Meet the ‘balding gay Jew’ now leading America’s governors

Apparently Kamala Harris wasn’t looking for “a 49-year-old balding cheery Jew from Boulder, Colorado,” to beryllium her moving mate.

That was Colorado Gov. Jared Polis’ self-deprecating statement of himself — a remark that went viral — erstwhile asked astir his prospects successful the veepstakes.

It was classical Polis, the archetypal openly cheery idiosyncratic elected politician of a state, and the latest illustration of however the Colorado politician has painstakingly sought to physique a unsocial nationalist governmental brand.

Since being elected politician successful 2018, Polis has done astir 1,500 interviews with section and nationalist press, utilizing frank connection and wit to usher Coloradans connected Covid-19 pandemic precautions and pump up chap Democrats connected Fox News. He’s besides curated an progressive societal media profile, often posting connected TikTok and Youtube, astir infamously by dancing to Feliz Navidad.

But Polis besides wants radical to cognize that he’s superior astir policy. He took connected the relation of seat of the National Governors Association past month, a presumption that volition further elevate his illustration extracurricular of Colorado arsenic Polis guides argumentation goals for the bipartisan group. He wants his signature contented to beryllium helping states physique acquisition systems that amended code workforce shortages.

"Governors crossed the committee privation to marque definite that we’re capable to successfully conscionable the workforce needs of contiguous and time and that idiosyncratic learners person the accidental to enactment themselves and gain a bully living,” Polis said successful an interrogation with POLITICO.

Before Polis entered nationalist politics, helium capitalized connected the aboriginal net roar of the 1990s by starting respective businesses that aboriginal sold for hundreds of millions of dollars. Polis joined Congress successful 2008 arsenic 1 of its wealthiest members, serving 5 terms.

Polis sat down with POLITICO to sermon affordable housing, battle weapons bans, wherefore governors marque the champion statesmanlike moving mates — and what proposal helium has for Kamala Harris successful agrarian America.

This transcript has been edited for magnitude and clarity.

As a Democrat moving a authorities with a ample agrarian population, what proposal bash you person for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris astir appealing to agrarian Americans? 

Our authorities is simply a precise divers state. In the legislature territory that elected Lauren Boebert 2 years ago, I carried it. It’s a agrarian district. And that means that, yes, determination were Trump-Polis voters successful this district.

For me, showing up is the large one. I’ve ever spent a higher percent of our clip successful agrarian areas. When I spoke to the cattlemen successful Grand Junction, they said I was the archetypal politician to code them successful a decennary oregon so. It makes a difference. Showing up, being determination and being present. You’re not going to hold connected everything but radical successful agrarian areas peculiarly worth elected officials showing up and caring astir being present.

In presumption of an contented frame, it’s truly astir including everyone successful the communicative of American success. We privation to marque definite that nary 1 is near down due to the fact that of wherever they unrecorded oregon who they are oregon what benignant of enactment they do. Everybody has a beardown vibrant portion successful America’s future.

Within the discourse of your acquisition inaugural arsenic NGA chair, however bash you navigate the deep schism among governors connected schoolhouse vouchers and instrumentality into relationship this enactment divided implicit however to execute the champion acquisition outcomes? 

At the National Governors’ Association, we ever privation to absorption connected thing that works successful Republican states and Democratic states. What I find from each my colleagues, the governors crossed the board, is they privation to marque definite we’re getting what we request retired of the large concern we marque successful education. Are kids ready? Are idiosyncratic learners acceptable to succeed? And successful the aggregate, are we gathering the needs of the backstage assemblage and the workforce?

When we say, let’s get ready, we mean astatine the idiosyncratic level, we mean astatine the statewide and nationalist level, and however tin we amended look astatine outcomes to guarantee that we’re getting it right? Education is the azygous biggest expenditure for each authorities — 20-, 30-plus [percent] of our authorities fund goes to K-12 education. So, governors are asking the question, what are we getting? Regardless of whether they person district-run schools oregon they person vouchers and charter schools, governors crossed the committee privation to marque definite that we’re capable to successfully conscionable the workforce needs of contiguous and time and that idiosyncratic learners person the accidental to enactment themselves and gain a bully living.

Colorado conscionable enacted a monolithic lodging bundle intended to code the affordable lodging crisis. What lessons did you larn during that process that whitethorn beryllium utile to different governors besides confronting the lodging issue, and however bash you mean to measurement success?

It was our 2nd twelvemonth that we had the large occurrence and burst the dam connected policies that region barriers to location construction. The archetypal twelvemonth we attempted to bash it successful an omnibus measure and successful the 2nd wherever we succeeded we broke up our pro-housing docket into 7 antithetic bills, each of which passed.

We allowed for much density to beryllium built adjacent transit and multi-family homes, accessory dwelling units by right, a fig of antithetic bills that region cost, velocity up the support process and allowed much homes and apartments to beryllium built. And so, similar immoderate product, the outgo of lodging is the relation of proviso and demand. The request is precocious successful Colorado due to the fact that radical privation to unrecorded here. We don’t privation to trim the demand, radical emotion Colorado. What we request to bash is region the artificial barriers to proviso and those were mostly section zoning laws that prevented lodging from being built that needed to beryllium built, oregon made it precise dilatory and costly to physique that housing. We simply wanted to region bureaucracy and paperwork, trim ineligible costs and velocity up lodging operation successful our authorities to assistance conscionable the request and marque definite that families tin spend to unrecorded successful the large authorities of Colorado.

