Kubs Lalchandani
DemocraticQ1 What advisory mechanisms will you implement to ensure that evidence and scientific findings play a crucial role in your policymaking process?
“As a tech lawyer, I’m used to bringing in experts whenever a matter turns on technical knowledge outside my own. That discipline of knowing what you don’t know and getting the right specialists at the table is exactly what I’ll bring to the CU Board of Regents. On every consequential decision, whether it’s research policy, campus safety, financial stewardship, or academic affairs, I’ll rely on qualified professionals in the relevant field to inform my judgment and shape sound policy.”
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?
“CU Regents don’t set agriculture policy, but we are involved with research priorities, and CU has real assets for Colorado’s farmers: world class water and climate science at CIRES, leading water law scholarship at our law school, and engineering programs ready to advance ag tech. As CU Regent, I’ll promote that CU translate that research into tools farmers can actually use, deepen our partnership with CSU, and listen to the agronomists, hydrologists, and farmers closest to the problem.”
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?
“Data centers offer potential economic upside and real costs in water, power, grid strain, and general community harm. The right balance demands transparency, true cost pricing, and binding community benefit standards before approval. As a tech lawyer, I’ve navigated these tradeoffs professionally.”
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?
“Medicine runs through my life. I represent medical professionals, I own a veterinary oncology clinic, and as an Indian American, half my family wears a white coat. I believe in evidence based medicine, full stop. As Regent, I’ll champion CU Anschutz as a national leader in vaccine science, infectious disease research, and public health, and ensure CU’s expertise informs Colorado’s response to measles and whatever threat comes next. Science should guide policy.”
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?
“Science literacy in America is in trouble, and CU Regents don’t set K-12 standards. But CU does train Colorado’s teachers, run dual enrollment programs, and produce public facing science through various programs. As CU Regent, I’ll champion stronger STEM teacher preparation, K-12 partnerships that bring CU scientists into classrooms, and science communication training.”