mayor Jeni Arndt and 2nd Congressional District Rep. Joe Neguse. To see all of her endorsements and learn more about her campaign, visit https://cathykipp.com/.

Vicino’s largest donor was the Larimer County Republican Party ($13,000). Other than that, she has received no donations greater than $400, and those donations were made by individuals.

Vicino has been endorsed by Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith, Colorado District 15 Sen. Rob Woodward and former Fort Collins Mayor Ray Martinez. To see all of her endorsements and learn more about her campaign, visit https://www.deedeeforcolorado.com/.

Molly Bohannon covers city government for the Coloradoan. Follow her on Twitter @molboha or contact her at mbohannon@coloradoan.com. Support her work and that of other Coloradoan journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Colorado House District 52: Cathy Kipp faces GOP Dee Dee Vicino