There’s immoderate vexation among progressives successful Colorado that much has not been addressed done Democrats’ power of the legislature, whether it's done transgression justness betterment oregon renter protections oregon banning battle weapons. To what grade bash you stock those frustrations and bash you judge that Colorado is fulfilling its mandate from voters who reelected you successful a blowout and strengthened Democrats’ margins successful the legislature? 

We ran connected helping to hole the lodging situation successful Colorado and we made large steps past league successful allowing much houses to beryllium built. … Homes that mightiness person taken 3-4 years to beryllium built tin beryllium built successful a year. Homes that could beryllium single-family mightiness present beryllium capable to location six families connected that lot. So that’s what we acceptable up successful Colorado and we’re already seeing benefits implicit the adjacent fewer years. We expect much lower-cost starter location inventory to travel online successful our state.

Of course, what radical attraction astir is broader than that. We issued afloat backing for our schools for the archetypal clip successful 14 years. We accrued the fund for classrooms by astir $17,000. Districts are expanding teacher salaries, they’re reducing people size, they’re adding schoolroom supplies and peculiar enactment for learners that request it.

So we are present successful our 2nd twelvemonth of cosmopolitan preschool, which is different cardinal point I ran on. Every kid should beryllium capable to spell to preschool. Before Colorado families had to wage for it. Now it’s escaped for each 4 twelvemonth old. We moved from 28th successful preschool enrollment successful the state to 8th successful preschool enrollment successful the country, successful 1 year, and saved families astir $6,000 a year.

What’s 1 point connected the progressive docket that’s been near connected the array and you privation to spot addressed successful the adjacent session?

Costs are a frustrating origin and among the galore costs would beryllium wellness attraction costs. We’ve taken immoderate large enactment to trim wellness attraction costs including a Colorado enactment and reinsurance that person reduced wellness attraction rates successful the [Obamacare] speech by much than 20 percent. Absolutely we request to bash much to instrumentality connected pharma, prevention radical wealth connected security and out-of-pocket, and I’m looking guardant to moving with the legislature to marque much advancement connected redeeming radical wealth with wellness care.

I privation to inquire specifically astir an battle weapons ban. If Democrats bash enactment retired their differences adjacent league and walk a ban, would you motion it? 

Look, Colorado is 1 of the starring states successful weapon safety. Just successful the past 2 years I’ve signed bills. For instance, successful Colorado earlier you had to beryllium 21 to bargain a pistol but you could bargain a firearm astatine 18. We changed the property to 21 for some rifles and it was already 21 for pistols. We besides added a three-day waiting play to marque definite the inheritance checks could hap and marque it harder to bargain a weapon instantly to perpetrate a crime. We besides person immoderate harmless retention requirements. If you person kids successful the house, it's the ineligible work of the adults to marque definite the guns are secured. We wanted to marque an interaction connected reducing the tragedies that hap from guns that are inadequately stored erstwhile kids are around. We person a precise beardown weapon information agenda. Its portion of our wide nationalist information agenda.

So would you spell 1 measurement further and motion an battle weapons ban? 

Well we ever privation to get the champion imaginable nationalist information improvements that we can. So we’re blessed to look astatine the information connected immoderate peculiar connection and we focused connected proposals that person demonstrably reduced crime, improved nationalist information and support people’s freedoms and the close to carnivore arms.

Colorado’s pioneering weed marketplace has endured a large downturn that’s led to a large driblet successful cannabis taxation revenues. What bash you deliberation should beryllium done to effort and revive this struggling industry? 

This was precise predictable. Ten years ago, from Colorado’s perspective, it’s large to beryllium the lone authorities wherever it’s legal. As an American, I’d similar it to beryllium legalized nationally. So we’re present successful the spot wherever [38] states person immoderate ineligible signifier of cannabis, truthful of course, little radical from neighboring states and crossed the state would travel to Colorado and acquisition cannabis due to the fact that it's ineligible successful different states. It’s bully argumentation for the country, but of people Colorado has had decreases present we’re not arsenic peculiar successful that area. It's inactive a large mode for the state to get escaped of the achromatic marketplace successful cannabis, make ineligible taxation revenues, and morganatic jobs. We inactive person a precise beardown manufacture successful Colorado, thousands of jobs, we conscionable surpassed a cardinal dollars successful taxation revenue.

Why bash you deliberation truthful galore of the names of VP’s harris’ abbreviated database are governors — and who [were] you pulling for to articulation the ticket? 

As seat of the National Governors Association I admit that, I’m partial to governors. There’s a logical reasoning there. Governors are enforcement leaders who tally the enforcement and administrative branches of their state. So they’re acceptable from time 1 connected the enforcement broadside to beryllium successful a elder presumption to govern alongside the president. They look galore of the challenges astatine the authorities level that we look astatine the national level, and person proven a way grounds of enactment successful getting things done.

They’re each my favorites. All the ones that amusement up and are progressive members of the governors relation are my favorites. But I truly deliberation there's a batch to larn by innovations astatine the authorities level, connected some sides of the aisle. We each effort to larn from 1 different and tin besides assistance the national authorities successful learning what works astatine the authorities level successful the laboratories of democracy.