I grew up in rural Pennsylvania, the grandson of a farmer, and the son of a nurse and a carpenter. I spent the first 16 years of my life on the farm with my grandfather where I learned first hand how difficult it has become with rising supply costs, finding workers, and investing in and repairing equipment.

I’m proud to live in a state that has finally passed a Right to Repair bill for our farmers, but it should not have taken as long as it did.

Washington is broken. We all know it, politicians acknowledge it, and yet, nothing changes. And the failures of our government hit the hardest in rural America, where our crops and gas feed and fuel the entire nation.

It’s long past time that districts like ours are paid the attention we deserve, and I’m running for Congress to demand just that.

Consumers have been fighting for Right to Repair laws in Congress for decades, but the outsized influence of corporations in our government has stalled one of the most popular, non-partisan issues in the country. Colorado is still the only state in the country with such a law for our farmers - this is unacceptable. As Congressman, I will fight for a federal Right to Repair law that will spur competition among third-party repair and supply companies, so that farmers have the best prices and best equipment to succeed.

The issues don’t stop there: we have to address the massive bailouts corporate agriculture receives that make it more and more difficult for small farmers and ranchers to just get by; our rural communities need just as much access to broadband as our urban neighbors have; and, we have to address our depleting access to safe and clean water.

As Congressman, I will fight for our hard-earned tax dollars to be spent supporting our local independent farmers and ranchers, who make up 80% of agriculture in our state, not bailing out Big Ag. I will fight to bring broadband access to every corner of rural America, and I will fight to protect rural America’s rights to safe and accessible water.

Colorado’s fourth district deserves a leader in Congress who will fight for rural America and remind our government that the towns in our country that feed and fuel the nation deserve better, and I plan on doing exactly that. CD- 4 is filled with hard-working, honest, and kind people, the kind that inspire a visitor like Malcom King to write to Hugo’s town hall about his wonderful experience, and I will do everything in my power to fight for every single one of us.

John Padora~Severance, CO.