6th Congressional District race: Coffman has long history of public service

Mike Coffman, a Republican from Aurora, has been serving his country since he enlisted in the Army in 1972 after his junior year at Aurora Central High School. A longtime Aurora resident, Coffman served in both the Gulf and Iraq wars and has 20 years of military service on his resume between the Army and the Marine Corps.

Coffman has been the U.S. representative in District 6 since 2008. He was elected previously to two terms each in the Colorado House of Representatives and Senate, to one term as Colorado secretary of state and two as state treasurer.

A 1979 graduate of the University of Colorado, Coffman started an Aurora-based property management company in 1983 that he oversaw for 17 years. He married his wife, Cynthia Coffman, in 2005 and attends Faith Presbyterian Church in Aurora.

Colorado Community Media asked the following questions of the candidates in the race for District 6 of the U.S. House of Representatives. Below are Coffman's answers.

What makes you the best candidate for this office?

As a former small business owner, I know what it takes to balance a budget, meet a payroll and create jobs. As a Marine combat veteran, and the only veteran in Colorado's congressional delegation, I understand the unique needs of our service members and veterans. My business, military and legislative experiences have taught me the value of cooperation, which is a far cry from the partisan nature of Washington.

If elected, what would you do to promote job growth?

I'm focused on creating jobs and growing our economy every day. We need to remove the impediments to small business, including the unnecessary regulations. That's why I supported the “Red Tape Reduction and Small Business Act,” and am working across the aisle to promote credit availability to small businesses. This summer, I also introduced the Veterans Employment Act to help veterans obtain work.

What is the best way to meet the nation's growing energy demands?

We must end our reliance on foreign oil and look to develop our own resources here at home. America must have an “all of the above” strategy when it comes to developing our energy resources that includes renewable energies such as wind, solar biofuels, hydro power, focusing on increasing the use of nuclear power for the production of electricity; and we must promote the use of natural gas as a cleaner-burning transportation fuel.