About John Kidd for Colorado House of Representatives House District 1

John Kidd is President and CEO of Clear Creek Insurance and Financial Services, Inc., an independent insurance agency located in Southwest Denver. John is licensed by the State of Colorado as an Insurance Producer in Accident and Health, Casualty, Life, and Property. John has earned the designation of Certified Senior Advisor and has certification in Long Term Care products and extensive education and certification in Medicare Plans. He enjoys working with seniors, helping them understand the complexity of Medicare and other healthcare options that are available to them and helping them deal with the financial challenges faced by those on fixed incomes.

John believes that our neighborhoods can be a wonderful place to live as long as the residents take an active part in their civic duties. Doing things like shoveling snow from a walkway for an elderly neighbor, helping a neighbor with their yard care, getting involved with a neighborhood watch program, serving on a homeowner's board of directors, or just helping out someone in need are all good places to start and can make a big difference in a community.

John is very active in the community and has served on the Grant Ranch Homeowner's Association Board of Directors as Treasurer for three years and currently serves as Treasure of the Belvedere Homeowners Association. John has also served on the Board of Directors as Vice-President and Treasurer for Turnabout, Inc. a reintegration and employment service that provides valuable services to former offenders and reduces recidivism (keeps them from re-offending and returning to prison by teaching them new skills for employment). During his tenure on the Turnabout Board, John was able to help the program grow by raising the awareness of several Colorado business owners to the dilemma of Colorado's recently incarcerated individuals and the difficulty they face finding work after release. Through his efforts, John helped secure funding from local companies in support of the Turnabout program and wrote to then Mayor John Hickenlooper to stress the importance of the Turnabout Program in conjunction with his Ten Year Plan to end homelessness in Denver. Additionally, John has attended several high level meetings regarding Denver "faith-based" programs with Governor John Hickenlooper and now Denver Mayor Michael Hancock.

John has also served as a mentor and volunteer at the Denver Rescue Mission,a faith-based program located in Denver near Lodo. Of his experiences at the "Mission", John states that "there is nothing more gratifying than being able to help a fellow human being find their way back to self-respect and gainful employment". John has served lunch for the homeless and also made several new friends that were in need of a "good friend" to help them get back on the road to recovery.

John is a current member of the City Club of Denver, Lincoln Club of Colorado, Colorado Republican Business Coalition, The Reagan Club of Colorado, and several other civic organizations that focus on local, state, and national issues. He is a current member of the South Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce and a Gold Member of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce. He is a former Ambassador and member of the Englewood Chamber of Commerce. He regularly attends the House of Representative and Senate Sessions at the Colorado State Capitol to stay current on legislative issues affecting seniors and residents of House District 1 and to keep "tabs" on the legislative process in Colorado.

John is very active with the Colorado Republican Party, Denver County Republicans, and House District 1 Republicans and has served as a volunteer on a number of Republican Party campaigns. John has also met with several Colorado Representatives from Congress to discuss issues affecting the senior population and the insurance industry. In 1998, John submitted a formal letter to his Congressman which ultimately resulted in legislation that allows seniors to continue to work after retirement (if they choose to do so) without having their Social Security benefits reduced. Most notably, John and his wife Joesolyn were able to attend a formal event and met with President George Bush and many of the key Republican Politicians and Party Representatives in Colorado during the 2004 Local, State, and National Elections.

John was elected to serve during the 2010 election cycle as a Delegate to the Denver County Assembly and was also elected as a Delegate to the Colorado Republican State Assembly held in Longmont. In addition, during the 2010 election, John volunteered to walk several Precincts in House District 1 where he made many new friends and learned how to "campaign" for several candidates by walking door-to-door throughout the District. One of his most memorable experiences while walking the streets of House District 1 was helping an elderly resident of Harvey Park carry her groceries from her car only to find out that she was a life-long "Die-Hard" Democrat. She told John that she had no intention of talking with "someone from the other party" as she put it, but John said to her "It doesn't matter to me what political party you are with, If I can help you as a person, then that's all that really matters". After a few minutes of additional small talk, John realized that he had made a new friend and also had gained a valuable life lesson that we are all in this together - "United We Stand - Divided We Fall".

John is an avid skier and decided over ten years ago to give snowboarding a try with his son. Since then, John loves the freedom that snowboarding provides and can be seen at several of the Colorado Ski slopes trying to keep up with his kids! Fishing is John's favorite get-away sport and helps him to relax while enjoying the beautiful outdoors that Colorado has to offer. Additionally, John has conquered several of Colorado's fourteen-thousand foot tall peaks (14ers as they are affectionately called) and has set a goal to climb all 54 Colorado "14ers" before he turns 54!

John and his family, Joesolyn, John III, and Jourdan have lived in Grant Ranch located in House District 1 for over ten years now and love the community and all it has to offer. Both John and Joesolyn are succesful entrepreneurs and own their businesses. They both deeply understand the importance of small business in providing not only employment for local residents, but also the tax revenue small businesses generate to support the community.

John is well informed on issues involving Colorado's economy; he understands that our education system must provide our children with the best education possible; he understands the importance of protecting Colorado's environment; he supports clean air, water, and soil preservation; he understands the challenges of oil and gas exploration in Colorado; he is well versed on public health and welfare, understands the immediate need for border protection and the immigration dilemma we are faced with in the United States, Colorado, and Denver; and, most importantly, he understands that Government should not be in the business of "running businesses" and that job creation should come from private sector businesses - not from the Government!