Michael Johnston

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Mike Johnston (born November 17, 1974) announced his candidacy for Governor of Colorado in early 2017. He is a former state legislator in the Colorado Senate, representing Senate District 33 in Northeast Denver. [1]

Biography

[2]

Issue Ideas & Proposals

Education

In response to an interview question asking what the most important issues are in the governor's race, he cited the need to create a system of education that helps to train and re-train workers across their lifetimes as being "by far the biggest one". Second was the need to create a world-class K-12 and early childhood education system. [3]

Johnston is running on a "Lifetime Opportunity Promise", which would allow any Coloradan to access two years of tuition-free career or post-secondary training in exchange for "meaningful service to the state". [4]

Johnston has pledged to reform TABOR to send more money to public schools. [5]

Environment

Johnston's campaign website states that Colorado should lead the nation in moving towards a clean energy economy, cites his record of legislative achievements toward that end, but does not specify new policies. It also states that as governor, he would "fight any effort to sell off our state’s public lands".

Gun Reform & Safety

On February 12, 2018, Johnston spoke out about his plans to strengthen the legislative framework around gun safety & ownership in Colorado. While citing his personal and family history of gun ownership as evidence of his sympathy for hunters and recreational shooters, he said that as governor he would focus on three core areas of legislation:

  • Keep guns away from people who are a danger to themselves and others. This would likely mean allowing temporary restraining orders on gun ownership to be imposed on individuals deemed by family members or police officers to be a danger to themselves or others. It would also mean closing the "boyfriend loophole": a provision in current Colorado law in which abusers who were dating their victims but not married to, cohabiting with, or sharing children with them are not considered to be "domestic abusers", and therefore are not given a lifetime ban on gun ownership. Finally, Johnston said he would work to expand the restrictions on hate crime perpetrators, but including those who may not have been convicted but have "demonstrated their support of hate-related ideas".
  • Ban weapons and accessories designed for assault and mass murder. Johnston specifically cited completing work in Colorado to ban bump stocks.
  • Make Colorado schools the safest in the country by helping schools identify challenges before they turn violent. Johnson said that includes helping districts with threat assessment plans, suicide prevention, and improving the Safe-To-Tell reporting system, an anonymous tool for students to report others who may be threat to themselves or others. However, Johnston said he supported current Colorado law allowing schools to contract with its employees to provide armed security, saying that this can be a particularly effective policy in small school districts in which one person serves in several administrative roles. [6]

Criminal Justice Reform

Johnston has put forward a three-point plan around safety, prevention, and justice:

  • Safety. Grow police forces and increase community policing - "More police officers allow for more high-quality community policing... officers need to be allowed more time to spend in neighborhoods and at community gatherings building relationships." New recruiting pushes will focus on increasing the diversity of Colorado police so they represent the communities they serve.
  • Prevention. Stop criminalizing drug addiction, expand drug courts, stop criminalizing mental illness, invest in workforce development in prison and upon reentry. Every Coloradan whose presenting charge is drug-related will have the potential to be deferred to a drug court, which provides alternative pathways to treatment instead of punishment, mentally ill persons will have access to expanded mental health courts and treatment instead of punishment where certain conditions are met. Expansion of the use of medical furloughs for Medicaid-funded hospital care for non-violent inmates, and partnerships with Community Mental Health Clinics to provide trauma-informed, evidence-based therapy and day-to-day support. Significantly expand workforce development and education opportunities for incarcerated individuals.
  • Justice. Eliminate the Death Penalty, stop criminalizing poverty, take profit out of prisons, reform sentencing. Redesign the bail system so that someone’s release is based on risk, not personal wealth, move toward new risk assessment tools that ensure that the vast majority of nonviolent offenders are not sitting in jail before trial. For-profit prisons to be phased out. Repeal the Habitual Offender Law for nonviolent offenders in order to reduce excessive sentencing and instead focus on rehabilitation.[7]

Olympics

I-70 Expansion

Amazon Headquarters

Funders

See the State Governor 2018 Campaign Finance page for more details on Johnston's notable donors and an analysis of his campaign's financial support sources.

Notable News

  • On March 12, 2018, Johnston spoke neutrally about a ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court against a group of Denver teachers. Denver Public Schools had put the teachers on unpaid leave because they had lost their positions (due to circumstances like student enrollment declines) and had not been re-hired within 12 months in another position. The teachers argued this amounted to being fired without cause or hearing, but the Supreme Court ruled the actions were in keeping with a 2010 "teacher effectiveness" law that Johnston championed while in the Colorado General Assembly. Johnston said all sides "share the same goal", and that the ruling meant education stakeholders could "move forward in that spirit and work together to improve achievement for students across the state."
  • On February 21, 2018, Johnston became the first Democrat to turn in the required signatures for being listed on the primary ballot by petition. [8]