On Feb. 15, the DU College Republicans hosted potential Republican gubernatorial candidate, Doug Robinson, in Margery Reed Hall where he introduced himself to members of the club and answered questions.

The meeting began with Robinson asking students what they thought the political climate was like on the DU campus. Some students described the climate as being slanted while one had commented that the left-leaning campus was “somewhat ostracizing.” Part of their frustration was over professors and classmates making blanket assumptions about their beliefs or assuming, after President Trump’s election, how Republicans are presumed to be. 

In response, Robinson praised the students for holding their beliefs.

“When you really use your head and you think through what really lifts people out of povert—he things that you want from people—you want them to have opportunities, you want them to be successful in life, you want them to really thrive. It is conservative principles that allow that to happen. It is not a handout to people,” said Robinson.

“What you believe—more conservative, republican, principles—is the way to make our country better and yet you are a minority at your school,” said Robinson, “I’m concerned with what America looks like 30 years from now.”

Robinson, 56, has a background in technology and finance. He moved to Colorado in 1996 and is commonly referenced as the nephew of former 2008 Republican presidential nominee, Mitt Romney. Although this is his first time running for office, Robinson sees his lack of political title and his work with non-profits as a strong suit.

As one of the founders, he mentioned his work with “KidsTek,” a Colorado non-profit focused on “increasing the technology literacy of students at Colorado’s highest-needs schools through […] innovative after school, project-based enrichment programs, and […] in-school technical certificate programs.”

Before answering questions from students, Robinson also spoke about his stances on some of the high profile claims potential Democratic candidate Jared Polis has made during his campaign.

In regard to Polis’s hope to make Colorado a state that uses 100% renewable energy 20 years from now, Robinson—although agreeing with the value of having renewable energy—disagrees that it should be Colorado’s only power source. He sees the rejection of the oil and gas industry as an elimination of jobs for thousands of Colorado citizens.

Robinson also commented on Polis’s wish to make preschool universal, saying that is it unrealistic and unaffordable.

Considering the recent Florida school shooting, when asked about his plans to protect Colorado schools from a mass shooting, Robinson hopes to protect schools while still allowing citizen second amendment right to hold and have firearms.

“I don’t think gun control, trying to take guns away from citizens, is going to really make the difference because these are people who are obviously not obeying the law and they’re going to find a way to get access to them. But I do believe we should close the gun show loophole and try to make sure that we’re doing a good job on background checks to keep the guns out of the hands of criminals,” he said.

The final question Robinson asked was about his stance on whether Denver should be a sanctuary city and what to do with students formally protected under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). 

Currently in KidsTek, Robinson said there are 42 kids whose parents brought them from another country into the U.S. illegally. Having met them, he sees the students as exactly what America wants—hard workers who can improve the country. He wants to provide students in a similar situation a path towards citizenship.

“I don’t think we send them back to a place they don’t know. I do think we should provide a path for them to become citizens. I’m hopeful that President Trump is this negotiator and he has thrown up these things. We need to do a better job securing our border, we have to have control,” he said.

When it comes to sanctuary cities, Robinson is opposed to them. If elected governor, he told the students that he intends to speak with Mayor Hancock on the issue, discuss how much money Denver receives from the state and argue that the safety of Coloradans needs to come first.