Gabriel Cervantes
DemocraticQ1 What advisory mechanisms will you implement to ensure that evidence and scientific findings play a crucial role in your policymaking process?
“Data is strongest when paired with the lived experiences of the communities a policy will affect. If elected, I will often look to the people most knowledgeable by the pertaining legislation, as well as the people most affected by it. Researchers, subject-matter experts, state agencies, nonpartisan legislative staff, community organizations, and professionals working in these fields combined have the best information to convey.
It is imperative to seek clear information about the evidence supporting the proposal, its expected externalities, possible unintended consequences, and how it’s effectiveness will be measured. When the evidence is still developing, pilot programs, consistent evaluations, reporting requirements, and having the humility to improve legislation rather than assuming the first approach will always be the best one will be important as well.”
Q2 Colorado farmers are facing multiple threats, amidst water scarcity and rising prices for fertilizer and other imported materials. As agriculture is our #1 export sector, in what ways do you imagine using your role to support evidence-based advancements to protect and support our farmers and natural resources in the years ahead?
“I would prioritize policies that give producers the ability to have continued access to the best available science and financial tools in order to adopt practices that strengthen both agricultural productivity and protect our environment.
That means continuing to develop science around our universities in Colorado, build broad coalitions with organizations like the Colorado Department of Agriculture, and farmers and ranchers themselves to expand research and adoption.
Colorado must also focus on the ease and access of these transitions, something the state has historically struggled with in regard to the environmental shift in the state. I would support grants, cost-sharing, technical assistance, and financing for proven water-conservation and agricultural technologies, particularly for small and family-owned operations that may not have the capital to make those investments on their own.
Protecting agriculture and our environment should not be competing goals. If we are trusting the science and making the transitions to more efficient practices accessible, then they should be working in tandem.”
Q3 America has a growing AI industry, supporting cutting-edge innovation but raising issues of resource use, privacy, and economics. What is the right balance of costs and benefits for new data center construction in Colorado, and how would your policies accomplish that balance?
“The balance will exist in a combination of responsibility and relationships. Large data centers should be responsible for the infrastructure costs created by their massive electricity demands instead of emplacing those costs onto the communities they exist in. I support open energy-use reporting and requirements on how major new loads demonstrate how they will support grid reliability and not derail Colorado’s clean-energy goals.
Water use must also be considered in siting and permitting decisions. Requiring closed loop systems and giving local communities a meaningful role in determining whether a project is appropriate for their water supply is crucial in the evaluation of the potential impacts of these builds. Colorado is feeling the water constraint, so we have to be able to prioritize efficiency.
As it comes to balance, we need to understand the need to stay competitive-Colorado is an attractive place to build in the first place. What we don’t need are unnecessary regulations that make the process more difficult for the sake of feeling better about it, but we also need to ensure that impact is minimized.
Builders want to come to Colorado and it would do us much better if we kept those builds here instead of them being more costly and unregulated in a state surrounding us. We need to ensure that we can build it right and build them safely.”
Q4 Colorado has experienced a lingering measles outbreak since March of 2025. What evidence-based policies do you support to improve community and preventive health for your constituents, for infectious diseases and other threats?
“We need to require that students and workers be vaccinated. That’s it.”
Q5 What are your opinions on the current state of science literacy, and how could K-12 education standards be adapted to form a better public understanding of and relationship building in science?
“A scientifically literate public should be able to evaluate evidence, understand basic statistics and probability, recognize the difference between correlation and causation, assess the credibility of sources, and understand that scientific conclusions can evolve as new evidence becomes available. Developing those skills in our schools is imperative to ensuring that we can do things such as research policy decisions and effectively recognize propaganda.
K-12 schools should focus more on inquiry-based and hands-on learning, data interpretation, scientific reasoning, and continuing to build strong foundations in STEM. Students should have opportunities to work through real-world problems and explain why the evidence supports a particular conclusion rather than simply being asked to memorize the conclusion itself.
We should also continue to normalize science in a cultural way. Schools can partner with universities, laboratories, healthcare professionals, agricultural experts, engineers, and local employers to expose students to scientists and the practical applications of science in their own communities. We as members of the government should be to provide teachers and organizations with the training and resources necessary to teach students effectively.”