Joann Ginal is up for the position of senator in Colorado District 14 as the election approaches. 

Ginal has been a member of the House of Representatives since 2012 and has represented Colorado’s 14th Senate district since 2019. Ginal said she is running again because she still has a lot she wants to get done. 

“We have now got a Democratic Senate, Democratic House and Democratic governor on the first floor,” Ginal said. “We’re able to get a lot of good progress and progressive work done for everybody.”

“I listen to everybody. I listen to Republicans and listen to Democrats, and I try to come to some equal ground. I think the most important thing is that we listen to each other, we respect each other.”-Joann Ginal, Democratic District 14 senator candidate

Ginal also said she wants to focus on healthcare, education, the economy and the environment if elected.

“I’ve been working on making prescription drugs less expensive for people,” Ginal said. “Prescription drugs have skyrocketed; we can’t seem to bring them down. They just keep going up. And we’re trying to look at the transparency as to why they’re so expensive.”

Ginal said that buying prescription drugs from other countries, such as Canada, can lower the cost for American citizens. She said she wants to introduce a bill that will allow prescription drugs to be bought from more countries. 

Ginal also discussed the importance of conserving the environment. 

“I believe that we’re all experiencing climate change right now,” Ginal said. “Drought, the wildfires are extremely frightening. I don’t think any of us thought in the beginning of August that we’d be seeing the Cameron Peak Fire get to the point where it’s at right now.”

Ginal said that the wildfires this past summer have really proven that climate change is real and dangerous.

“I’m concerned about making sure that we can live up to our climate change percentages by getting 100% reduction in emissions and greenhouse gases by 2050,” Ginal said. “But I like Fort Collins even better at 100% by 2030. Those are great goals, and I want to achieve them.”

Ginal also said education is important to her and she hopes to earn Colorado State University student’s votes with more affordable education. Ginal said she’s always trying to find ways to cut tuition costs or at least keep them the same. 

“CSU is near and dear to me because it’s my alma mater,” Ginal said. “(Land-grant universities are) there for people like myself, and probably just about everybody that’s going to CSU that can’t afford to go to another type of college or private university, and we get an excellent education.” 

Ginal also talked about how she has helped grant loan forgiveness to CSU veterinary students in the past and wants to expand the loan forgiveness program to other areas of study. 

“If (veterinarians) go to a rural area of Colorado, they can get almost 70% of their tuition paid over there,” Ginal said. “I’m trying to do this not only for the veterinarians, but also for other students that are in the sciences or behavioral health.”

Ginal said that she wants to hear from CSU students more and encouraged students to reach out to talk to her about any problems they may be having. 

“I want to help,” Ginal said. “We can set up a Zoom meeting or even socially-distanced in person. But I want to hear from you.”

Ginal also talked about her ideals as a citizen of the U.S. and what she hopes to preserve and accomplish as a representative. 

“We need to understand each other. We need to respect each other for who we are, the color of our skin or our socioeconomic background, whatever it is, that we respect each other as human beings,” Ginal said. 

Ginal said that she really wants to focus on recovery from COVID-19 economically and spiritually and on helping to fix racial and social injustice that millions of Americans have been protesting for.

“I work for the people of Fort Collins and for House District 52 for six years and for Senate District 14 for the last two years,” Ginal said. “I listen to everybody. I listen to Republicans and listen to Democrats, and I try to come to some equal ground. I think the most important thing is that we listen to each other, we respect each other.”

Ceci Taylor can be reached at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @cecelia_twt.