The only statewide seat for the University of Colorado Board of Regents is up for grabs this fall, as incumbent Lesley Smith runs for the Colorado House of Representatives.
Four hopefuls have qualified for the November ballot.
Eric Rinard, Republican
Eric Rinard, a Weld County Republican, obtained his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from CU Boulder in 1985.
Nearly four decades later, he seeks out a return to higher education as the at-large representative on the Board of Regents. The at-large seat was the last statewide office Republicans held in Colorado, when Heidi Ganahl occupied it from 2017 to 2023.
Rinard said he is running because “a sound education is the foundation for civic life of all Coloradans.” He believes his background in engineering would help guide CU towards more innovation.
“CU is also a leading research institution and as Regent I will constantly support the growth and diversity of research initiatives on all campuses,” Rinard wrote on his website.
Rinard said he would promote free speech and “restore balance and diversity of opinion at CU.” Regents have recently received pushback against proposed changes to the system’s freedom of expression policy, with faculty and students arguing the changes would create “breathtakingly broad” restrictions on free speech.
Rinard has raised just under $10,000 in campaign donations, a fraction of his Democrat opponent’s funds, as of his Sept. 26 campaign finance dislocusre. Rinard has been endorsed by former CU Regents Steve Bosley, Henry Anton and Heidi Ganahl.
Elliott Hood, Democrat
Elliott Hood, a CU Boulder alum, education attorney and former teacher, won the only statewide primary this year against Charles “CJ” Johnson in his bid to join the Board of Regents.
On his campaign site, Hood centers affordability. He said as regent, he would expand financial aid, keep tuition stable and aim to have every student graduate debt free. He targeted Colorado’s Taxpayer Bill of Rights, a constant thorn in the side of higher education funding.
“We also need to push for more state funding and fix TABOR so we can better fund higher education in CO, now ranked near the bottom in the nation in higher-ed funding,” Hood wrote on his website.
Nearly 800,000 Coloradans hold a total of $29 billion of federal student loan debt, according to Chalkbeat.
Hood also committed to supporting collective bargaining for university employees. As it currently stands, employees of public institutions of higher education are carved out of state labor laws. If employees do form a union, like the United Campus Workers Colorado, universities are not required to recognize it.
“As a former union worker myself, I believe that every employee deserves a voice in the workplace and should have the right to collectively bargain and join a union,” Hood said.
Some employees at CU have joined the unrecognized UCW Colorado due to what they describe as subpar pay and poor working conditions. This year, CU regents approved a 3 percent salary increase for faculty and staff.
As of September 26, 2024, Hood has raised over $180,000 in donations. His campaign boasts endorsements from incumbent Regent Lesley Smith, as well as several state and local politicians.
Thomas Reasoner, Approval Voting Party
CPR News was unable to find a campaign website for Thomas Reasoner. Approval voting is an electoral approach in which voters signal their approval for as many candidates as they wish in a race, without ranking them, and the candidate with the most overall approval wins.
T.J. Cole, Unity Party
Tijani “TJ” Cole is an attorney and former judge. He founded Denver Justice High School, a charter high school for at-risk students. Cole has served on Wheat Ridge Municipal Court and Boulder District Court. He holds several degrees, but none of them are from the University of Colorado system.
Cole said he would bring academic excellency, fiscal responsibility and diversity to the CU system.
“I want to serve on the Board of regents so that I can be an active part of building the University of Colorado into one of the premier Universities in the world,” Cole wrote.
Cole hasn’t reported any campaign contributions through the Secretary of State’s candidate portal.
