Candidate Interviews

Jill Haffley: House District 16 Candidate Interview

Jill Haffley discusses education, affordability, public safety, and parental rights in our inaugural issue’s HD16 interview.

From the September 11, 2026 inaugural issue of The Colorado Conservative. Candidate status and campaign links reflect the printed issue.

Colorado House of Representatives • House District 16 • Candidate in the printed issue

Campaign website · Campaign donation link

The interview

Who is Jill beyond the campaign?

At the heart, I’m a teacher, a problem-solver, and someone who believes we’re here to serve others. I’m curious, fiercely loyal to the people I love, and I’ve never been good at sitting on the sidelines when I can make a difference.

My faith is the foundation of who I am. My family keeps me grounded, and 30 years in the classroom taught me patience, humility, humor, and that every person has a story worth hearing.

I love dogs, history, this country, and the Colorado Springs community I’ve called home for decades. I believe in working hard, keeping my word, standing up for what’s right, and leaving things better than I found them. Those values have guided my life, and they’re what led me to public service.

Why are you running?

I never set out to become a politician. I’m running because I believe Colorado is at a crossroads, and after a lifetime of teaching and serving my community, I couldn’t sit on the sidelines and hope someone else would step up.

Thirty years teaching U.S. history and government gave me a deep appreciation for our Constitution, representative government, and the responsibility that comes with public service. Serving on the D11 School Board taught me how to govern, work through difficult issues, listen to people, make tough decisions, and stand firm when necessary.

I’m running now because the decisions being made at the Capitol are affecting the affordability, safety, freedoms, and opportunities of Colorado families. I believe I can make a difference, and when you’re called to serve, you answer.

What makes your district unique?

House District 16 is special because it feels like a community. People know their neighbors, care about their schools, support local businesses, and step up when someone needs help. I’ve lived, worked, taught, and served here for decades, and what I value most is the people and their strong sense of community.

What I hear most often is that families are feeling squeezed. The cost of housing, groceries, utilities, insurance, taxes, and fees keep climbing, while paychecks aren’t keeping pace. People are also concerned about public safety, education, and protecting their freedoms and parental rights.

Most aren’t asking government to solve every problem. They want government to stop making life harder, listen to them, spend responsibly, and remember that every policy coming out of Denver ultimately affects a real person, family, or business.

What would be your three highest legislative priorities?

My priorities begin with a simple principle: government should make it easier for families to build a good life, not harder. That means making Colorado more affordable, keeping our communities safe, and protecting parental rights and the family.

First, Colorado has become too expensive. I’ll work to reduce unnecessary taxes and fees, remove burdensome regulations that increase housing and energy costs, and oppose policies that make it harder for families and small businesses to thrive.

Second, I’ll support law enforcement, hold violent and repeat offenders accountable, and fight policies that make our communities less safe.

Third, I’ll protect the fundamental right of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children and oppose government intrusion into family decisions.

Those will be my priorities from day one.

How would you address Colorado’s affordability challenges?

Colorado families are being squeezed from every direction, and while the General Assembly can’t control the price of everything, it can stop making things more expensive.

I’ll work to reduce unnecessary taxes and fees, rein in regulations that increase the cost of housing and doing business, and pursue policies that encourage more housing supply. We need reliable, affordable energy rather than mandates that drive utility bills higher. We should increase competition and transparency in healthcare and insurance and protect small businesses from regulations that raise costs or discourage job creation.

Government should also live within its means. Every new tax, fee, mandate, or regulation eventually lands on someone’s kitchen table. My test will be simple: Does this make it easier or harder for Colorado families to afford their lives?

Life Network’s Walk for Life at Memorial Park in Colorado Springs - spending time with members of our community who came together to celebrate life and support moms, babies, and families.

What is your approach to education?

Parents are the primary authority in their children’s lives and education. Teachers should be empowered to teach, local school boards should be accountable to their communities, and the state should set high academic expectations without dictating every decision from Denver.

After 30 years in the classroom and service on the D11 School Board, I’ve seen education from both sides. Teachers need safe, orderly classrooms and the freedom to focus on academics. Parents deserve transparency, meaningful involvement, and choices in how their children are educated.

I’ll support strong academic standards, school choice, parental rights, local control, and policies that direct resources toward classrooms. Education works best when parents and teachers are partners, students are held to high expectations, and decisions are made as close to the child as possible.

How would you approach public safety and individual liberty?

Public safety and individual liberty go hand in hand. Government’s responsibility is to protect the rights and safety of law-abiding citizens, not restrict their freedoms because of the actions of criminals.

I will support law enforcement and ensure officers have the resources and training necessary to do their jobs safely and effectively. We must hold violent and repeat offenders accountable, enforce our laws consistently, and keep dangerous criminals off our streets.

At the same time, public safety cannot become an excuse for government overreach. I will defend due process, property rights, the Second Amendment, privacy, and our other constitutional freedoms. Government must be held accountable, too. We can support law enforcement, enforce the law, protect victims, and safeguard individual liberty at the same time. Colorado should expect nothing less.

What does conservative government mean to you?

Conservative government means recognizing that government serves the people, not the other way around. Its job is to protect our rights, provide essential services, maintain public safety, and spend taxpayer dollars responsibly - not manage every aspect of our lives.

Colorado should do a better job of performing its core responsibilities efficiently and transparently. It should spend less, regulate less, and return more decisions to individuals, families, businesses, and local communities.

Most importantly, state government should stop treating every problem as an opportunity for another law, mandate, tax, or fee. Success shouldn’t be measured by how much government does, but by how well it fulfills its proper role. I believe in limited government, individual liberty, personal responsibility, free enterprise, and trusting Coloradans to make decisions for themselves and their families.

How will you turn your principles into results?

As a former coach, I know how to build teams, bring people together, and focus on a common goal. I’m a coalition builder, and I’ll bring that approach to the legislature.

Democrats currently hold more than two-thirds of the seats in the Colorado House, so getting things done requires working with people who may strongly disagree with me. That doesn’t mean abandoning my values. It means finding where we agree and building from there. I’ll work with anyone willing to find common ground and advance solutions that serve Coloradans while upholding the principles I was elected to represent.

There’s a difference between negotiating the details of how we reach a goal and surrendering the principles that guide us. I won’t trade away my core values or constitutional principles simply to claim a legislative victory.

Why should voters place their trust in you?

Trust has to be earned. Throughout my life, whether as a teacher, coach, dog trainer, or school board member, I’ve tried to do what I believe is right, even when it isn’t easy or popular.

What distinguishes me is that I’m not seeking office for a title or a political career. I’m doing it because I believe public service still means something, and I’m willing to stand up, speak plainly, ask hard questions, and do the work.

My commitment is simple: I will listen to you, be accessible, tell you the truth, and remember that I work for you.

If voters remember one thing about me, I hope it’s this: I will serve with integrity and courage. I’ll keep my word, stand by my principles, and always remember who sent me there.

District notes from the magazine

Illustration from the original magazine.

Almost 30 prehistoric sites of the Plains Indian people (dating between A.D. 100 and 1400) have been found by archeologists throughout the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs (UCCS) campus.

The present-day UCCS property was purchased for $1.00 in 1964 from the Cragmor Sanatorium which originally opened in 1905 to serve tuberculosis patients until its closing in 1962.

Austin Bluffs Open Space, now a 584-acre preserve, includes unique rocks from the Dawson, Arapahoe and Denver formations.

The Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind began with seven deaf students in 1874 in Knob Hill. In 1877, the school expanded to include blind students.