Betsy Markey

U.S. House, CO- District 4

In 2008, businesswoman Betsy Markey unseated Marilyn Musgrave, one of the most radical right-wing Republicans in Congress, in Colorado’s fourth district. Not surprisingly, Markey became a target for the GOP as soon as she was sworn in. The National Republican Congressional Committee is sparing no expense, attacking her relentlessly with emails, robocalls, and press releases — more than any other first-term congresswoman. It’s just a taste of things to come; winning back this GOP-leaning seat is a top priority for Republicans, and they’ve found a conservative state representative who shares Musgrave’s anti-choice, far-right views to challenge Markey in 2010.

Markey won over voters in this district with her moderate views and keen understanding of the economic issues at the top of people’s minds. In addition to having owned and operated two small businesses, she was the U.S. State Department’s first head of the Department of Computer Security Policy and Training, chair of the Larimer County Democratic Party, and regional director for former U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar (now secretary of the U.S. Department of Interior). Markey founded the Northern Colorado Democratic Business Coalition to show that Democrats share the values and concerns of the business community, including affordable health care, transportation, education, and deficit reduction. In Congress, she’s distinguished herself as a dynamic and hard-working leader, fighting to help small businesses secure capital, help farmers cut through costly red tape, and pass historic energy legislation to create green jobs in Colorado. Politico called Markey a “pint-sized powerhouse” with a “hefty legislative agenda,” and the Fort Morgan Times praised her for making sure her rural constituents benefit from the federal economic stimulus package.

Markey became politically active as a student at the University of Florida, volunteering for former U.S. Sen. Bob Graham’s gubernatorial campaigns. “I relished the opportunity to be a part of the political process, and the excitement of that first campaign has never really left me,” she says. After graduation, she worked as a congressional aide. “When I left Capitol Hill in the early 1980s,” she says, “I knew I would someday return.”

The Political Situation

This is one of the most GOP-leaning districts held by a Democrat in Congress: Republicans have a 44,000-vote registration edge here, and voters chose McCain over Obama for president. However, Markey attracted enough moderate Republican and independent voters in 2008 to defeat Musgrave soundly, winning 56 to 44 percent. Democratic registration spiked in Colorado during the 2008 presidential election; to win a second term, Markey will have to reach out to thousands of new registrants and get them back to the polls in a nonpresidential year — a costly challenge.

GOP leaders are excited about Cory Gardner, a conservative state representative who chaired Musgrave’s 2008 campaign. Like Musgrave, Gardner holds far-right views on issues: he sponsored a bill to ban abortion in Colorado, voted against providing emergency contraception to victims of sexual assault, and opposed a program that provided pap smears and cancer screening to low-income women. A proponent of abstinence-only sex education, Gardner railed against efforts to add information about birth control to the curriculum. On fiscal policy, he’s aligned himself with Washington insider Grover Norquist, an architect of the Bush tax cuts that turned the Clinton surplus into a massive deficit. Gardner dismisses efforts to bring renewable energy development to Colorado, fighting instead for more oil and gas drilling.

Markey is determined to raise a campaign war chest that will fend off a full-scale GOP effort to unseat her. She is on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s “Frontline” program, which raises money for vulnerable incumbents. But Republicans will stay on the attack from now through election day — and Gardner is a proven fundraiser who brought in more than $200,000 in just two months for his campaign. Markey is counting on EMILY’s List members to help her raise $3.5 million to overcome Republican determination to unseat her.

The Issues

“Throughout my campaign and in my first year in Congress, I have looked for common ground,” says Markey. “Most of my constituents aren’t focused on advancing an ideological agenda — they sent me to Congress to fight for common-sense solutions to the problems we all talk about and struggle with at dinner tables across Colorado.”

Markey strongly supports public education. “My three children received a wonderful education in Colorado’s public schools,” she says. “But today, too many schools are struggling to get the support and resources they need.” Her district includes small farming communities where schools are chronically underfunded. “We need to help educators, especially in rural communities, get what they need to create a positive learning environment for children.” To encourage more parental involvement in learning, Markey cosponsored successful legislation to establish a National Read Across America Day. “It’s important to engage parents in the classroom, especially when it comes to reading comprehension,” she says.

“As a working mother and a former small business owner, I take a pretty personal interest in helping people balance work and family responsibilities,” Markey says. “We need to encourage companies to create family-friendly work environments and promote policies like the Family and Medical Leave Act that allow young families to spend critical time together.”

To help small businesses weather the economic crisis, Markey sponsored the Small Business Assistance in Debt Act, which will open up access to capital and equity and allow small business owners to refinance loans. She is pushing for economic development in rural communities that will put people to work and stimulate local economies. “We can use tax policy to create incentives for job creation,” she says. “By reducing the burden on businesses and entrepreneurs, we can spur innovation in key areas, like renewable energy development.” Markey voted for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which includes the largest tax cut for working families in American history. “I believe federal tax policy should be fair and fiscally sound, and that we need to end onerous tax policies like the alternative minimum tax,” she says.

As a State Department official in the 1980s, Markey traveled to countries still engaged in the Cold War, giving her distinctive insight on matters of national security. “The U.S. can occupy a place of strength around the world without compromising the fundamental principles of sound diplomacy,” she says. “President Obama’s work to engage us in the global community is crucial to our country’s long-term success.” Markey supports reducing troop levels in Iraq and strengthening forces fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan. “Breaking our dependence on unstable foreign governments for energy must be a top defense priority,” she adds. “One of the many reasons I voted for the American Clean Energy and Security Act is because it will bring us closer to energy independence.”

One of Markey’s first votes in Congress was in favor of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. “It is time to remove gender bias from our national laws and fairly compensate women, who are often primary breadwinners,” she says. She also voted for legislation to add sexual orientation to federal hate crimes protection, but says more must be done. “Discrimination against the LGBT community is still legal and acceptable in many circles,” she says. “Allowing businesses to fire an employee based on sexual orientation is wrong and needs to end. I support passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.”

Markey believes that, in addition to punishment, criminal justice policy must address the root causes of crime, including drug addiction, mental health problems, and underfunded schools. “Our prisons are filled to the breaking point, and many of the inmates are there for nonviolent drug crimes,” she notes. “I support increasing funding for community drug rehabilitation and mental health treatment programs, to help people avoid making poor decisions that land them in prison.”

On health care, Markey says, “We must take advantage of this unique moment in which both citizens and the business community are clamoring for wholesale change.” She is cosponsoring bipartisan legislation to help small businesses offer insurance coverage to employees, and voted to reauthorize the Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). “Health care reform must address cost, quality, and coverage,” she says.

Markey, who headed the board of directors of the Larimer County Food Bank, believes fighting hunger is the first step to reducing poverty. Noting that one out of ten American households is at risk for hunger, she supports full funding for food stamp programs. Passage of SCHIP will help working families cope with rising health care costs.

In 2008, environmental groups like the League of Conservation Voters, Defenders of Wildlife, and the Sierra Club endorsed Markey’s campaign, and she has made protecting the environment and achieving energy independence cornerstones of her congressional agenda. “Caring for our natural environment is a way of life for the people of my district, and the businesses and educational institutions I represent are at the forefront of the renewable energy industry, bringing jobs to our communities at the same time that they are helping to protect our planet.”

Markey strongly supports a woman’s right to choose and has actively worked to elect pro-choice candidates for office. “This decision can be made only by a woman, in consultation with her family, her doctor, and her god,” she says. “Government has no place in this discussion.”

August 2009