AURORA | Democratic mortgage broker Naquetta Ricks is seeking a third term representing House District 40, challenged by Republican trucker Darryl Gibbs.
Ricks in 2020 became the first African immigrant to be elected to the Colorado Legislature, and the first Liberian American to win a seat in any state capitol. She owns a small mortgage brokerage company and is the founder and president of the African Chamber of Commerce, Colorado USA.
She declines to say her age, asserting that, “I don’t want to play into this whole ageism thing.”
Ricks, her sister and mother fled to the U.S. from their native Liberia in 1980 after a military coup in which her mother’s fiancé, the country’s agriculture minister at the time, was assassinated. She remembers the horror of watching as he and her mother were held at gunpoint.
She attended Aurora public schools, received her bachelor’s degree in accounting at Metro State University and her master’s in business administration from the University of Colorado Denver. The Aurora resident is divorced and has a 27-year-old daughter.
Having won her first term representing southeast Aurora in 2020, she has served as vice chairperson of the House Committee on Business Affairs & Labor, a member of the State Veterans & Military Affairs Committee, and also the House Chairperson for the Democratic Women’s Caucus.
Ricks said she is proud of her legislation preventing homeowners associations from foreclosing on homes because of overdue fees. She touts her work ending predatory towing practices and prohibiting excessive towing and impoundment fees.
She helped pass a law ensuring that medical debt cannot be factored into a person’s credit score. She championed a policy allowing relatives of people receiving mental health treatment to share information about their loved ones’ behavior with their care providers. “It removes barriers for input,” she said. Also on mental health care, she helped create a law requiring Medicaid to pay for culturally appropriate forms of treatment, when needed.
Ricks also highlights her work on legislation that:
• Deletes the names of children from criminal justice records
• Established a state fund providing legal defense for immigrants facing possible deportation
• Includes more minority-owned businesses in state procurement and contracting
• And analyzes the financial impact systemic racism has had on African Americans in Colorado
Noting that state government is anticipating a budget shortfall next session, she told the Sentinel,“It’s important to have people in office who understand what it’s like to face high grocery prices, make sure we can support our senior citizens, housing and transportation needs, veterans needs, education.”
She speaks in support of Aurora’s Venezuelan immigrants who were singled out this summer by right-wing politicians in what she calls election-season fear-mongering and “hysteria.”
“If someone is breaking the law, they’ll be prosecuted. But most of these people are just seeking a better life,” she said. “For the Mayor (Mike Coffman) and Councilwoman (Danielle Jurinsky) to make this a political opportunity says a lot about their characters.”
Ricks raised about $40,000 in campaign contributions as of early October.
Her Republican opponent, Darryl Gibbs, has not responded to inquiries by the Sentinel to discuss his background, political views or campaign.
His website indicates is a trucker who previously worked with the Denver Police Department and served in the Air Force Reserves for nearly two decades. It lists his priorities, if he’s elected, as addressing the cost of living, affordable housing, supporting veterans, strengthening public safety, improving education, and reforming immigration. His site does not, however, specify what he would do on those issues.
Gibbs has posted videos of himself on social media talking about his right-wing political views while driving his truck. In one, he calls undocumented immigrants “retards” and says of Kamala Harris, “She is not Black, she is Asian.” He, incidentally, is Black — a term he said he dislikes because his skin is actually brown.
“Here in Colorado, it’s crap. Our system is crap. Period,” he continues, speaking into a camera on his semi’s dashboard. “I’ll tell you what, this November, these state legislators, you need to start firing these people because they’re not fighting for you because they don’t care.”
Naquetta Ricks, age unspecified (don’t ask), immigrated to Colorado more than 40 years ago, fleeing her native Liberia as a child after a bloody coup that threatened her mother’s life and killed her mother’s fiancé.
Naquetta Ricks
Educated in Aurora Public Schools, she received her bachelor’s degree in accounting at Metro State University and her master’s in business administration from the University of Colorado Denver. She owns a small mortgage brokerage company, is the founder and president of the African Chamber of Commerce, Colorado USA, is divorced and has a 27-year-old daughter.
Having won her first term representing southeast Aurora in 2020, Ricks has served as vice chairperson of the House Committee on Business Affairs & Labor, a member of the State Veterans & Military Affairs Committee, and also the House Chairperson for the Democratic Women’s Caucus.
Darryl Gibbs
According to his website, Gibbs moved to Colorado in 1995. It says he served in the Air Force Reserves for nearly two decades and worked in the Denver Police Department before starting a business as the owner and operator of a trucking business.
His website notes that his grandmother had 25 children and that “her life was a testament to perseverance, working from cleaning houses to picking cotton, and always with a .38 in her purse for protection.”
https://darrylgibbsforcolorado.com
After astonishing property value increases in the past two years, voters and the Legislature have moved to change property tax laws in an effort to reduce property taxes for residents. Did everyone get it right? What would you want to see changed?
The recent efforts to address property values and provide property tax relief were a necessary step in easing the burden on Colorado residents. Housing has always been a key issue for me and protecting homeowners from being priced out of their homes is something I will continue to fight for. At the same time, we need to ensure that any changes to property tax laws don’t inadvertently reduce essential funding for public services like education and infrastructure. I would like to see a targeted approach to relief that protects vulnerable populations, like seniors and lower-income homeowners, while maintaining the necessary revenue streams for public services.
State lawmakers recently passed a handful of measures addressing the problem of affordable housing. What more, if anything, can the state do to address what to many families in Aurora and the metroplex is a critical problem?
While the Legislature has made significant strides in addressing affordable housing, there’s still more work to be done. We need to expand funding for affordable housing development, especially in high-need areas. Strengthening tenant protections and increasing investment in affordable rental housing for families and seniors should also be a priority. Additionally, we should look at innovative zoning reforms that encourage more multi-family housing in areas that can support it.
With available water sources all essentially determined, and water storage projects limited, should the state require that new home and business development be limited to provable, existing water supplies committed to the county or town permitting new construction?
As water becomes an increasingly scarce resource, I believe it’s important for new developments to have proven, reliable water sources before being approved. The state must strike a balance between growth and sustainability. Ensuring that developments are built only where there are sufficient water resources will help avoid long-term issues and protect the state’s water security.
Would you support a ban on assault-style firearms?
Yes, I support a ban on assault-style firearms. These weapons have no place in civilian hands and pose a significant public safety risk. We need comprehensive gun reform to prevent mass shootings and keep our communities safe, including measures like universal background checks and red flag laws.
Highway congestion statewide is a critical problem. Should the state end its tolllane/Express Lane program and make those lanes on state and federal highways just additional lanes?
The toll-lane/Express Lane program has provided some relief, but it’s not a long-term solution to Colorado’s growing highway congestion. While converting those lanes into additional free lanes sounds appealing, we need to balance that with efforts to expand public transportation options and reduce single-occupancy vehicle traffic. Long-term, investing in mass transit and regional transportation systems will be more sustainable than adding more lanes in the long term.
What food do you hate most? I dislike Eggplant and Eggnog, but I love eggs.
What was the last book you read? The Mountain is You! By Brianna Wiest
What’s your favorite TV show of all time? Bridgerton
Dog person? Cat person? Both? Neither? Cat person, I like dogs too.
